Leaving The Phone Off The Hook.

[porkchop]

I heard that if you do not place your landline back on the hook after receiving a call from another landline number then the callers phone will be "blocked" from making another call.
Is that true?

[bhg481]

No, the reverse is true. It is the caller who makes and breaks the line so, if you call someone and don't end the call, they cannot make any calls.

[jomifl]

Do we have a telecomms expert? I would like to know too.

[hc4361]

The line will clear after a few minutes if the call is not ended by the other person.
That is why we are advised to wait a few minutes before calling our bank after a hoax call - the hoaxer hopes you will call immediately and they keep the line open so they can pose as the bank. Wait a few minutes and all will be well.

[RATTER15]

hc4361

[mikey4444]

No. As has been said, the callers controls the call.

It USED to be that if someone called you and then didn't replace THEIR reciever, your line was held up. It was called by British Telecom CSH...Called Sub(subscriber) Held, but that disappeared long ago.

By the way, its not required to "wait a few minutes" if you suspect a hoax call. If you put your phone down, and you have dailing tone back again, the previous call has ended.

The difficulty these days is that so few us wait for dial tone before making a call. If you have a cordless phone, its customary to punch in the number and then press send. But if you do that without making sure that dial tone has returned, its not possible to tell if you have become disconnected from the first call or not.

A back to basics approach is needed here !

[hc4361]

mikey, the point of waiting a few minutes is that the line does not clear straight away. What you think is the dialing tone is really a recording as is the ringing tone - the hoaxer can hear you pushing buttons.
Explained better here:
https://www.getsafeonline.org/shopping-banking/telephone-banking-fraud/

http://www.financialfraudaction.org.uk/Consumer-Card-Fraud-Telephone-Scam.asp

[bhg481]

On the rare occasions when I am asked to confirm my identity by answering security questions I always get one wrong. If they don't spot it I terminate the call.

[hc4361]

Good idea!

[mikey4444]

HC...I didn't know that, and I am indebted to you ! Thanks.

[hc4361]

My pleasure, mikey.