533m Facebook users' data leaked. The Irish file has 1,449,921 names / numbers etc.

I normally couldn't care less who knows what about me, but I must have received 100 nuisance spam calls since about April. Some of them just a dead line, others a pre recording saying I was being investigated by the DSP for benefit fraud and, bizarrely, drug trafficking. The very odd one from an Indian call centre, where I was unfortunately forced to tell the gentleman that I'd do certain things with his mother.

Had a dead line call from Malta just now was well. Strange how they can somehow make the calls appear to be coming from within Ireland or the EU by spoofing a number.

Legitimate companies don't help with some of their cold calling. About 2 years ago I'm in work and get a call from "AIB". When she asked me to confirm my name etc I was hesitant, and asked what the nature of the call was, she said she couldn't go into it as I needed to confirm details (she had an E European name but Irish accent with an Eastern teang, probabaly a young one who grew up here).

I reluctantly gave the info as I was worried maybe they wanted to talk about some sort of card skimming or whatever. Turns out AIB are calling me in the middle of my working day, demanding my info, all because they saw that I had entered a few mortgage scenarios on the app (purely out of my own interest in what deposit I would need for a property costing X) and whether I was considering buying and would like to come in for a chat or talk further on the phone.

I didn't lose the rag, it isn't the girl's fault and she's no doubt paid a poxy wage to be making these calls, but it is very fraudster like behavior cold calling and asking for details to peddle spam.