Scams, spams and robocallers

The telephone has proven a great way to reach those who are both physically and digitally isolated, but not if they don't answer because they are worried it's a scam call.

6.6 billion spam or scam calls made ever year in the UK.

There are 6.6 billion spam and scam calls made every year in the UK, with the average person receiving 12 per month. It's a big problem, disproportionately effects already vulnerable people and cost victims £15m last year.

Thankfully, due to awareness campaigns and technology innovations, people are educated more than ever as to the risks and can exercise the appropriate precautions.

Unfortunately for us, this increase caution created a separate problem...

But we're not one of them. Honest.

When you set up a telephone group call using Together.ly, we automatically call your service users at the scheduled start time.

This automation is great, it means:

  • Your service users never miss a session, even if they forget about it.
  • Everybody gets on to the call at the same time.
  • You save significant time in setting up the call as it's all done for you.

However, to ensure your service users have the confidence to answer and engage with the service, we had to find a way to differentiate our calls from the scam calls.

We use the same caller ID each time we call.

To ensure your service users have the confidence to answer the call, we will always call from the same telephone number.  By adding this number to their address book, they will always know the call is safe to answer.

If they have "Call Guardian" services to protect them from unwanted calls, Together.ly can be easily added to the whitelist of safe callers.

We greet your service users by their name.

When your service user answers the call we will greet them by their name.  This is the name you entered when you set them up on the Together.ly platform.

We don't do this just to be polite, but to build confidence and familiarity and give them the peace of mind that the call is safe to continue.

We let them know it is you who is calling and why.

After we have greeted them by their name, we let them know it is you who is calling and we announce the title of the session.

The initial message sounds something like this:

"Hello Michael, this is Independent Age. You are scheduled to join the Tuesday Book Club telephone group. You will now be placed into the call"

Do you want articles like this delivered to your inbox weekly?

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter where we’ll keep you informed of best practice, tips and insights to help you deliver your services digitally.

"*" indicates required fields