'Invalid number'

Its usually from a auto dial-er can dial 10 numbers at a time, so if you're number 8 and number 4 has answered, then it will cut everyone else off, however it remembers those numbers that answer and saves them for later.

Not really, marelli. We get a lot of calls to our landline that give a very weird looking number. Sometimes I answer but say nothing. Nobody says anything and the line goes dead after a few seconds. I presume it's some scam. Maybe that's what happening to you too.

On my mobile, unless I'm expecting a call from someone who's number I don't know, or who rings from a private number, I just delete it.

Marelli

Please be aware of the 'so many' ways to extract our money fraudulently.

I would never call an unknown number back , it will be a cost to you as the caller and unknown cost too.

m.wikihow.com/Call-an-Unknown-Number

www.actionfraud.police.uk/protect-yourself/mobile-phone-fraud

I google the number when I get strange phone calls and haven't been there to answer , they are nearly all scams .I was nearly caught out , the care agency that I use had rung and not left a message and I did ring them back to find out that I was without cover for one morning , they had used a mobile phone instead of the office phone , it did come up when I googled as The agency

I work on the premise that, if the caller doesn't leave a message, either they'll ring back (a genuine caller), or they don't (in which case, they're probably not genuine!)

I do Google the number to see if I can track them, or look on SayNoTo0870.

I've virtually given up answering my landline because of dodgy callers

If it's a strange number, I Google "who called me". Then read the comments. It's usually a scam. If they were desperate to speak to me they would leave a message.

Thanks everyone. I've just Googled 'who called me' and found that there are 40'odd comments for this number over the last couple of days. Always a chap with a heavy Asian accent asking if the recipient of the call had a Hotpoint washing machine, and wanting to know their postcode. Sometimes, like with me, there was no-one on the other end of the line and no ringtone if the number was called back.
If anyone wants to be aware of the number, please pm me?

We now have a new one - recent calls asking for me by my Christian name - I reply to this by asking where did the caller get this number, and they usually ring off immediately. Most foreign callers have great difficulty with our surname, so I am assuming they are resorting to this, having said that, we just usually let the phone ring and if it is important they can leave a message. It is just so annoying, isn't it.

I've had a couple calls from this lot over the last couple of weeks, last time an Indian chap called Peter, asking if I have a Hotpoint washing machine. When I said no he asked what make I have, told him it was none of his business. He said they were doing a survey to find out how many of each different make of machine were sold. So I told him to ring stores like Curry's and ask them what they had sold in their shops lol. He rung off, but tried again a couple days later. As soon as the spiel started I told him to b****r off and put the phone down. He's not tried again... yet

Very annoying, PRINTMISS. We don't have 'caller display', but most of my friends/family know that I'll let the phone go to answerphone before I answer it nowadays. If it's 'one of those', it gets ignored!

I've had the same Indian chap but he was called John and asked me about Sky. Then the questions came thick and fast even though I told him I would not answer any of them.

I rarely answer numbers I don't know but these got under my radar. If they say International then I answer but put the phone on the side. I reckon the least I can do is waste a bit of their money.