Suggestions to Reduce/Eliminate Robocalls

I have used a two pronged approach, never answer the phone unless it's a call from your contact list, and turn off the phone when they start for at least a couple of hours...This has slowed the call volume to a trickle...This does necessitate having initial callers leave a message, then the number can be added to your contact list...but that's the price you must pay...This is the only strategy that has worked for me.....

Voting responsible people into government and then applying pressure on them is probably the only solution.

With random (often local) back numbers spoofed in the consumer is helpless to do anything but only answer known numbers and miss all important calls that don't come from a known number. The network can connect Point-A to Point-B so therefore the government can trace the calls back.

The lost time answering and then hanging up and the cost of some minutes being billed must add up to billions of dollars of "damages" per year. Why does the government seem to not care?

It is not a privacy issue if the government traces back calls placed to government phones. I get about 2 robocalls a day. I don't know how many phones the government has but that must be a million or more calls to government phones they could trace each day with no privacy concerns.

Slow yer roll there partner....

..."The FCC is working to, as Chairman Pai says, "combat the robocall scourge." He has made combating unlawful robocalls and malicious caller ID spoofing his top consumer protection priority. By proposing and implementing impactful policy initiatives and pursuing strong enforcement actions, the FCC has been taking a bold stand to protect and empower consumers."...

..."Unwanted calls are far and away the biggest consumer complaint to the FCC with over 200,000 complaints each year—around 60 percent of all the complaints we receive. Some private analyses estimate that U.S. consumers received nearly 4 billion robocalls per month in 2018. Unfortunately, advancements in technology make it cheap and easy to make massive numbers of robocalls and to "spoof" caller ID information to hide a caller's true identity.

Chairman Pai and other FCC staff get these calls too. He wrote in USA Today: "I hate robocalls as much as you do. I get them myself on my mobile phone, I hear about them from my family and friends, and I know that consumers want to reclaim their sanity."

FCC Report on
Illegal Robocalls

The FCC knows that these calls are a major concern of millions of Americans, and scam calls in particular can result in very real financial losses and serious consumer frustration. The agency is therefore committed to using every tool in our tool box and working closely with private, public, and international partners to combat unlawful robocalls and spoofing. These efforts are outlined in the FCC's first ever report on illegal robocalls."...

https://www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/fcc-initiatives/fccs-push-combat-robocalls-spoofing

I simply installed a "call blocker" that "rings" once and then disconnects all offending calls that have been previously 'blocked,' ie: one ring & silence.

Yeah but they use a different number every time.....

I had to change my phone number. Down here (at least) there is nothing the phone companies can do apparently.

There may be some blocking software that you can program caller phone numbers in to ignore the call but I don't think it works with normal land lines and cell phones due to the way the calls are forwarded through the existing phone network, unless you have your own phone network router (which may be an option for business lines, but not home).

From my experience modern scammers and I believe robocallers use a series of different phone numbers and even the country codes displayed can be fake because they are routing through another phone number (or some how). The phone company couldn't block them, I tried.

When my phone rings it says " possible scam" under some numbers next to a "block number?" Option..

Works pretty good.

I had some guy call me and ask why do you keep calling me? I said I'm not calling you, I've never called you...He was being spoofed by somebody using my number....now that really ticks me off....

"Is Caller ID Spoofing Legal?

The short answer is yes, most forms of caller ID spoofing are legal. The only circumstances in which caller ID spoofing is illegal is if it has the intention to cause harm in some form. If no harm is intended or caused, spoofing is legal.

The Under the Truth in Calling Act from the Federal Communication Commission prohibits any person or entity from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value. Anyone who is illegally spoofing can face penalties of up to $10,000 for each spoofed phone call or text violation.

Though the Federal Trade Commission has done their part to try to ensure caller ID spoofing services are not abused by the spammers, their lawmaking efforts have been pretty ineffective thus far. This is because the criminals behind these spoofed phone calls already know what they’re doing is illegal.

No crook is ever going to read the FCC handbook on caller ID spoofing before picking up the phone to scam you. But because caller ID spoofing offers such a promise of total ambiguity without the price of getting caught for their crimes, the reward greatly outweighs the risk. "...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caller_ID_spoofing

I use the Callcontrol App. I have had it with my android and I have it on my iPhoneX.

With it running, I very rarely get an unwanted call.

Otherwise, I would love to do what this guy is doing:

I want to add that Callcontrol uses a community block list that is very effective. I rarely have to block a number any more.

I use Nomorobo.

https://www.nomorobo.com

My robo calls have dropped from many each day to a few a year.

They intercept all your calls and use the origin information that is transmitted after the first ring to determine if it is legitimate or not. If it is a robo call, they disconnect, and you will only get one ring. If it is legitimate, your phone will continue ringing. Their algorithm appears to readily detect spoofed calls and callers with constantly changing numbers.

I received a phone call today, that sounded like c3po telling me I had to call the social security office about a bill.

I'm not old enough to collect s.s.

We need a whole army of guys that just run these guys around in circles all day...maybe AI will be able to do that some day....soon

The national "Do Not Call" register in Aus seems to have worked well since around 2010.

We are now getting a lot (3 or 4 per week) of single ring calls at all hours but I suspect their own systems hang up when they match to the registry.

I did get a few calls that were dialed by call centre operators offering health insurance or similar. Depending how I feel, I might

1. Just ask them how they got this number and then advise them it is on the DNC register, to remove me from their list and advise them that it is an offense to call such numbers and if ever I am called again they will be forwarded to the authorities.
2. Ask them firmly how they got this unlisted number that is used for communication between the EPA and myself and if they ever call again, then that government department will follow them up.
3. Ask for their ABN (Australian Business Number) and wait for their response. If they don't have one, then they are an overseas fraud and I ask to talk to the supervisor, then the next supervisor and so on. It can be a fun game. If they do have one, then it's simple to verify on-line and then call the real organisation on their 1300 number.
4. Just hang up.

I read recently that not answering, or answering without saying anything, only puts your number back into cue on the autodialer for calling back later.

My approaches to the situation are a bit more direct:

#1 Sometimes I answer the phone using a few phrases of a language I made up. (Really don't know what it is I'm saying to them but neither do they)!

#2 (After doing whatever to get an inhuman representative on the line), "Unlike you, we are retired, and we have all of the time in the world to waste. Any time you feel like having your time wasted please feel free to call back and we will be happy to waste your time. If you do not want to have your time wasted please remove our number from your autodialer so we will no longer waste your time. Thank you, and have a good day". (I recite this fluidly without any long pauses and do not allow them to interrupt me, almost as if they are listening to a recording). It doesn't matter if you are retired or not since they most likely don't know if you are.

#3 (For the extended car warranty people). "I want to thank you for taking the time to call today. Every time we get one of these calls we add $500 to a special account. When the day comes that our piece of crap car dies we expect to have the cash to replace it with a new car. Thanks again for taking the time to call and have a great day!" (Recited the same as in #2).

None of these scam artists want to have their time wasted when they could be scamming someone else.

The FCC really needs to make it illegal to spoof all calls and to sell or share equipment & apps to do so.

Around here there are lots of calls that spoof not only the area code but also the exchange code (next 3 digits) so that it looks like a local caller. On a business phone it's difficult to ignore calls that might be a customer.

Would you believe that I was called by my own number once?!?!

When I'm at a customers house doing my thing, it seems like they call when I'm right in the middle of something. After I answer, I hear this sound ( like when you stick your thumb in your mouth ) , it's kinda like a phoof sound.

Your competitor will have to do that over and over again from different numbers for it to register in that way and flag your number. That aint how it works.

There was the one time when I got the call form "The IRS" to inform me of my pending arrest. My response, "I knew it! I just knew the day would come when I would get this call. Do you know why I knew this was going to happen??? BECAUSE I'M A FRAUD INVESTIGATOR FOR THE IRS!!! Instantly the call was disconnected. I waited almost two years to use that line, it was well rehearsed.

I use Hiya, a free app. It gets most of the bad calls.

Ha ha!

I recorded the tone that you get when you dial a unused number,just the tone,and put it at the very first of my answering machine message.I paused 5 seconds,and then respond with my normal message.This tone will disconnect computer calls,thinking it is an invalid number. It also removes your number from it's dialing list Works most times.

Set the answering machine to minimum number.

When I really feel like messing with them,I play this:

https://famguardian.org/Subjects/PropertyPrivacy/Articles/Tom_Mabe.mp4

Some people make a game out of it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scam_baiting

https://youtu.be/sN_tVRmzA7Y

Two possible answers.

1. Can you provide a list of responsible people that are going into government

[ note : ] if these people are responsible then why is the need to pressure them ?

2. " seem to not care " = Capitalism. As long as uncle sam gets his,,,,,

Sometimes I think it's my own fault for the robots calls I get.

I'm always watching instructional videos. Learning for myself is an insatiable appetite.

I go to sites, they get my info ( by using cookies ).

And then they get my phone number. ( which of course is listed on Google )

So, why do they call me and try to parley a desire to me that has absolutely nothing to do with the number.

Hey ! ' , if they got the time and resources to waste, have at it.

I kept someone going for a few running Linux and WireShark and trying to find their IP address. Pissed them off at least!

Yes. So was my wife!

Like it!!

One day I got 3 calls saying that my social security number had been suspended. A few calls have said they were from IT about my computer. I'm retired, so I have no IT. A couple of calls said my computer license had been revoked. I have made a "beeper" from a Sonalert that was sitting around. When I get a marketing call I press 1 to talk to a person. When he says "Hello" I beep him. One guy said "Hello" again, so I beeped him again.

Major US carriers join forces with state attorneys general to fight robocalls

Aug. 22nd 2019 ....

https://9to5mac.com/2019/08/22/us-carriers-attorneys-general-robocalling/