Last week someone rang my mobile using the following number 08080000144, but I missed the call. Today they rang again and claimed they where calling from Vodafone and wanted to check everything was okay…
Scammers: Can I ask a few questions?
Me: Sure
Scammers : Whats your name?
Me: Hang on a minute you should know my name!
Scammers : Hangs up!
It was quite funny because he introduced himself as Jamie!
So anytime your not sure who is ringing you, either Google the phone number
Ask them a question, if they are from Vodafone, 02, Orange etc they will have your details infront of them.
Here is a story of someone falling for the scam…
http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?t=53901
The same goes for banks etc, they will never send you an email asking for your details to be updated.
Update and more numbers to watch out for
Do you have number that you’d like to warn people of? Leave me a comment and I’ll update the post.
08080000133 - July 2007
Spoofing the number
A couple of people have been leaving comments say this in fact is Vodafone. So I think the scammers are spoofing/masking their number with a Vodafone number. Don’t be foolish to think this isn’t possible!
Update - August
Thank you to everyone who has been leaving comments.
Looking my web stats and it appears these scammers don’t work weekends and over hundred people view this page everyday during the week. So I wonder how many people are getting called?
January 2008 Update
Thank you everyone for leaving a comment once again
Reading other blog posts and comments left here some people are convince this is not a scam, I think maybe in some cases it isn’t, but I’m sure you’ll agree scammers or a marketing company hired from Vodafone, we don’t want to be bugged and if you do ring us at least know our name!
What do companies expect our response will be in this day and age when all we here is about ID theft?
Hey, I just googled that number and got your blog. I received a call from this number claiming to be vodafone. They asked to confirm my full name which I did. I then thought i’d give false information and gave a fake birth date and address which they happily accepted so I hung up. What fools!
Dave
May 16th, 2007
I keep getting the call also!! What gets me is how they get hold of our numbers… I will be blocking this number now
Adam
June 14th, 2007
Have received several calls from this number over the past few days and finally got someone at the other end to actually speak today.
Woman’s voice with a northern English accent, said she was calling from Vodafone to reward me for my loyalty (!?) and asked to ‘confirm’ a few details.
Question 1: Full name, which I provided.
Question 2: Full address and post code.
At this point I said I would provide the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th characters from the my post code if she would provide the 2nd, 4th and 6th.
She refused, saying she couldn’t do that under the data protection act, so I told her that as I had no way of knowing that she was a legit representative of Vodafone I would be ending the call there and then.
So I did
Kier
July 9th, 2007
Oh beware 08080000133 is another number that you need to look out for..
Ken
July 9th, 2007
Thanks guys for leaving a comment! I really please this has been useful advice. Thanks Ken for that number I have added to the post.
Jamie
jamie
July 13th, 2007
I’ve been receiving mysterious calls from this number for a few weeks now, but it’s always been whilst I was in a lesson so I’ve never answered. They rang just now, and the snippy person at the other end asked for my name, which I said, and I asked what this was concerning and he ignored me and asked for my address…so I gave him the house number and road, then I asked again what it was about and he didn’t answer, instead he asked if I was the accountholder, at which point I said no (it’s in my mom’s name), and I asked again what it was concerning. At this point he went ‘I need to speak with the accountholder, I’ll ring back another time’, and hung up! Charming. So I looked the number up on google (08080000144) and found this and another few pages about scammers. So yeah. I’m glad I didn’t give any more info out, and I didn’t give the actual accountholders info out so I think I’m okay! I will be ringing vodafones PROPER number tomorrow to ask them. Did anyone else note that it was really loud in the background?
Gabi
July 18th, 2007
Errr…doesn’t it ever occur to you lot that it JUST may be Vodafone?!
I’ve terminated my contract with them and they rang me from this number asking why I was leaving. When I asked them to confirm the date and how I gave my notice, they got it bang on.
I also asked if anyone else could get hold of that information & they said no. As I was talking to them, I strolled into my Vodafone store & put the operator on hold. I explained to the girl behind the counter that I thought it may be a scam so she spoke to them (asking them various things about the store and practice that only employees would know) and handed me back the phone saying there was no worries, it WAS vodafone I was talking to!
Saz
July 19th, 2007
Saz - They must be spoofing the Vodafone number some how, you can do it very easily for mobile phones.
It’s simply really, they should know your key information. Even ask them about the latest calls you made?
jamie
July 20th, 2007
Interesting story Gabi, thanks for sharing.
jamie
July 20th, 2007
im with saz on this one..they just phoned me, and i didnt answer any information, but i did tell the girl that called that i had cancelled a contract recently as i took a new one oue with vodafone anyway..
she said she would make a note on the system, and then i called 191, spoke to a guy, gave the 08080000133 number (that called me), and he said it sounds very much like a contact number from their (either sales, or saves team..bad line so couldnt tell)..so it may well have been vodafone that was calling..and sometimes for data protection (as i work in a call center), you cannot confirm any details to the clients..they HAVE to tell you them, and Gabi; again, for data protection, they are not allowed to speak with anyone other than the accounyt holder, unless they receive permission by the account holder to speak to someone else..
Daniel
July 20th, 2007
Thats rubbish Daniel!
Vodafone - Hello can I speak to Mr Smith.
Customer - Yes speaking, it X from Vodafone.
Thats all is needed.
So your wrong Daniel and your email address along with Saz looks very dodgy….?
Jamie
jamie
July 20th, 2007
So based on this phone call I should of given my details… I think not
Scammers: Can I ask a few questions?
Me: Sure
Scammers : Whats your name?
Me: Hang on a minute you should know my name!
Scammers : Hangs up!
jamie
July 20th, 2007
jamie .. based on the call you received it’s a good thing you didn’t provide your details. Tele reps shouldn’t really be this direct when calling you … at the least they should take the time to introduce themselves and explain why they’re calling.
Having said that i received a call from 08080000144 just a little while ago and was told it’s a call from Vodafone to welcome me (i recently started a contract with them). He went on to ask if I was ok with the services so far and then he asked for some of my details … 1st line of address, postcode and DOB. I was hesitant to provide these and I mentioned that at which point he was appologetic and explained that the Data Protection acts restricts him from looking at my info until he’s verfied that it’s actually the account holder he’s speaking to by asking for at least three pieces of info. I gave him what he wanted and finally he went on to confirm the contract I had gotten with vodafone and date at which i started it.
Towards the end it turns out he was trying to sell insurance to me for my new handset. I told him I already had insurance.
Well … my initial hesitation led me to google the number and i got to your blog … a little scared I just rang vodafone and asked them to confirm the number (08080000144). The tele rep put me on hold and when she returned she verified that it was definitely vodafone calling me.
samad
July 23rd, 2007
These scammers must be able to spoof the number. I suppose just a bit of common sense will help to know the difference.
jamie
July 24th, 2007
Number: 08080000133
Is there anyway to block this number?? I phoned Vodaphone and they said they couldn’t do anythin!!
So far, yest they phoned me 4 times, today I’m upto 5 times already, and it’s only 4pm. This is takin the ****.
John B
July 24th, 2007
Im getting exactly the same call, nfact Ive just received another, but I always miss them, I did a search on Ask Jeeves, and it came up with your blog… I havent had the opportunity to speak to them yet, how can you stop them?
ooohbabygirl
July 25th, 2007
Number 08080000133
I’ve had at least 20 calls from this number is the last week or so. I’ve always missed the calls because my phone is on silent while I am at work. They only call during office hours it seems.
Thanks very much for this guys and I will not be answering the call even if I am able to!
Karen
July 30th, 2007
I too have received numerous calls on 08080000144, so decided to do some investigation myself. I found out that this number is suprisingly enough GENUINE, and is linked, in one form or the next, to Vodaphone…
I have spoken with customers services and have found out the following: if you receive a call on this number essentially it means your number is one what they call a ‘prefence sales list’, ie someone who checks your still happy with your service, tries to retain you, sell you stuff etc.
So why doesn’t customer services call me then? and whats with all the silly questions they ask and should know the answers to?? Well, here it gets a little more complex, although they work for Vodafone, they are not actually vodafone, they are a subsidery company under a different contract and therefore not tied to Vodfone per say. Due to this they have access to only certain types of information due to the data protection act, a number, and possibly a name.
So why don’t vodafone do it themselves? who knows? cheaper perhaps? dunno.
Ok great so what do I do now? Call vodafone customer services and ask to have this number barred and your number removed from the list. It takes up to 48hrs to go through.
But Im not with vodafone? Hmmm…did you used to be and take your number with you? an old pay as you go perhaps? or maybe you’ve written your number down on the many forms we fill out day to day that say ‘tick this box if you don’t want to receive rubbish from us!’,in any case speak with your provider, and if they can’t help call vodafone.
So whats with all the moody deals and stuff they offer? My mate was done like this. He got a call from Orange, or at least someone proporting to be from orange, offering some new handset but would mean he would have stay with orange for another year. He agreed and got his nuew phone. when he got his bill through this ‘company’ had set up a new contract so in effect he was paying for 2 line rentals, and had 2 different numbers. It took some sorting but eventually orange dropped the extra line. You have been warned.
Also, at the end of the day how genuine is anyone we speak to on the end of a line? You’ve probably heard of scamsters deliberately seeking employment with supermarkets to obtain customer credit card details, whos to say such thiings dont go on in the phone world?
danny
July 30th, 2007
I got a missed call from this number yesterday and today so I googled the number. Im glad i came accross this site!!
Lauren
August 3rd, 2007
I just had a missed call from this number, weird as I was trying to upgrade yesterday. I googled it and this came up, thanks for posting this! R
Ryan
August 3rd, 2007
I have recieved 2 calls in 2 days from 08080000144 and both times they ask for Name, Address, DOB. I have only given my name and then asked what offer they are about to give me and they will not tell me unless they can confirm who I am which seems strange to me as surely they can tell me the offer before confirming my details??? So I called vodafone and they have no record whatsoever of me being called. So i dont know who it is but they are getting annoying.
Simon
August 3rd, 2007
Hey I had a call from this number a few times in the last few days (08080000144). After i refused to give out my details the guy gave me a whole speach about the data protection act (like Im going to trust that it was accurate). After the last time he called me I phoned 191 to find out if it was vodaphone, their systems were down at the time and had been for a while so it could not of been them that had called me. This number is fake 08080000144.
Brian
August 4th, 2007
The 08080000133 is definately Vodafone. I just had a call after requesting my PAC code the other day.
I tried giving an old address and postcode. The lady said that they had a different address for me. I then gave my real one, and she was excellent - explained how the PAC code works, and that my contract will be cancelled as soon as it is used. No hard sell - told her that coverage at a certain location was a problem.
Mark
August 6th, 2007
just received a call but didn’t answer as the number looked suspicious. run a google and got this site in the first place. After reading all the comments not sure if it is cold calling or scam, but I am not answering these calls.
GDC
August 6th, 2007
Just had a call from 08080000144, missed it but due to the bizarreness of the number i did wonder if it was a scammer, i’ve had calls from a couple of other numbers in the past and googling come up trumps. Even if it was a company associated with vodaphone they really shouldn’t be asking for name address etc should they. I am getting ready for a new phone but i don’t want to be forced into one by some sales pesterer, i’ll order one when i’m ready. Cheers for the above info!
paul
August 7th, 2007
08080000133 IS A REAL VODAFONE NUMBER!!!
Antony
August 8th, 2007
I finally answered the call from 08080000144. They ask you some confirmation details but he also gave me some that he wouldn’t know. Trying to sell a second contract for friends and family. Just answer it so that they stop ringing
Adam
August 8th, 2007
I spoke to the vodafone on Saturday about getting disconnected.
Got a call from the 08080000133 number today (Wednesday). May just be coincidence though? Anyway can’t tell you what it was about as I don’t answer to callers not in my address book.
Allan
August 8th, 2007
Thanks very much for this post, I just gave the guy on the end of the phone enough reason to give up and leave me alone
Paul S
August 9th, 2007
The 08080000133 number in my opinion is a scam due to the fact that i have had calls from this number after 9:00pm. What call centres are open this late, and if you do not answer the 1st time they would surely move on to someone else…?
matt
August 9th, 2007
I have been bombarded with calls from the 08080000133 number and after a google search to this page I can also confirm that it started happening after I gave them one months written notice and requested a PAC number to move to another provider! I will answer the call today and see if they do indeed want to try to keep me by offering any deals or if they just give me my PAC as requested…
I will be back with more info (which shouldnt be too long……)
Jay
August 9th, 2007
When I say ‘them’ I mean VODAFONE!
Jay
August 9th, 2007
i have had several calls from this number but when i answer there’s no-one there, also when i tried calling it back the number was not in use! wondered wherever it charges you to answer the call!?
billy
August 10th, 2007
Hi!
I too received a missed call from 08080000133 and, having heard of many phone scams, decided to google the number. I found this blog and read all of the comments left regarding these ‘Vodafone’ numbers.
Well, today when the number called back I actually got a surge of excitement, in a kind of Scooby Doo ‘I’ll find out who they are!’ type of way!
However the gent on the other end asked for me by name (which ruined my first plan of action), then asked me if my Sony Ericsson k800i was ok (plan b dashed) and continued by telling me that on 4th October my contract is up and do I want to upgrade? (damn, he knows everything).
On a final attempt to be the modern day Shaggy I asked him where he was, to which he answered “in sunny Stoke-on-Trent” (where, of course my new fictional ‘granny’ was from) and when questioned where exactly as they may live close (ok, sad, but it worked!) he said Holditch Road, Chesterton. Bang on where the Vodafone offices are.
If you’re looking at this blog because you too have a missed call / dodgy call I can say my call today was from Vodafone. However, look back at other’s comments and the ones that suggest the number can be mask or spoof another one are a bit worrying. I didn’t know that could happen but it wouldn’t surprise me, so be on your guard. Regardless of who ANYONE you don’t recognise says they are never give ANY personal details of ANY type over the phone. If they’re legitimate then they’ll have it all there in front of them. If they don’t then who knows who they are and what they want you to ‘buy’ (and end up funding international terrorism/some thief’s crack habit/the conservative party’s election campaign)
Well done Jamie for setting this page up, it’s been useful and it’s definitely a reminder that we all need to be a bit protective of our bit and pieces!
Kat
August 10th, 2007
Kat - Your spot on!
I’m almost certain I’ve had the scammers writing comments on this blog. Say it was Vodafone and the reason they can’t tell your name etc is because of the Data Protection Act.
Bullshit!!
Sounds like your call was from Vodafone. As I’ve said before if you can spoof an email address or website, I don’t see why you can’t do it for mobile numbers!
Jamie
jamie
August 10th, 2007
Hi there, just thought I would let you know that I had a phone call from the 144 and the 133 numbers - said they were from vodafone and wanted to offer me a free phone/new better contract etc for my loyalty as a vodafone customer. I have been on orange for the past 7 years!!! Not once have I had a vodafone contract or payg phone?!
Okay, so they could be from Vodafone, but if they have my info, where the hell have they got it from?!
Can any of the boffins answer me that one?!
laura
August 10th, 2007
Had the same 08080000133 ring me at 3am as I am in Australia at the moment, it all started after I requested to be put on “pay as you go” from Vodaphone.
Nick
August 10th, 2007
Just tell them to “Fuck Off”
And they do not ring again!
Adrian
August 10th, 2007
i had a phone call of the same number nothing was happening but i would just tell them to f**k off i keep getting them all the time scammers that is i phoned virgin media they do nowt so watch it guys .
caroline
August 13th, 2007
08080000144
i just called vodafone after getting missed call from this. woman on phone advised me it is just a curtersy call regarding a sruvery to find out how you like the vodafone service.
still i would always recommend doing the following
“if you not sure hang up”
and
“never give out personal information to anyone who phones you”
if your unsure find out who it is and then use yellow pages to ring back
Liam
August 13th, 2007
I got three of calls from 08080000144, but I all missed them. Thanks I Google the number today and read Jamie’s Blog, I think I should block this number now.
lucy
August 13th, 2007
Hey, I’ve been getting calls from this number for over a week now, I haven’t answered it once as, luckily, I was at work and unable to answer the phone. Is there any way I can get Vodaphone to block this number from calling me anymore?
Biffy
August 16th, 2007
Hey, this number just rang me, and i dont answer numbers i dont know (especially when im at work). Anyway, i googled the number and saw your site! Im with vodafone, and glad to see everyone reporting it
Where do these people get our numbers from eh?
Ben
August 20th, 2007
Hi there,
I found your blog by Googling ‘08080000133′. I just spent my half hour lunch on the phone to Vodafone reducing my bill by £100 due to a mix up at their end and then requested a PAC to transfer my number.
Literally 5 minutes later, I had a call from the above number (which I ignored as I was back at my desk). If this is someone trying to offer me an upgrade, surely it’s more than just a coincidence that they called so soon?
Paul Morrison
August 21st, 2007
it is vodafone - have spoken to them, but it is an outsourced service and they do not have your details. You can call Vodafone and get the calls stopped and if you need to speak to them in person call 08080000155
nellie
August 21st, 2007
I recently requested my mobile contract to be terminated and had a call from the 08080000133 number. I believe it was legit - once he’d confirmed he was indeed speaking to the owner of the contract he asked me my reason for terminating and if there was any way he could persuade me to keep the contract eg, by lowering the price. He then told me he would proceed with the cancellation and told me the date the contract would officially end which was bang on by my calculations. Unless these scammers intercepted my initial snail-mail to vodophone or vodophone gives out that cancellation information to them - surely they can’t have been scammers?
Mark
August 21st, 2007
Had one of these missed today (144), thought I’d check it out before calling back. In suspect security situations like this, the best thing to do is to take their name and department, and offer to call them back via a known vodafone number. Any excuses, they’re not legit.
If you register for the Telephone Preference Service you are not supposed to receive cold calls, even from your service provider, and if you are already registered then they can get into trouble under the law for calling.
Rob
August 22nd, 2007
Biffy, you can’t get voda to block it as it’s their own customer care/retentions number. The only way to stop the calls would be to phone them and tell them not to contact you.
You will get a call from the 133 number if you sign up to voda, request a PAC code or notify them of your intent to end usage of their service.
If you aren’t with voda and have never been with voda, then ignore it. If you get a call, make sure you call them back via 191 as they will have a record of why they called.
If you don’t want to talk when being called form this number, as has been said above, call them back on 191 or go to a voda store and call customer services from there or get the store staff to verify it.
Can’t believe how much FUD is being passed around here! Anyone been looking for WMD lately?
Chief McBeef
August 23rd, 2007
I just received a call about 10 mins ago from 08080000133 and it was vodafone calling in regards to feedback I left on their site. They asked me if I was Jenna and I said yes and then answered the query that I left on their website at the weekend. However, after reading this site, im a little paranoid now
Jen
August 28th, 2007
ive had numerous missed calls from this number. i rang it back to see who picked up, and it told me i would be charged for the call. so i ended it there and then. and i refuse to pick up, legit or not, because im afraid to be charged for it. could cost a bomb! i dont like how they keep ringing, ive only just signed up to vodafone. dont want to be pestered!
lydia
August 30th, 2007
Ive just had them phone again on this number (08080000144)and once again I cancelled the call. This time I decided to google it and came across this site. After reading nearly all the letters I decided to phone vodafone and they have confirmed that it is them calling and its just a courtesy call to ask if everything is ok with your new contract. If you’ve got any worries then ask them to phone your landline number (the reps very words) hope this is of use to everyone.
Andy
August 30th, 2007
Just had a call from 08080 000144 to give me some package. They knew my name and then asked me for details to confirm I was the account holder. Didn’t sound massively professional so I asked how I could know it was Vodafone. The guy instantly told me some account details and what phone I had. Some official Vodafone numbers definitely start 08080 but I called 191 to ask about it after I saw this site thread. The operator thought it was a Vodafone number but said I had to call back in three days to see if I had been charged for the call. We’ll see. My advice: never give any details to someone who calls you. If you’re interested then call a number you know to ask about whatever offer or inquiry.
Timbo
August 30th, 2007
Yep, im having this problem too.
This blog post seems to have the solution tho, dunno if it works, will try tomorrow:
http://www.theworldthroughmyeyes.com/2007/09/vodafone-08080000133-scam/
Boolz
September 3rd, 2007
I just answered a call from this number. They asked the usual, address, DOB e.t.c. I gave him an incorect postcode and he said that wasn’t the one he had on my account, so I gave the right one and he said that was fine.
He knew what phone I had e.t.c. He was asking if I wanted to extend my contract by 6 months and knock £25 off my next bill, which I said yes too, I’ve got a good tariff, the only thing I might miss out on was a free phone upgrade, but I have heard of companies doing that after a year anyway (contract was originally 18 months).
I did ring 191 to confirm I had been called by them, but there was no record of it, which was odd, if it was a third party company, then the info may take a while to filter through to Vodafone’s system? Anyway, what would scammers get out of what they offered me?
We will see!
Martin
September 5th, 2007
I’ve had calls from 08080000144 too - and it certainly seems to be Vodafone. I went through the same “I don’t trust you” dialogue, and got some answers to other aspects of my account that virtually no-one would know.
Jamie - you mention that it’s easy for spammers to spoof the displayed number. I’m interested in knowing if you have more details on this. I used to work on the software on the network side, and know this isn’t a particularly easy thing to do, at least without someone like BT’s collusion. At least it wasn’t easy a couple of years ago…
Mike
September 10th, 2007
Hi - both the number 133 and 144 are to a degree Vodafone numbers! However, be warned this is an outsource centre called LBM who now have a reputation for some major dodgey dealings with customers and how they sell - take that from an ex-insider at Voda!!!!
VODA
September 11th, 2007
Hey guys. Missed a call from this number so googled it and found this blog.
It seems to me its a vodafone number that is from the SALES department.
Many have said they had recently left or joined vodafone, so this would make sense.
My call came 15mins after cancelling the internet and insurance on my contract, again supporting this viewpoint.
Richard
September 11th, 2007
any chance of correcting the spelling of vodafone in the second line of my original post?
Richard
September 11th, 2007
I’ve been getting calls from the 08080000133 number… I was suspicious, Googled the number, and this blog came up. Just wanna say thanks! :p
Kevin
September 13th, 2007
I’ve had several run-ins with a loan company over this whole confirming of information stuff. Conversation goes like this:
THEM: Hello, it’s X company here, are you XX.
ME: Yes, that’s me.
THEM: Can you just confirm your date of birth so we know you are the right person.
ME: No. You always tell people not to give out personal info over the phone.
THEM: But we can’t carry on this conversation until you confirm you are who you say you are.
ME: Huh? You’re the one that wants to speak to me. You called me, not the other way round.
THEM: But you might miss out on some important information.
ME: So what do you want me to do? Give me some data you know and I’ll tell you whether that’s right or not.
THEM: Sorry, we can’t do that, data protection don’t you know.
ME: Huh?
And so on until we agree to disagree and the call ends. Basically I know they’re chasing me to pay my bill, which is fair enough, but why bother with a phone call (and these calls keep coming). Why not send me a letter like the good old days? Basically they’re trying to grind me into submission, but it won’t work. Memo to loan company: use some common sense, ffs!
Ian
September 14th, 2007
Signed up for a contract with phones4u, making sure not to tick “marketing calls” and what do i get ? i get 5 calls a day from :08080000144 and ive been on this vodafone contract less than a month. When i pick up, no answer. ARGHHHHH. if u ring this number, it says sommin like “this number is chargable” so i hung up. why dont these ppl fuck off. Sign up online for “preferential service” @ http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/
I think its an offence after 28 days of activiation for them to fone you. cos urs a tps registered number.
mALLA
September 15th, 2007
I have just cancelled my vodafone contract and get these calls about six times a day. Three this morning already. I know it is them as I called up about it before and relayed the number. They said they would take me off the list for calling but this was the 08080 000144 number and my latest one is calling from 08080000133. It is vodafone though.
http://www.whatmobile.net/forumvb/showthread.php?t=21527
Sharon
September 18th, 2007
Arghh, these guys won’t leave me alone. I’ve had a million missed calls from them already, I’m cancelling my contract, so I’m guessing the 08080000133 number is actually vodafone trying to get me to continue with them, but I’m leaving the country so they can get stuffed!
In any case, I never give any of my personal info over the phone, not even my name, and neither should anyone else, because it could just as easily be someone who’s rifled through your post, found a phone contract letter and is going to use it to get a fake ID of you and so on and so on until identity theft happens.
fiona
September 18th, 2007
Had missed call from 144. No apparent reason for call…have had contract since March. Called a nice lady on 08080000155 (free from mobile and landline) and requested name removed from list. 30 second procedure. Will see though. Am slightly skeptical!
Becks
September 18th, 2007
I have had a few of these calls over the last few days. I rang vodafone to check. I was told that it is a premium line. My number is held only by close friends and family, so I have no idea how my details have been given to these pests.
David
October 3rd, 2007
Just had a call from 08080000144. They even knew what phone I had, not one I had bought from them, but was registered on the Vodafone site. I was sceptical at first, but this did put me at ease. It definitely was Vodafone and as a result I now have £100 credit on my account…. I think that if we are sensible and cautious then we can be safe!
Anita
October 11th, 2007
i have emailed vodaphone directly to politely request for both numbers to stop calling my phone and it seemed to have worked!
heidi
October 18th, 2007
I requested my PAC code from Vodafone and also started to get about 3 calls a day from 08080000133. Never answered as I believed it was someone selling car insurance. Now from what I’ve read in other forums, and here, I strongly believe it is the Vodafone retention team. So I might answer next time, just to tell them I am leaving only due to lack of network coverage in Uxbridge.
Antonio
November 1st, 2007
I got a missed call from 08080000144, i never answer them. More interesting, i had a call from number 01133944047 moments before, it rang once. Maybe they are connected, seeing as i know no one from Leeds?
Thanks for this blog, i will inform everyone i know about this.
I would like to know how these B******S are getting our numbers.
Cheers again.
Craig
Craig
November 8th, 2007
I today tried to buy a mobile phone from Vodafone on the internet and my computer crashed so didn’t end up finishing the transaction, since then, I have had 2 calls from 08080000133, which makes me think it is a REAL vodafone number.
Rhian
November 13th, 2007
I received a call from 08080000144, saying it was from Vodafone. He sounded very professional, and like he was in a call centre. He offered me an upgrade on my phone and tariff, which I accepted. He said it would be delivered to my house the next working day. He never asked for any of my details (of course I would never have given them out over the phone to someone who called me).
The new phone didn’t come, so I rang Vodafone (using the number on my bill, not returning his call). They assure me the call was NOT from Vodafone. I then discussed an upgrade with the real Vodafone operative, and he offered me EXACTLY the same deal that the conman from the 08080000144 number had - so either this conman really knows his stuff or he is a current or ex Vodafone employee. Whether he is a conman or whether Vodafone just can’t keep track of their out-sourcing, I just don’t know. All I know is he didn’t know any of the details of my current price plan, and I never received the new phone he promised me.
If he is a conman, I’m not sure how he intended to rip me off - perhaps he expected me to ring back the 08080000144 number (which I’m guessing is premium rate), to ask where my new phone was. Or perhaps if I accepted the insurance he was offering, he would have asked for my credit card details.
In short, I would say don’t trust these people to be on the safe side. Call the number printed on your bill if you want to speak to Vodafone.
Beastoire
November 13th, 2007
Hi,
Had a call from this lot a year ago - so much hassle I remember the number - 08080000144. Had the call again just now and gave them short shrift.
They are ringing ON BEHALF of vodafone - they don’t actually work for them. There are a third party marketing company who are - I assume - sold a preference list from Vodafone and get commission on contract renewals/sales. I fell for it last year and renewed a vodafone contract with an upgrade to a phone and new price plan. When the contract turned up it was messed up - just the old contract renewed for 18 months with no new handset.
Spent ages talking to Vodafone getting to the bottom of it and cancelled in the end. I must say though, the single-point-of-contact escalated support from Vodafone was good - they told me who the company was (cant remember the name now) and how it operates and they were offering free upgrades to try to keep me on-board. Jumped ship in the end though.
goose
November 20th, 2007
My husband received a call on this number on Monday, but asked him to call me for the delivery address as it would be my work address. They never called me!
Vodaphone said it is not them.
JJ
November 21st, 2007
Have just contact Vodafone on 191. This is LBM. They work for Vodafone in customer retention. They have confirmed that they are ok and any contracts will be direct Vodafone contracts and not via another company.
Chris
November 26th, 2007
I was called by the same number. I missed one call, and they left no message. I checked the number on the web and it up as a dodgy scam number. I told the lady this when they called again and she asked for my name. She said it was not a scam, and was calling from Vodafone, and could not confirm my name for ’security reasons’, but she could tell me what handset I had. I advised her that I wasn’t satisfied that the call was genuine, and that if she really did work for Vodafone she should write to me, and hung up. No calls since.
I can only conclude thay have got hold of a list of handsets and numbers from somewhere, and are trying to get hold of names so that a fraud of some sort may be comitted. Surely Ofcom or someone can close these crooks down?
Never give out personal information. If it really is Vodafone, and if the ‘information’ is really that important, they can write to you.
A. Macmillan
November 26th, 2007
Had a series of calls from the 144 number, which I have ignored. Finally answered one today.
Conversation (roughly)
Me - “hello”
girl - “this is vodafone calling about your account”
Me - “Oh Yes - what about”
She - “About your upgrade - can I confirm a few details?”
Me - “OK, briefly - didn’t know I was due an upgrade yet” (actually due next Feb)
She - “I can call back…”
Me - “No, go ahead”
She - “Can I have your full name”
Me - “What name have you got against this ‘phone?”
She - “Can’t tell you that - it’s data protection…can tell you what your last handset was though”
Me - “Where did you get information from?”
She - “We’re Vodafone upgrade department”
Me - “I don’t think you are - don’t call again and take me off your database”
end of call
I confirmed with Vodafone (as a direct customer) that they had no record of such a call to me; and that their greeting to discuss potential upgrades would be “Hello Mr …” and then go on to confirm my details. So these guys def not genuine Vodafone! Although perhaps they are getting some account details legitimately or otherwise??
toots
November 26th, 2007
Well i got a call from the 08080000144 number the other week. they said they wanted to make me a prefered customer who gets preferential treatments when i dial 191 in the future as ive been with them a while. all i had to do to agree with this service was say yes. it was free etc. they asked for name, parts of address and DOB. also asked for an email address to send me more details to. i was very suspicious. however. i asked them when i was due an upgrade, they checked and got it right. i also did get an email, oddly enough the linsk dont work. and after the call i called the number back, and the message says its vodafone who have tried to call you for a sales/customer services call. im still not sure if its legit or not!
Matt
November 27th, 2007
let me just add, at no point did they ask for anything not easy to know about me (address dob) or offer to sell me anything.
Matt
November 27th, 2007
This is DEFINATLEY a genuine call from Vodafone. Stop speculating and do some very simple research. Call up Vodafone and ASK THEM. Surely this would be the first thing to do? Well i did, they searched the number on their database and suprise suprise, it is a Vodafone number used by a team who call you up to check you are happy and to offer you more products and services.
Its things like this blog that make people paranoid for know reason. I bet you also think that 9/11 was a U.S. Government conspiracy because you have watched some documentary by Micheal Moore.
Adrian Clarke
November 28th, 2007
update!
now about a week later i get info in the post for vodafone best care.. the number MUST there for me real
Matt
November 28th, 2007
I searched for this number as my girlfriend was receiving calls from this dodgy number. I hope this scammer gets caught and has a lovely time in the nick!
Jay
November 28th, 2007
I’ve received a call from this number, but only since I emailed Vodafone to complain about their service and ask for my code to transfer the number. No reason to believe its anyone other than Vodafone.
As for calling them and asking them to confirm if the number was correct, since when does one hand in a big company have any clue what the other is up to?
Alex
November 30th, 2007
just missed a call from the 144 number. Sounds dodgy. I’ll call vodafone later to see what the real deal is. Your commments have been real helpful. I’ll post what i get back.
antwench
December 10th, 2007
i had a call from this number around 8pm this evening … didn’t answer it cos it was a weird number (tho being a bit of a geek who works in telesales i do recognise the 0808 prefix as being alternatve freefone numbers and as such ‘relatively harmless’ call-centre numbers - as opposed to 07017 numbers which can be pretty downright evil).
Anyway, i thought i’d do a websearch for the number and found this site. Insipred, i thought i’d call it back to see what i got.
After calling it i got a recorded message saying basically ‘this is vodafone, we called you earlier as a courtesy call, you don’t need to do anything but if you want to call us back, please do so in office hours’.
Conclusion - Vodafone customer service use some weird, but specialistic numbers, but they are genuine.
For the record, I am on vodafone and have been since 1999 …
sandwell
December 11th, 2007
This may have been mentioned already butI couldn’t see it. I received a text a couple of days before advising that As a valued customer I would be receiving a call from Vodafone offering me a super offer. I took it all with a pinch of salt and then received a call today from 08080000144. I could answer and they didn’t leave a message. Just so you guys know.
Edward
December 12th, 2007
Thank you to everyone for leaving a comment.
jamie
December 15th, 2007
I had a call from these guys a few weeks back. Luckily they’d already tried calling me before which I missed the call. So I’d already googled the number and found your website. So when they did call again, I was prepared. Let’s just say I had a little laugh with them.
Alex
December 17th, 2007
I just received a 0808 0000 144 telephone call from Jamie.
I was asked for name, address, dob and told my contract was running out, and I was due for a phone upgrade. He then told me the make and model of my phone, and asked me a few questions about what phone I would like, and if I was happy with my contract.
He offered me a new phone + bluetooth headset, and my current contract at 6months half price. I accepted.
I thought… read this… and freaked out!
I just called Vodafone 191 and I had a lovely lady on the phone confirm that it is a company called LBM who deals with upgrades etc. on behalf of Vodafone, and told me exactly what the upgrade was, and the handset I would be receiving.
As others have said above - when in doubt, call 191.
The lady also advised that if you are concerned about a call, ask them to put a note on your Vodafone account while you call 191 to confirm, then ask them to call back in 20 minutes. If they hesitate, or when you call 191 there is nothing new on your account, then you know to ignore the next call!!
Hope this helps!
Joss
December 19th, 2007
I had a silent call from the number yesterday in the evening. So i looked up the number on the internet and found this. So i was cautious. They phoned me up today and asked for my details. So i said i wouldn’t give out any they told me to phone customer services. Just did that (didn’t realise how quick vodafone’s customer service is). They confirmed it was a genuine call from a company they hire.
Still, with all the scams these days, i think this is the safest option, not to give out any details.
Vince
January 3rd, 2008
I presume these to be scammers, this is why:
I have received 2 calls from this number whilst at work. The last one I didnt bother to answer (after reading this) - the first one I heard ring, saw the number and thought what on earth is this one? showed my boss whilst it was ringing and he said “answer it and find out”. I hit answer and my vodaphone nokia N73 popped up a message saying “Not allowed!” and disconnected the call.
It seems very odd for vodaphone to bar this number if they are a GENUINE vodaphone representative!
Dave
January 3rd, 2008
A couple of weeks ago I was sent a text message from Vodafone saying that they could offer me a great deal and that someone would call me in the next few days to discuss it. I had a missed call from the 08080000144 number this morning so I googled it. Thank god I did!!
Lisa A
January 9th, 2008
You are the fools believing this number is a fraudster. I work for the company called LBM, vodafone pay LBM for seats in their call centres, so although i am payed by LBM i work for vodafone, the number calling you if you cared to ring back will tell you it was Vodafone.
I work on the Proactive Retention campaign, we upgrade excisting customers coming toward the end of their term. We are required as part of DPA to ask your full name. DOB and Address nothing else, if we don’t we lose our comission, and possibly jobs. Its stupid we can’t confirm no more that when you took out the contract and phone make and model, we can’t say your name, DOB or Address because we breach DPA, but you can set up a password so we can ask for that and your name instead.
As for the silent calls or hang ups, this my colleagues who think they can take the piss and chat, and because a call has come through interupting their chat they hang up on you.
I am who i say i am, we use a system called Gemini with every account Vodafone hold on, which we use for updating your details, ring 191 which is customer care and they can confirm it. Also the system we log into to order phones is Hermes.
In the future, request the agent to give you a text using gemini. it will say from Vodafone.
Oh i rang my number from my dialer to get the number in question and a recording says,
”you were called by vodafone for coutesy call their is nothing more for you to do, we will call back”
Matthew Giblin
January 9th, 2008
May i also add we have 4/5 campaigns from Vodafone who pay LBM less money they do there own staff to do this.
So we have - Pro Ret, We calling eplaining your contract is up fro renewel you can have a new phone or if your happy to stick with your current handset, we can give you a large discount against your bills instead.
Welcome Campaign - Recently upgraded and new customers are called to make sure everything is okay, how to use certain services, and try to get the customer to extend their contract in exchange of credit and add insurnace.
Additional Connection - Proper sales campaign trying to get the customer to take out a second line. Maybe for a PAYG user in the household, this campaign is extremely difficult and a lot of mis selling in the past have been reported, ie its a second account, but customer thinks their upgrading, i was on this and didn’t agree and still don’t, however this makes Vodafone the most money. I ended up moving to uprades.
We also have had an inbound line for iphone risk users which i maned and customer had recieved a letter offering really silly deals to stay and ring this number.
I understand their is a lot of scams around and number can be spoofed, but the 144 number i dialled me with from my work station. But in this day and age i don’t blame any one thinking something is up!!
Matthew Giblin
January 9th, 2008
People receiving “silent” calls - they’re probably using a “powerdialler”. It’s software that rings a list of numbers repeatedly, when the number is answered, it puts that call through to a real operator. The putting through can take a second or two, hence the small delay; if there aren’t enough operators for the calls that have been answered, you get a silent call.
Ad
January 10th, 2008
I have received countless calls and missed calls from this number - all the ones i answered were silent, and eventually hung up. either this is a scam or a really bad ’service’ on the part of vodafone & friends… either way if i want to speak to vodafone i will phone them myself.
Bob
January 17th, 2008
[…] access to information. Read the long comment thread on the post from Jamie, he even called the post Mobile Scammers. Lots and lots of stories about people receiving these calls and many conclude it’s not the […]
Vodafone Retention Team
January 17th, 2008
im getting a similar number ringing doing the same thing 08080000133 it goes silent.alot of people are getting this as they cancel thier contracts with vodafone of which iv now given my 30days cancelation and the calls started.thats really going to make my go back to vodafone in future isnt it!!!!!giving my number to dodgy call centres idiots!!!!
lee
January 19th, 2008
Hey guys, if it helps I used to work for vodafone- and can confirm the number is for their saves team. You should only get a call from that number if you’ve sent in a cancellation letter but if you have doubts, you can always dial 191 from your handset to ask a customer service agent to confirm etc. Also with data protection, they do need to confirm your full name and either your four digit pin number/first line of address and postcode. That’s the only way to secure the account against fraud, and I understand the fear over the number not appearing as ‘vodafone’ etc. But after you’ve given that info- you can ask them to confirm anything on your account.. i.e; tarrif,when you first connected, what country you were calling from last month, your bank details currently on the account, how many phones you have on the account etc… Anyways I hope this helps :).
Steve
February 7th, 2008
i think that the data protection is correct because they have no reson to belive who you are you could fake who you are.
i gave my details and i should recive my w910i in 2 days. my only dought is the phone is £250
the contarct is £10 a month for 18 months it =£180??
dec
February 19th, 2008
I had a call from this number today, from a chap called Zubair (or Zebair? I did ask him to spell but I didn’t have a pen handy!)
He took my name, address and DOB, at which point I was a bit wary it might be a scammer.
He knew the model of phone I had, and was offering an upgrade or cheaper contract for the next 9 months. He quoted the current monthly payments I make and the number of free minutes and texts I get a month, which I confirmed by checking my bill.
Seems genuine. He’ll be sending me some paperwork to confirm the renewal of my contract.
Andrew
February 21st, 2008
This number has rung me 6 times in 3 days, thinking it was something I needed to action I took the call last night and after 20 mins listening to a foreign male who I could not understand and who talked so quickly I felt completely brainwashed. He asked me for some details and I asked him how I could be sure he was who he said he was (calling from V/fone) and said I was only prepared to give him my postcode and date of birth which he said was fine but what concerned me was he told me my pin number. In the end I said I was not interested. I rang 191 to clarify with V/fone and they said they were not aware of the offers my caller was informing me of and to ring 08080000155 for a full explanation, needless to say I have not.
Maggie
March 6th, 2008
I have been phoned several times today but missed each call. I requested my PAC number yesterday from vodafone as I have decided to leave them. so whats the outcome from your replies. Are the calls genuine or not? Shall I answer or not?
Katie
April 3rd, 2008
Its Vodafone i just got the call and hung up. So rang Vodafone gave the girl the number she checked it and said it is Vodafone.
They ask for details to check it is you they are talking to!
BJ
April 4th, 2008
I emailed Vodafone customer services yesterday to ask about the 08080000144 number after reading through this blog. They replied saying that it was a courtesy call from them & if I did not want to receive these calls to reply to that email & let them know. So, not a scam but if the calls are annoying you I would just contact customer services & ask to be removed from their list.
Helen
April 10th, 2008
I can confirm 100pct that this is Vodafone, i received a call a short while ago and checked on here for information. After reading most of the replies the phone range again and said he was from vodafone and he knew i was not the account holder as the contract is in my daughters name, he called me by my first name and asked for the name on the contract and my password. I had just written to them cancelling the contract and he offered me a deal i could not refuse, so tomorrow i will be recieving two new phones and nearly half what i was paying before along with more anytime minutes than i had before.
Rob
rob
April 16th, 2008
As from my previous post i do work for LBM. Due to websites and rumours of the number being a scam we the way go through DPA has changed. We now can for you by full name and immediatley mention the cals recorded. After this we have to ask for you password. Or 2 from these:
- First line of address or postcode
- Date Of Birth
- The tarrif or extra’s you have.
So if you give out the first line of address and tarrif and ask the agent to confirm you date of birth you know u have not give too much away and put yourself at ease.
Matthew Giblin
April 19th, 2008
hello my name is atif, i work at lbm, we are a outsourcer for vodafone, the number 08080000144 is actually a vodafone number, ok, so when we ring out we do ask for people by their name then for the data protection we ask them to confirm their details ie address postcode dob, jus tomake sure we are speaking with the ac holder its not a scam ok the people might be abit unprofessional but anyone can do a google search for lbm marketing, get their phone number and ask to cum into the place for a visit inspection
a sattar
April 30th, 2008
ive been recieving phone calls from this number, havent answered yet cuz ive been in lessons but it seems wierd u say its vodafone…cuz ive never been with them lol…so i dont trust it one bit lol
Ken
May 2nd, 2008
Matthew Giblin does not work for Vodafone. This is not a Vodafone number. I would know. Vodafone would not charge you to call on an 0808 number. If you have any doubt ask for the callers name and ring 191 for free.
Anthony
May 16th, 2008
I had a call from this number too, so I rang Vodafone to clarify and the lady confirmed that it was indeed a vodafone agent..so not a scam guys!
d
May 21st, 2008
hello everyone, i work for lbm marketing, which is a very big company who outsource for alot of blue chip companies, like vodafone orange o2 lloyds tsb scotish power and alot lot more, lbm has several different call centres accross da uk and iam based at middleton, their we have around 10 to 15 different outbound campaigns offering different services, our job is to ring existing customers and offer them different services, eg insurance, upgrades, pro rep family add connections etc… ok u might get a call where their is total silence at the other end but these are the bastards that fuck it all up for us, please people we are not a scam we are in partnership with vodafone and are jus goin about earnin our livings
atty
May 23rd, 2008
ive been gettin phone calls from 08080000133 for the last week. ive literally just had 2 more calls in the last 5 mins. i dont understand how it can be Vodafone, im on orange and i never give my number out to anyone but friends. so if it IS Vodafone, where the hell did they get my number from and why would they be offering me insurance?
janey
June 3rd, 2008
I have had multiple calls from this number 08080000144. They are not from vodafone but are from an affiliate…another company. They all sound Asian, i think they have bought a list of all customers from vodafoe who are coming to the end of their contracts and then try to sell you a mbile contract through them but a vodafone contract. They are NOT vodafone though. I called Vodafone to complain and the jokers tried to offer me a new contract instead of dealing with my complaint. I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY CONTRACT with Vodafone!!
If you need to complain go to http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
and also http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/
If thi is the way Vodafone treats its customers selling their details to third parties then I say cancel your contract and change provider. I will!
MICHAEL
June 12th, 2008
Thank you again to everyone’s advice!
Jamie
jamie
June 13th, 2008
I called up Vodafone customer services and said I had a call from 0808 0000 133 as I had given them my address and PIN (i know.. I’m an idiot), and I was worried.
In the end it IS vodafone and not a scammer. The 0808 number is a team of people calling the numbers whose contracts are coming up for renewal, so it’s not dodgy, but just an aggressive sales team. Their systems don’t sync with the normal customer services either which is why their calls won’t be on your notes when you call up the 191 number.
Hope this helps.
CJ
June 20th, 2008
Hi I have recived a few calles from 08080000144 but it looked a bit shiffty so i didnt anwser it but they have just rang me now again i didnt answer so just typed the number into google and read a few comments so immedlety rang vodafone and told them they said they cant block the mumber and she said to ring to police and sort it out with them
Sarah
July 14th, 2008
I’ve been getting calls of thr 144 number for a few days now, all of which I have missed. One way to get rid of them is to say you’re not the contract owner and you’re under 18. Then they can’t try to sell you/make you upgrade anything.
Toni
July 21st, 2008