Dealing with Unwanted Calls and Text Messages
The following steps can help you handle a range of unwanted calls /texts and what you can do if they do not stop.
If the calls are of a life threatening nature, contact the Police immediately.
Before Telecom can take any action you need to use our Nuisance Call Log for seven days. Do not respond to the text or call, or no action can be taken.
If calls are investigated both parties information is kept confidential. Telecom can only trace where and when the call came from. It cannot locate the content of the call or text.
Once you have used the log for seven days call The Customer Resolutions Group (CRG) Misuse team, who will deal with the issue on your behalf. Available Mon - Fri 8:00am - 5:00pm (excluding statutory holidays) on 0800 809 806.
Precautions
There are five basic precautions to take to discourage unwanted telephone calls.
- Do not give your full name when answering the telephone / replying to a text / or on your voice mail message (Call Minder or answer machine).
- Do not volunteer information about yourself, number or address to unknown callers.
- If you do not want to converse with the caller, politely disconnect the call.
- Don't be drawn into an argument that can't be solved on the telephone.
- Let the phone ring more often before answering it. This gives you some control over the stress of answering a call you expect to be hostile.
Tips on handling unwanted calls / text messages
A large number of unwanted calls/texts are to randomly selected numbers where the caller continues to dial that number and annoy the recipient of that call.
Stay calm and try not to show any agitation or distress if the call is malicious or abusive.
If the calls are persistent you should:
- Log all calls by noting the date, time and duration of calls. This helps establish a pattern.
- Try to determine whether the caller is male or female, their approximate age, any accent or if there is any background noise.
- Try to think of anyone you may suspect of making the calls.
- Issue a formal warning to the Offender "I will be laying a complaint with the Police. Do not call me again". Note the date and time of the warning in the log.
- If the calls are of a life threatening nature, contact the Police immediately.
- Consider having your telephone number changed to not published e.g. unavailable with directory assistance. If you have an unpublished listing be careful about giving this number out. Changing your number without making your new number not published with directory services means it is available anyone through directory services (018).
What not to do
- Do not reveal shock or anger, in most cases this is what the caller wants.
- Do not blow a whistle into the mouthpiece, the caller may do the same to you.
Continuing unwanted calls and/or text content
For more advice please click on the relevant description:
Serious threatening, abusive or obscene calls or text messages
If you have received a call of a serious nature, contact your local Police station for advice. Such calls or text messages could be considered a criminal offence, or may involve criminal activity and should be discussed with the Police.
A call of a serious nature may include:
- A threat to kill or seriously injure a person
- A threat to damage property
- Sexually explicit language, behaviour or pictures
- If you have received a life-threatening call or text message contact the Police immediately.
Protection Orders
If the calls you are receiving are the subject of a Protection Order, we advise you to contact the Police, as the calls may be a breach of the Protection Order.
Mobile Bullying
We take mobile bullying seriously and there's no need for you to put up with it. There are a lot of things you can do to help yourself and others to stop mobile bullying. If you are receiving text messages or calls that are bullying you can find out more information about mobile bullying here.
Unwanted text messages
If you receive an unwanted message, don't reply, even if you know the number. Sometimes the best advice is to ignore it, but this depends on the circumstances. You can find out more information about mobile bullying here which may assist.
International Telephone Scams
These calls are dialled randomly making no number immune to receiving them, even numbers that are not published by Directory Services. These callers may present themselves as representing valid companies in an attempt to obtain personal details or access to your computer. Detailed examples on some of the latest scams can be found at the Department of Internal Affairs website http://www.dia.govt.nz/Services-Anti-Spam-Reported-Scams.
These calls mainly originate from overseas call centres and are made via the internet, making them difficult to stop them coming through. If you have the Caller Display service, the number displayed may appear as invalid number i.e. they may be 3 - 5 digits in length or be unusual number ranges e.g. 0881234567.
The best way of dealing with these calls is to not engage in conversation and immediately hang up. Do not provide any personal information. If calls persist, you could
- unplug your telephone for a period of time
- set your Call Minder answering service to zero rings to answer your calls for you, and authentic callers can leave a message for you
- consider changing your telephone number as the last option, if the calls persist
'Goodbye' calls
These are automated calls made by an overseas computer to random numbers. When the phone starts ringing the computer transfers the call to a person in a contact centre to talk to you. If there is no agent is available, and you answer the call, you will hear a moment of silence followed by a computer voice saying 'Goodbye'.
As these calls are computer generated, numbers are dialled in clusters for a defined period of time. As with international telephone scams, if the calls are originating via the internet they are difficult to stop. If you have the Caller Display service, the number displayed may appear as invalid number i.e. they may be 3 - 5 digits in length or be unusual number ranges e.g. 0881234567.
The best way to manage these calls is to hang up as they should naturally stop.
No Speech calls
These are calls where either there is just background noise, the sound of breathing or the call is hung up shortly after you answer. These are usually a result of a wrong number being dialled or a child playing with a telephone. If you are experiencing these types of call, simply hang up and ignore them. If these calls persist we can investigate them. Dates and times of calls received over the last seven days must be provided to our team in order for us to begin an investigation. It is important to note, that if a return call is made to the number we may be are unable to assist. You can contact us by completing the Unwanted Call Log form.
Computer Generated calls
These are commonly fax or modem calls and are easily recognised by the distinctive 'beeps' and 'screeches'. These calls tend to occur as a result of mis-dialling when trying to send a fax or access a computer network. Often there is a pattern to the calls as the machine redials repeatedly before alerting the issue to the originator. The best way to deal with these calls is to
- unplug your telephone for a period of time
- set your Call Minder answering service to zero rings to answer your calls for you, and authentic callers can leave a message for you
As with all non-speech type calls, we can investigate if they are causing you ongoing concern. You can contact us by completing the Unwanted Call Log form. If the calls originate from the Internet, and are causing you great concern you may need to consider changing your number.
What happens to the makers of unwanted calls?
In the case of unwanted calls, Telecom makes the lessee of the originating telephone number aware of the situation (complaint) and advises that continuing to make such calls/texts could be illegal and is a breach of the Telecom terms and conditions. The aim is to prevent further calls being made and the Lessee is asked to investigate. If the calls continue, further action may be taken, such as issuing a formal warning or temporary disconnection of telephone service. In serious instances the Police may be involved and may pursue prosecution.
Services which may assist
While changing your number is one sure way to stop unwanted calls, this solution comes with its own frustrations and due to the large majority of calls being randomly generated, is no guarantee they will not continue in the future. Telecom has a range of smartphone services which may assist you to manage unwanted calls, like Call Minder, Caller Display or Faxability.
Call Minder gives you the ability to set your phone to 0 rings. This may help if your unwanted calls are disturbing your sleep.
- This option means your phone does not ring at all and all calls go straight to Call Minder
- Genuine callers can leave a date / time stamped message
- If the nuisance caller leaves a messages it can form part of evidence chain if needed
Caller Display gives you the ability to see the number of the caller, so you know weather to answer it or not.
- You'll need a Caller Display compatible telephone, or a separate display unit attached to your existing phone.
- Caller Display is not available in all areas or it may be limited due to network constraints and incompatibility with other products and services.
Faxability gives you a second phone number (on the same phone line) which rings with a distinctive ring tone.
- You can have Faxability and Call Minder so you can still get messages.
- Allows you to give family / friends a different number to call so you know it's a legitimate call.
- Faxability is not available in all areas or it may be limited due to network constraints and incompatibility with other products and services.
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