I just had a phone call. Nothing unusual about that really, except that this one was. Unusual, that is.
Here’s how it went:
Ring…ring… [I check number, it’s unavailable. I answer anyway, there‘s a few seconds pause and I clearly hear the caller put the phone down.]
Ring…ring… [I check number again...still unavailable. I answer.]
Me: Hello
Him: Is that Mrs Sharon?
Me [thinking it’s strange he didn’t use my surname]: Who’s asking?
Him: I’m calling about your loft and cavity wall insulation for [tells me my house number and street]
Me: Sorry, I know nothing about any insulation. Goodbye.
I was rather abrupt in my manner when I put the phone down but the whole thing felt very dodgy to me and I wasn’t about to stay on the line with him.
1. Why an unavailable number?
2. Why put the phone down the first time he called?
3. Why not use my surname?
4. Why, even though I asked, did he not introduce himself?
I’m sure that whatever he was up to, it wasn’t kosher. He even sounded nervous, like he knew he didn’t really ought to be doing what he was doing; the pause between me asking who wanted to speak to me and him responding was just a bit too long, if you get what I mean.
It really is worth being aware of dodgy phone calls. I mean, I can’t say for sure that he was up to no good, but the signs are definitely there. I should really have asked him for the name of the company he worked for and his name, but I wasn’t in the best of moods and I do remember reading something a while back that said you shouldn’t keep anonymous callers on the line for longer than you need to but it would have been interesting to have heard what he’d said if I had asked.
I guess I won’t be getting any loft or cavity wall insulation.
Sharon J x
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Image Credit: Deman
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8 comments:
Sounds a bit weird to me. Like my mums winning of £800k, twice in the same week. Some people are just lucky i guess!
Sharon,
if you have a mailbox at the front of your house/home put a lock on it please.
There are people paid (certainly here in Australia anyway)that pull mail back out of the slot to collect such details as your name. They are todays equivilent to door to door salesmen. they walk around scoping houses to sell thier wares , in your case insulation, get your name from the mailbox your number from the phone directory and ring you.
The reason he used your first name is an old ploy to become frindly with you.
Im not saying that all phone canvaseeres are sharletons but please be aware of some of thetactics they use.
Wombat
XXXX
Lizzie. Lol. Twice in one week. How unfair ;-)
Wombat. I really don't think he was a legit salesman even - there was something about the way he was speaking to me. Too many pauses. And why call once first then leave the line open for a while before cutting off? And he didn't just use my first name, he called me Mrs Sharon. Nobody does that.
We don't have our mailboxes outside our homes. They're slits in the door so the mail falls onto the hall floor and can't be fished up by anybody. Some have a basket behind the slit that could be retrieved from the outside but I don't.
yes that does sound rather strange.
I am turning my blog to private and wondered if you wouldnt mind sending me your email so I can add you , so you can still visit. Only I will see your email so it will be very safexx Dom
The government are insulating lofts and cavity wall free of charge for people on certain benefits and of a certain age but wouldn't the housing association will deal with that for you? I had a weird one the other week asking if my local paper had been delivered then quoting an address that wasn't mine and when I told him that wasn't my address he asked what my address was but I wouldn't tell him
Sorry bad grammar and a tad tired. What I meant to say is 'wouldn't the housing association deal with that for you?' :-)
Sounds to me like somebody calling to obtain your details. I've had a few like this, and they always get short sharp shrift from me. They call with very few details, like a randomly generated phone number and maybe a name from the phone book (why then he has your first name but not surname is queer though) and try to sell you something so you'll feel confident in giving them all your personal details, and from that they'll open bank accounts, credit cards and heaven knows what else in your name, run up huge debts on them, leaving you to pay the bills.
People, please beware. There are some very bad people out there and don't give personal details to anybody over the phone unless you are absolutely 100% sure they are legitimate. This includes people phoning from your own bank (or claiming to) as in all honesty, they could be anybody.
I've also had emails like this from various banks saying I had to go and re-enter my bank account details for 'security purposes'. You can probably tell I'm a bit cynical, but they really slipped up there in that I don't actually have an account with the bank in question!
Lets all be very careful out there...
Hugs,
FiFi x
Plenty of good advice you've given there, Fifi. I do believe this guy was phishing for my personal details, there was just something about the way he was speaking to me that didn't ring true.
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