About a week ago the wife answered a phone call from a man ,saving

he was from the electrical company ,and he wanted to install a new

meter to our rental  house ,can he have out LINE contact so she could send

paperwork to him , ID card ,land papers Etc, the wife says she would

have to phone electrical company first , Electrical company says they

know nothing about it.

Then a couple of days ago Wife got a call from a woman ,saying we

are going to fix 9 meters in your MooBan ,wife again said have to check

with electrical company , which made the scammer very angry ,so be

careful if you get phone call about changing your meter ,its a scam

 

regards   worgeordie

A good solution is to not answer calls from the unknown. There was a bit of a learning curve, but the wife has gotten the hang of it now.

1 hour ago, novacova said:

A good solution is to not answer calls from the unknown. There was a bit of a learning curve, but the wife has gotten the hang of it now.

I feel the same way... just don't answer.

Another possibility is that it is a call from CM Immigration wanting to do a residence check.

Any ideas on how to know who's calling?

6 minutes ago, CMHomeboy78 said:

I feel the same way... just don't answer.

Another possibility is that it is a call from CM Immigration wanting to do a residence check.

Any ideas on how to know who's calling?

If the IO wants to get a hold of me then they can send a text, email, letter or drop on by for some tea and coffee, though they never once have ever tried to contact me.

2 hours ago, novacova said:

A good solution is to not answer calls from the unknown. There was a bit of a learning curve, but the wife has gotten the hang of it now.

 

Not a solution. Some foreign initiated calls  do not have caller ID. My physician's office does not use a listed number or call ID. just a general number that I do not recognize. I get calls from my  car service drivers who take me to the airport and I do not know their number. Other times I have had foreign consulate  calls with no caller ID. I also have had calls from people I know where I do not know their number.

 

 

1 hour ago, CMHomeboy78 said:

I feel the same way... just don't answer.

Another possibility is that it is a call from CM Immigration wanting to do a residence check.

Any ideas on how to know who's calling?

If the number is registered, call the number back.

2 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

 

 

If the number is registered, call the number back.

Where are registered numbers found?

11 hours ago, Bill97 said:

Where are registered numbers found?

On the mobile phone. Call display,or if a mobile service provider messaging service, the  phone number will be registered either on your phone or on the mobile provider cloud and can be viewed when you call up the recent caller log.

Why would anyone wish to call back any number they don't recognise, more so if that call was unsolicited? Is this a loneliness, fear of missing something or a nothing better to do sort of stimulus?

Problem is each time you go to any business, shop, service, doctor and need to leave your phone number, it's probably sold out later to telemarketing firms or plainly hacked from the businesses databases...

5 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

the recent caller log.

What does recent mean?  A week, a month, a year or ??

Don't answer the phone unless you know the number. Works for me.

1 hour ago, Dante99 said:

What does recent mean?  A week, a month, a year or ??

 I have an iphone. It has a section that shows recent calls. The time, date and name of caller is shown. Sometimes the name shows as "Uknown caller". If one is worried, one can call back with user id blocked.

When I was 17 and in love with my girlfriend, we'd spend HOURS on the phone every NIGHT. Now, 60+ years later, if I spend a total of 10 minutes a WEEK 'talking' on the phone, it's a lot!
Like most everyone else today, I use my smartphone many times a day for other purposes; map, weather, banking, messaging, etc., etc. I love the convenience and entertainment a good smartphone can provide.

I just don't need the 'telephone' part.
 

On 10/30/2025 at 8:20 AM, novacova said:

A good solution is to not answer calls from the unknown. There was a bit of a learning curve, but the wife has gotten the hang of it now.

The easy solution for us is for my wife to give the phone to me and I ask them to speak English. They soon hang up.

2 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

The easy solution for us is for my wife to give the phone to me and I ask them to speak English. They soon hang up.

Answering the phone indicates that it’s a valid number for advertisers and scammers. Used to answer on my first number and would get messages sent from Hong Kong and mainland China as well as th numbers. 

1 hour ago, novacova said:

Answering the phone indicates that it’s a valid number for advertisers and scammers. Used to answer on my first number and would get messages sent from Hong Kong and mainland China as well as th numbers. 

Never had another call from them with my method, especially if I get aggressive. 

On 10/29/2025 at 10:30 AM, worgeordie said:

About a week ago the wife answered a phone call from a man ,saving

he was from the electrical company ,and he wanted to install a new

meter to our rental  house ,can he have out LINE contact so she could send

paperwork to him , ID card ,land papers Etc, the wife says she would

have to phone electrical company first , Electrical company says they

know nothing about it.

Then a couple of days ago Wife got a call from a woman ,saying we

are going to fix 9 meters in your MooBan ,wife again said have to check

with electrical company , which made the scammer very angry ,so be

careful if you get phone call about changing your meter ,its a scam

 

regards   worgeordie

 

First time I got this call was a few months ago. Asked them many questions till they hanged up. Then I called the PEA that said they know nothing about change of a meter and that it was probably a scam.

2 days ago again - a woman called to inform me they are going to change the meter. I forgot about that other call from few month ago and argued with het asking why I need to change the meter. She said they are going to come at 2pm (it was around 11am when I got the call) and said I'll have to pay for the new meter. I simply told her my meter works fine but if they want to change it free of charge they can come, but if I have to pay for it - forget it. She hung up and of course no PEA technicians came to replace any meter.... 

 

On 10/30/2025 at 8:20 AM, novacova said:

A good solution is to not answer calls from the unknown. There was a bit of a learning curve, but the wife has gotten the hang of it now.

 

No, it's not a good idea. I sometimes get calls from my bank (real, not scams) from numbers I don't know. Messengers with deliveries, calls from overseas with unrecognizable numbers. Best is to answer the call and keep in mind not to volunteer any information not meant to be shared over the phone and definitely not transfer money to someone you don't know.

On 10/31/2025 at 9:37 AM, Patong2021 said:

 I have an iphone. It has a section that shows recent calls. The time, date and name of caller is shown. Sometimes the name shows as "Uknown caller". If one is worried, one can call back with user id blocked.

 

And the anonymous recipient of your returned call, seeing no caller ID from your phone, either declines your call or lets it ring out.

 

Now you're even more worried.

4 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

.... 

 

No, it's not a good idea. I sometimes get calls from my bank (real, not scams) from numbers I don't know. Messengers with deliveries, calls from overseas with unrecognizable numbers. Best is to answer the call and keep in mind not to volunteer any information not meant to be shared over the phone and definitely not transfer money to someone you don't know.

 

Are you for real? My banks, all five of them in different countries, have a no-call policy. Any communication or requests to phone them comes via a notification in their app.

21 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

 

First time I got this call was a few months ago. Asked them many questions till they hanged up. Then I called the PEA that said they know nothing about change of a meter and that it was probably a scam.

2 days ago again - a woman called to inform me they are going to change the meter. I forgot about that other call from few month ago and argued with het asking why I need to change the meter. She said they are going to come at 2pm (it was around 11am when I got the call) and said I'll have to pay for the new meter. I simply told her my meter works fine but if they want to change it free of charge they can come, but if I have to pay for it - forget it. She hung up and of course no PEA technicians came to replace any meter.... 

 

 

No, it's not a good idea. I sometimes get calls from my bank (real, not scams) from numbers I don't know. Messengers with deliveries, calls from overseas with unrecognizable numbers. Best is to answer the call and keep in mind not to volunteer any information not meant to be shared over the phone and definitely not transfer money to someone you don't know.

Have never ever had a call from a bank here in th or from the US, though have gotten in-app notifications and notices when logging in on the websites. Also never had a single issue from not answering an unknown number, besides I’m retired and don’t have the time to fuss with annoyances that try to mess with my Zen. 

5 minutes ago, novacova said:

Have never ever had a call from a bank here in th or from the US, though have gotten in-app notifications and notices when logging in on the websites. Also never had a single issue from not answering an unknown number, besides I’m retired and don’t have the time to fuss with annoyances that try to mess with my Zen. 

I dont answer the phone except for family. Send me a message, Ill get back to you. Maybe.

We had the 'electric meter change' call a few years back - they didn't ask any questions, just said they would change it in the afternoon, but no show.

 

Quite often my wife gets calls that DTAC say are "likely spam caller", or "super spam caller" which we just ignore.

Yesterday she had a "likely spam caller" which I answered - there was an obvious non-human/recorded message starting by addressing  my wife by name, so I hung up.

 

We wanted to rent out a house and an agent sent a lady to view who told my wife her life story (husband died, owns a house in Padad that flooded last year, wants to rent to operate her university student clothes washing business), said she wants it, took some earth to 'black magic' who apparently told her that this house is meant to be hers. She then said she wanted to buy it (didn't ask how much) said she had to go to Pitsanulock to sell some land to a relative. A few days later she called 'from the land office' saying she needed to pay for something, can we lend her 4,000 baht. When rejected she later called back saying she had borrowed 2,000 from someone else, can she borrow 2,00 baht. 

 

My wife spoke to the agent, who said this lady has looked at many houses and always takes some earth.

I answer ALL calls.  They might by my friends with new SIMS;

delivery people; 

village headman's wife calling for a party;

or whomever.   Years ago I used to keep them on line while I had a pee or went for a walt, or whatever.  Doesn't work now,

 

Good grief.  I can decide if I have made a friend of them - terminate the call and block the number.

 

SO CAN YOU!

On 11/4/2025 at 2:14 PM, NotEinstein said:

Yesterday she had a "likely spam caller" which I answered - there was an obvious non-human/recorded message starting by addressing  my wife by name, so I hung up.

 

The mobile phone company flags the call as likely spam and you still answered? Why did you do that?

On 11/4/2025 at 2:14 PM, NotEinstein said:

We had the 'electric meter change' call a few years back - they didn't ask any questions, just said they would change it in the afternoon, but no show.

 

Quite often my wife gets calls that DTAC say are "likely spam caller", or "super spam caller" which we just ignore.

Yesterday she had a "likely spam caller" which I answered - there was an obvious non-human/recorded message starting by addressing  my wife by name, so I hung up.

 

We wanted to rent out a house and an agent sent a lady to view who told my wife her life story (husband died, owns a house in Padad that flooded last year, wants to rent to operate her university student clothes washing business), said she wants it, took some earth to 'black magic' who apparently told her that this house is meant to be hers. She then said she wanted to buy it (didn't ask how much) said she had to go to Pitsanulock to sell some land to a relative. A few days later she called 'from the land office' saying she needed to pay for something, can we lend her 4,000 baht. When rejected she later called back saying she had borrowed 2,000 from someone else, can she borrow 2,00 baht. 

 

My wife spoke to the agent, who said this lady has looked at many houses and always takes some earth.

 

Thanks for sharing that totally irrelevant story. It explains why you answer spam calls.

What the OP's wife did was right, check with the actual legit place or bank, and also do what another post suggested to not answer calls from and strange numbers or ones you don't know.

If the indigestion (sic) department actually wanted to get in touch with you, then they can easily send someone round for a chat, which is what they would do or ask you to drop by the office... anything else is nonsense.

The problem is that if you want to do anything at all anywhere you have to show your ID or passport, house book, driver licence and all sorts of documents that are totally unnecessary for the task at hand (can't even pay a bill at the bank without my passport under their BS "Know your customer" control-freak rule).

I remember at a place I worked in the past, I had to submit almost every bit of my life's documentation just to get a parking permit in a car park FFS... ridiculous, and inevitably this info eventually gets sold to a data broker somewhere down the line by someone, even a crooked staff member for a few extra baht. 

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

 

Thanks for sharing that totally irrelevant story. It explains why you answer spam calls.

The thread title is Beware Scammers in Chiang Mai.

Sorry if I offended your narrow view of what that means to be isolated to phone calls.

17 hours ago, NotEinstein said:

The thread title is Beware Scammers in Chiang Mai.

Sorry if I offended your narrow view of what that means to be isolated to phone calls.

 

Not in the least bit offended, but despite the thread title, the OP and member's responses are specifically related to scam phone calls.