0121 496 0000

What should I do?

1. 1

   No provider holds this number in Ofcom’s data. Caller ID can be faked, and phone companies are required, where technically feasible, to block calls showing an invalid number. Be wary of any request for money or personal details.

2. 2

   If the caller said they were your bank, HMRC, a delivery company or another organisation, hang up and call back on a number from their official website or your statement, never one the caller gave you. The number on your screen can be faked.

3. 3

   If you think the call was a scam, send the number in a text to 7726. It is free, and your mobile provider can investigate and block the number. From your recent calls, copy the number and paste it into a new text to 7726.

4. 4

   Shared bank details or sent money? Contact your bank straight away using the number on the back of your card, or call 159 to be connected to your bank.

5. 5

   Lost money or details to a scam: report it to Report Fraud online or on 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.

6. 6

   Unwanted sales calls: register free with the Telephone Preference Service (online or on 0345 070 0707). It tells legitimate marketers not to call you but will not block scam calls. If a company keeps calling, complain to the ICO.

Will it cost me to call back?

From a landline, calls are typically charged up to 16p a minute, and many providers add a call set-up fee of about 23p.

From a mobile, calls are usually part of your inclusive minutes. Outside them, they can cost between 3p and 65p a minute.

Typical prices from Ofcom’s guide. Your provider’s price list is what you actually pay.

What this cannot tell you

• Who is using the number. Ofcom allocates numbers to phone companies in blocks and holds no information on individual numbers or the people and businesses using them.
• Which network it is on today. People can keep their number when they change provider, so the company that holds the block may no longer be the one serving it.
• Whether the call really came from this number. The number shown on your phone can be faked.

About this kind of number

Numbers starting 01 and 02 are linked to an area code. Ofcom’s area code list gives the city or town each code covers; numbers starting with anything else are not linked to an area.

The area code is not proof of where the caller is: a provider may give a number with an area code to a customer outside that area when the customer asks for it.