"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
It may differ from place to place and country to country. Certainly, I'm
pretty sure all the ones that have called me in the last year or several
have been criminals: the fact that my usual response of "hang on while I
get the police on the other line" makes them hang up ... plus, they
usually start with "your computer is malfunctioning" or something similar.

I get a fair number that don't sound like scams but are simply organisations
offering to insulate my loft or walls, or to install solar cells.

But my view is that *any* organisation that phones me when I haven't asked
them to is guilty of the offence of "Pestering Me", irrespective of whether
they are scams. Since I say "no" on principle, I'm unlikely to get caught up
in a scam, but I resent having to stop what I'm doing to answer the phone to
someone who is trying to sell me something. Religious groups who knock at
the door tend to get a polite but very forceful "Go away, and don't bother
me or any of my neighbours or anyone else" sort of response: I make it very
clear that it isn't just what they are "selling" which I object to but the
whole concept of going door-to-door.