Received a phone call today asking for me by name (wife answered It) from some outfit called BDI.

I asked where they had got my number from (I don't give It to anyone) I was told from one of his colleagues file.

I asked who they were and the fella (with an Irish accent) said they are an Investment Company.

Suspicions prompted my next question which was where are you phoning from?

Catalonia Spain came the reply.

I then said I was not Interested.

I think there was a TV programme sometime ago about such outfits cold calling from abroad.

Needless to say the programme was not very flattering!

Your right they are called "steam rooms" or something along those lines, prompting investments opportunities in companies that are really shells with absoutely no chance of making you money only the "steam rooms) you did well, as they say if it sounds too good it is...

Stan
thx for posting. funny coincidence...i won the spanish lottery, twice
these guys are all scumbags....

Boiler rooms are what they are called I think. There's a film called Boiler Room which pretty much sums up what these morons do!

Thanks All,

Wonder how they got my number, I'm Ex. Diretory as well.

Stan, maybe they got it from a website that you might have given it to over time. I do believe some sites may sell on personal info such as that.

Yes could well be Gav. Thanks.

I keep winning prizes, they even send me a pre-paid envelope to post my processing fee back in. I send the envelope back and tell them to take the fee out of my winnings!. at least it costs them the postage!
Proptrade, i hope you invested your wins wisely, White Nile is a tip from me.
dexter

lol...well acually they told me my winnings of 18.6 million euros are in bond and all i had to do was send them 250/- euros! what a deal. i am living my life borrowing off that bond...the funny thing is they won't release the bond in my name for legal reason...i wonder why????

in all seriousness they should throw the book at these w**kers. i mean some poor sod might actually believe it.

10 years statutory jail time should cut this kind of crime in half...

Ah the Egg ad! Lol!!!

Yes Stan all the previuos advice is good,I actually done my cods with a company who are still trading in London and are registerd with the FSA,so its not only cold calling by firms like BDI but also firms, who are registerd who buy from third parties,in my case from America. dont go there.

Last week I had a cold call from a guy in Nigeria, who got my number from e.bay as i was selling mercedies wheel trims he wanted to buy the wheel trims with a (money transfare) for 250k, all i had to do was take out the money for the trims and keep 50k for my self, (all he needed was my bank details) . and then transfer the rest to a bank account in the maldives, He was trying to get his families money out of the country because the government was taking it .I listend to him just to hear what he was saying and then told him to go and shite. Its sad but a lot of people might be sucked into this kind of thing because he was so good. SO EVERYONE BEWARE

I have a way of dealing with these annoying callers. Just pretend to be interested and say that you need to go and get a pen to write down some details. Then simply sit down and watch TV (or whatever) and leave the phone connected. After all, its their phone call and so they pay the cost.

It's always fun to go back to the phone every 5 mins to check if the idiot is still hanging on. Tell them you can't find a pen and please be patient.

Never though of that one. That would work the same for people selling windows insurance or for you to chang your gas electric supplier thanks

Oh gosh. Do you guys mean that I wont see my 50k investment again, and that after the loss of yet another 25k in answering a Nigerian fax message about lost gold. How will I live without a pension? Just a second, theres a man at the door telling me that my roof looks dangerous, should he make 'emergency' repairs for 3000k (which he will accompany me to the building society to draw out) His 'partner' will wait with my Wife but will move her - and the furniture -into the waiting truck, because its warmer in there. Hey Ho, life in Britain only gets better under a Socialist Government.

Great trick Starfrog.... it's demonstrated well by a girl in the TV advert for... er.... tea or coffee...

Lots of nasty salesmen will be getting it now... GOOD!!!

I have heard of people setting up a premium rate number at home, which apparently is not difficult to do and then at least you get paid for these idiots wasting your time. One chap was earning 15.-20. a month, even better if you could keep them on line like starfrog!

sandrew64,

what a great idea!!!!

The thing that concerns me are the elderly, they are so gullible, my father who is 87 was phoned up about selling half of his property, and as one of the people in that area who had been chosen, they could give him up to 50% of the house price back to him to use as he wanted, and extention or a new conservtory or even to change his car, He lives in an elerly peoples estate that is run by the council,(but his head is as sharp as a pin) and is in a wheel chair. Dad doesnt get a lot of phone calls so he quite enjoyed the half hour conservation, and will keep them talking for ages blinds, window, fuel, anyone who wants to ring he will talk to, and the amount of junk mail he gets from them is not real no wonder their is no forests left, but he loves it apart from me and the family who ring him up every day they are the only people he gets to talk to So i said sell the place dad the police will never lock you up your to old and we can all go on a holiday someplace warm

Register your number with the Telephone Preference Service. There are pages for Fax numbers and postal addresses too. Very effective. Only the foreign firms who ignore the system still ring me. Have done it for my elderly mother-in-law too of course.

Telephone Preference Service

Kayak - I have been registered with the Telephone Preference Service (and the Mail Preference Service for that matter) for years now. It doesn't always work. The problem is that this service is operated on a voluntary basis. Mailing companies actually have to buy the list of phone numbers from the service (or home addresses) of people who have asked not to be bothered in this way. Of course most companies don't bother to buy this list. And it is only the companies that subscribe to this voluntary service that you can complain about.

They also have a clever get out clause. If a company has you on their mailing list prior to you joining the preference service, then that company is still allowed to bother you since you count as an existing customer.