There has been a recent rise of prank calls within Thames Valley.
The calls are pre-recorded generated responses giving the impression that recipients are actually speaking directly to someone.
The calls are not all the same. However one of the main scenarios has been described as an angry Scottish man claiming you are stealing his Wi-Fi. The calls are made from a phone application called Prank Dial in which you can choose your prank call scenario and enter the persons telephone number you wish to prank call. The app then records the call for the pranker to listen to afterwards. This could understandably cause some people distress.
Sometimes there is a mobile phone number showing and other times the number is withheld.
It appears that these calls are predominantly targeting elderly and young people and can cause alarm and distress to the call taker.
We urge people to take the following advice:
Anyone with particular concerns can contact us on our Police non-emergency number 101. Otherwise ignore the call.
You can contact your local phone provider who may be able to put a block on these types of calls.
If you are getting calls at night you could put your phone on night mode or switch it off.
