Australia and New Zealand have “do not call” registers where people can list a phone number that direct marketers must not call. Scammers do not receive these lists, and even if they did, would probably use them in the opposite way.
Put simply, ‘do not call’ does not stop scammers. It never has. It stops honest people, not dishonest people pretending to be Government and business brands trying to convince people of some emergency (like phone disconnection, a device being hacked or tax that has not been paid) or some win (like a Government grant, inheritance or lost savings).
Silent numbers are offered to people who do not want their numbers revealed in public telephone listings or directories. Having a silent number doesn’t mean people can’t call it, it just means it’s not easily found.
How come scammers call me on my silent number?
Scammers are transnational organised crime groups impacting our communities that use technologies that generate random numbers that just cycle through until they get someone to answer. These generated numbers are going to include silent numbers as well as those on ‘do not call’ registers.
So why would I bother having a silent number or register on‘do not call’?
It’s a good way to confirm whether calls you receive are from dishonest people. For more about protecting yourself, the psychology of scamming and the latest trends and response advice visit idcare.org
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IDCARE has access to the Department of Home Affairs Free Interpreting Service, delivered by the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National). Access to the Free Interpreting Service is provided to assist you to communicate with non-English speaking people who hold a Medicare card. Please note that the service does not extend to New Zealand citizens or residents who do not hold an Australian Medicare card, or to tourists, overseas students or people on temporary work visas.
New Zealand Relay provides services to help Deaf, hearing impaired, speech impaired, Deafblind and standard phone users communicate with their peers.
A TTY user connects to New Zealand Relay via a toll-free number and types their conversation to a Relay Assistant (RA) who then reads out the typed message to a standard phone user (hearing person).
The RA relays the hearing person's spoken words by typing them back to the Textphone (TTY) User.
The National Relay Service (NRS) is an Australian government initiative that allows people who are deaf, hard of hearing and/or have a speech impairment to make and receive phone calls.
The NRS is available 24 hours a day, every day and relays more than a million calls each year throughout Australia.