A NEW study has revealed that Redditch was the in the top ten most exploited area by cold callers in the West Midlands.
Refurbished tech experts Back Market analysed the number of nuisance call reports coming from 752 area codes in the UK, as reported on who-called.co.uk since 2015, to see which area codes received the most reports in the West Midlands.
Researchers also analysed the most recent comments left while making these reports to determine the most common phone scams by number of reports.
Birmingham took the top spot for the area where the most nuisance calls originate from in the West Midlands.
A total of 351,554 reports of nuisance phone numbers have been made against 0121 area code numbers on who-called.co.uk, making up 29.22 per cent of the West Midlands’ 1.2million reports.
Coventry was the second most exploited by nuisance callers in the West Midlands, with 83,583 reports filed against 024 area code numbers.
Stoke-on-Trent was third, with 51,743 reports, and Redditch was ninth, with 28,439 reports.
A spokesperson at Back Market said:“If you are ever suspicious of what you are being told or receive a call out of the blue discussing transactions or account details, never feel bad for hanging up, waiting a few minutes while you find a phone number or other contact information for the institution in question, then contacting them through that trusted and secure contact method.
“Banks often have their customer service number printed on the back of credit and debit cards. You can also find contact information through official correspondence such as letters, bills, or statements.
“Scammers are very unlikely to wait around while you complete your checks and will usually move on to their next target by the time you are ready to verify things with the institution in question.
“This will also give you time to calm down, so if fraud has happened on your account, you can help the advisor identify fraud quickly and begin fraud protection procedures promptly.”
