YouGov Survey reveals Buckinghamshire's most annoying nuisance calls

The YouGov survey commissioned by CPR Call Blocker revealed that almost a fifth (17%) of Buckinghamshire adults have been a victim of a telephone scam.

Of those who have been scammed, over a third (35%) said they had lost between £100 and £10,000 as a result with 4% having lost over £10,000.

The survey also revealed Buckinghamshire's top five nuisance calls of 2016 are:

1. Calls about PPI refunds (67%) – being told you are owed money for mis-sold PPI payments and asked for an admin fee to proceed

2. Compensations calls (62%) – being told you are due compensation for a vehicle/work accident and then asked to provide personal details and/or pay an admin fee to proceed

3. Missed calls/automated calls scam (58%)- a message asks you to call back a number which is a premium-rate phone line

4. Marketing cold-calls (55%) – receiving unsolicited calls from organisations you’ve had no dealings with, usually trying to sell double glazing or home energy services, who ask for personal information and/or bank details to pay upfront

5. (Joint fifth) Pensions and investment scams (14%) – being told about an ‘unmissable’ investment opportunity or offered pension liberation or bonuses

Credit card/loan arranger scam (14%) – you are invited to apply for a guaranteed loan for an application fee

Almost a third (30%) of Buckinghamshire adults are receiving 20 or more unwanted calls in an average month, with 15% receiving 30 or more calls.

Kris Hicks of CPR Call Blocker said: “With nine out of ten people saying they receive unwanted calls each month, scam and nuisance calls continue to be a major problem for people in Buckinghamshire and its often the most vulnerable people in society who are falling victim to telephone scams.

“It is concerning to see the rise in automated messages which makes a first appearance in the top five this year, in at number three. It is also worrying to see the rise in investment opportunity scams which is also new on the top five this year, in joint fifth place. We are hearing about a lot of pension-related investment scams at the moment, and with almost a fifth (18 per cent) of those surveyed being a victim of this type of scam, we predict that, unfortunately, this may well become one of the most prolific scams of 2017.”

CPR Call Blocker is calling on people in Buckinghamshire to sign up to the Which? petition to convince the Government to take action on nuisance calls - http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-stop-nuisance-phone-calls

Kris added: “Our customer base tends to be those aged 55 and over who want to eliminate nuisance and scam calls for good. By being able to block nuisance phone numbers through the touch of a button, our customers have seen a 90 – 100 per cent reduction in the number of calls received depending on how they choose to use the product.”