Muffling the menace of silent phone calls (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Muffling the menace of silent phone calls

3:18pm Wednesday 3rd January 2007 in Analysis By Helen Mead

Answering the telephone to find no-one at the other end or, worse, an offensive message, is extremely distressing. A Yorkshire-based team of specialists is on hand to help tackle nuisance calls. HELEN MEAD reports.

Picking up the telephone only to be met with silence at the other end can be unsettling.

It sends the mind racing as to the possible reasons why there is no-one at the end of the line. Is it a wrong number and the caller can't be bothered to tell you? Is someone trying to get through but failing? Or is someone lurking at the other end, deliberately keeping stumm.' Is it a deliberate act by someone who doesn't like you, has the person dialling realised that it's a wrong number, or is there a fault on the line?

So-called silent calls' could be from a number of sources but, reassuringly, many nowadays are generated by call centres and have no malicious intent. Others can be so disturbing to those on the receiving end that they can lead to ill-health.

In November, Baildon man Brian Pemberton was jailed for 20 weeks after a campaign of harassment against his neighbour which included a barrage of silent phone calls.

Silent calls are categorised as nuisance calls, and are one of the many reasons that consumers contact the Yorkshire-based Nuisance Call Bureau.

Part of British Telecom, the busy bureau receives between 5,000 and 6,000 enquiries every month from people across the UK, from people experiencing unsettling and sometimes extremely distressing calls.

Among those handled by the bureau are abusive calls, threatening calls, obscene calls, hoax calls and, less unnerving, calls sent by faxes in error.

Says bureau manager Kay Jessop: "Some of our callers are in tears when they ring up, they are very distressed. Silent calls can be very upsetting, particularly if the person is elderly or living by themselves. They become very anxious. We reassure them that we will investigate and try to find out why it is happening."

These calls are also more likely to cause anxiety among women, with research by Ofcom - the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK - finding that of the 63 per cent of people nationally that admitted to being concerned about silent calls, 38 per cent were female.

Three years ago the number of enquiries relating to silent calls soared by more than 50 per cent to 9,500 a year, with the emergence in the telecommunications industry of auto dialling' or power dialling'.

"Silent calls can be generated by machines called auto diallers or power diallers," explains Mrs Jessop. "The machines make the calls rather than human beings. The computer will, for example, dial 500 different numbers at the same time. Those people who pick up the phone first are likely to be connected to an operator at a call centre, but once all the operators are busy, the next person who picks up the receiver will find no-one at the end."

Often, certain areas with the same dialling code are targeted, then after a month or so, the automated system will move on to another. The calls are usually generated by organisations in the financial services sector or by firms carrying out market research.

Recently, the number of enquiries relating to silent calls has fallen, as more is known about the practices involved, and measures to protect consumers under the Communications Act 2003 can be used.

Under the Act, Oftel - the regulator for the telecommunications industry - may take action against anyone who misuses the network or services in a way that causes annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety, but falls short of being a criminal offence or breaking data protection legislation.

Under guidance outlined by Ofcom, companies should be identifiable either through the 1471 callback service or by leaving a pre-recorded message. Those who do not adhere to these rules could risk fines of up to £5,000.

The difficulty comes with international calls. "These are very difficult to trace and work is being carried out in this area at present," says Mrs Jessop.

BT's 16-strong team of trained advisers alert callers to a number of measures that can help, such as registering with the Telephone Preference Service, a central opt-out register through which individuals can choose not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls from within the UK, and Choose to Refuse, a service that allows people to block calls from specified numbers. The telephone numbers of callers can also be identified on certain phones through a free caller display facility.

If someone has been threatened over the phone the police can become involved those making such calls could face prosecution under Section 43 of the Telecom Act 1984, and Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The offence could lead to a prison sentence.

"These calls can be extremely disturbing," says Mrs Jessop. "Sometimes we have serial callers who will make the same, or similar calls to more than one person."

She cited the example of a particularly distressing case in which a caller targeted young children. "It is easy to imagine the anxiety of the family going through that. The person was brought to justice and sentenced to six years in prison."

The bureau was also recently involved in a case in which a teenager bombarded a number of branches of the Samaritans' with 28,000 calls over five months. She threatened volunteers and claimed there was a bomb in one of their branches. "Because of the sensitivity of the Samaritans' work, the investigation took longer than usual, but the caller was brought to justice and is awaiting sentence," says Mrs Jessop.

Hoax calls made to the emergency services are also tackled. "We are working with a specific police force across the country in helping to reduce the number of 999 calls and the misuse of the service. They contacted us as they were receiving thousands of these calls. We can trace the callers and send out letters explaining that they are in breach of their contract with us, and if it carries on we can terminate the service. We have drastically cut the the number of 999 calls they receive."

Calls made from payphones can also be traced through the use of CCTV, and - in extreme cases of harassment - surveillance equipment.

With the great technological strides being made, anyone receiving nuisance calls should find the work of the bureau reassuring. Adds Mrs Jessop: "People do calm down when they speak to us, and realise that something can be done."

HOW TO HANDLE A MALICIOUS CALL

• Remain calm and remember it's your phone and you are in control.

• Do not enter into a conversation. Place the handset beside the phone, ignore it for a few minutes and then replace it gently.

• If the caller is silent, don't try to get them to speak - just replace the handset gently.

• Never give out personal details unless you are absolutely sure you know and trust the caller.

• Try not to give an emotional response which may encourage the caller.

USEFUL NUMBERS

Unless specified, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Nuisance Call Bureau: Freefone 0800 661 441 BT recorded adviceline: Freefone 0800 666 700 Choose to refuse: Freefone 0800 800 150, Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm Privacy at Home Service (including caller display) 0800 1218000 Telephone Preference Service (TPS) 0845 0700707 (available to non-BT customers)

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