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

Jamie

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!

It’s simply really, they should know your key information. Even ask them about the latest calls you made?

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

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!

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.

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 ****.

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!

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?

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.

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.

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!

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

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?!

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

Where do these people get our numbers from eh?

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?

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.

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?

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/

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!

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…

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.

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!

I think its an offence after 28 days of activiation for them to fone you. cos urs a tps registered number.

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

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.

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.

Vodaphone said it is not them.

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.

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.

now about a week later i get info in the post for vodafone best care.. the number MUST there for me real

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?

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 …

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!

Still, with all the scams these days, i think this is the safest option, not to give out any details.

It seems very odd for vodaphone to bar this number if they are a GENUINE vodaphone representative!

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”

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!!