Call blocker devices prevent City of London residents from receiving over 400 scam and nuisance calls

The City of London Police purchased a number of call blocker units earlier this year, following a programme funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and National Trading Standards. The programme led to more than 1,000 free call blocker units being installed in people’s homes across the country.

The units are designed to prevent scam and nuisance calls, improve victims’ wellbeing and provide intelligence to support investigations against the perpetrators.

Olivia Hooper, from the City of London Police’s Victim Care Unit, said:

“Scam and nuisance calls can cause not only financial loss, but also emotional distress to those who receive them. It is wonderful to see that the units installed in City residents’ homes have had a significant impact on their wellbeing and quality of life, and that these residents are no longer being hounded by scam and nuisance calls.

“We will continue to work to protect vulnerable residents in the City and would encourage residents experiencing scam and nuisance calls to contact us about getting a unit installed.”

So far, six residents in the City of London have had a call blocker unit installed in their homes. The units have already blocked 401 scam and nuisance calls since the first unit was installed in May 2021.

One resident said they used to receive nuisance calls on a daily basis and that having the unit installed has changed their life greatly, as they spend a lot of time at home due to a medical condition and the nuisance calls would really upset them.

Another resident said they used to receive nuisance calls on a weekly basis – sometimes even multiple times a day. Since having the unit installed, the resident is no longer receiving any nuisance calls and said they have a better life now the calls have stopped.

Over the operational life of the units, it is projected that they will have blocked almost 5,000 nuisance calls and saved these City residents almost £25,000.

The call blocker units supplied are the trueCall Secure devices, which filter unwanted scam and nuisance calls and stop them from getting through to the consumer’s landline. The devices allow calls from a “trusted caller list” set by the user for friends, family members, doctors and any other trusted contacts.

Steve Smith, Managing Director from trueCall, said:

“Scams are one of the fastest growing areas of crime, and most scams start with a phone call. We’re very proud of the work that we are doing with City of London Police – we can see that scam phone calls about computer viruses, HMRC payments, Amazon Prime and loft insulation are being blocked by the trueCall units that have already been installed."

The call blocker project by National Trading Standards was awarded Outstanding Prevention Initiative last week at the 2021 Tackling Economic Crime Awards. The project was commended for being a “highly targeted initiative whose benefits are well evidenced; helping to protect and prevent fraud against the most vulnerable”.

If you live in the City of London and are interested in receiving a call blocker unit, please contact the City of London Police’s Victim Care Unit on 020 7601 6968 or by emailing [email protected].