I managed to drag the call out for 6 minutes - have a listen:

I'm not a brilliant scam bater. I didn't manage to get his address, discover when he got my number from, or find out any significant details. But that wasn't my goal. With most of these phone scammers, I have two objectives:

1. Keep them on the line so they can't defraud anyone less sceptical than me.
2. Get them to see the error of their ways.

I'm usually pretty good a (1). Stringing people along is easy, but risks getting further unwanted calls.

(2) is more difficult. I sometimes ask them if they think what they're doing is legal. Or I ask what they wanted to be when they grew up. Some people genuinely think the call-centre they work in is a legitimate company - they're also being scammed by the scammers. It's usually fairly easy to turn those people. Asking them if they've ever Googled for "company name + scam" is enough to get them to see the truth.

Sadly, I don't think my call with "Björn" is likely to have changed his mind.

What's doubly annoying is that the phone number has been marked as a scam for months. According to OfCom it is registered to BT. Of course, it could be a spoofed number. STIR/SHAKEN can't come fast enough!

I've always wanted to say to people "just so you know, I am also recording this call." Well, now I can.

A little back story...

Around 4 years ago, I experimented with recording phone calls. It was quite a clunky process, involving conference calling in another line.

Of course, Android has theoretically supported native call recording since its inception. However, Google have ignored all the requests to actually enable it.

Android has a number of call recording apps. On most phones, the call recording works by putting the phone on speaker mode and using the microphone to record both sides of the conversation. That has obviously disadvantages for call quality - not to mention that you don't always want to have your conversations on speakerphone!

Luckily the enterprising chaps at GrinZone have found a way round this limitations on some phones.

With InCall Recorder on my Galaxy Note II, I can finally record line quality audio on my phone calls.

Take a listen:

One of the great things about InCall Recorder is that it automatically upload the recorded MP3s up to DropBox - so your calls are instantly available to you and anyone else with whom you choose to share the folder. In the UK, it is perfectly legal for an individual to record their calls - and there is no need to inform the other party nor obtain consent. Individuals are exempt from having to comply with the data protection act. Interestingly, so are journalists...

In other countries, check your local laws :-)

Of course, it's polite to inform someone that you're recording them. More than that, for some people it really improves their attitude and their service. At the moment, I'm going through the tedious process of buying a house - I've found that with some individuals, it's very handy not only to record the call and play it back for reference, but to let the other party know that's what I'm doing.

Listening back to some of my favourite calls over the last year has been very interesting and quite emotional - I can certainly see why our security services enjoy listening in so much!