Do Not Call List

[Remus West]

How do I get my phone number on there? I remember someone posting about it but can not remember the thread or poster to find it. I get a few automated calls a day and they do nothing but annoy me.

[cheeba]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Link.

[Dan_Theman]

Don't forget, it's about to expire so you want to make sure you get on there right away, and include all your cell phones!!!*

* - the above was meant only as a joke at the expense of all the morons who have forwarded me that email. For informational purposes, there is no expiration date and third-party companies aren't (supposedly) allowed to make unsolicited calls on your cell phones. Also, the world is not going to freaking end on December 21st, 2012. The 22nd, maybe, but not the 21st.

[Mr. Fed]

If you get on the do not call list, how will you know that your car warranty is about to expire?

[Grifman]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Link.

Hahaha, that link was my thought!

How was/is that done?

[Bakhtosh]

Or that you can lower your credit card interest rates if you act now...

[Remus West]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Link.

Completely desevred that but thanks for it anyway as I went ahead and used that link.

[Enough]

We are on the do not call list but we get called all the time, especially by the aforementioned car warranty and credit card scams.

[tjg_marantz]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Link.

Hahaha, that link was my thought!

How was/is that done?

Link

[Isgrimnur]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Link.

Hahaha, that link was my thought!

How was/is that done?

Link

I knew there was something sinister about recursion. It's all French Canadian and stuff!

[KiloOhm]

Don't forget, it's about to expire so you want to make sure you get on there right away, and include all your cell phones!!!*

* - the above was meant only as a joke at the expense of all the morons who have forwarded me that email. For informational purposes, there is no expiration date and third-party companies aren't (supposedly) allowed to make unsolicited calls on your cell phones. Also, the world is not going to freaking end on December 21st, 2012. The 22nd, maybe, but not the 21st.

I knew that but I started getting a lot of telemarketers all of the sudden, my mother also and we couldn't understand why. My mother suggested it expired and I told her no, it didn't and something else is going on. Then I figured out what happened and I did have to re-register with them. What happened is we both went to a digital phone service (vonage for me and Comcast for her) although neither of us changed numbers, the act of disconnecting service from a provider takes that number off the list so if you change phone companies and move your number, you're back on the telemarketer list. I think that's probably what's confusing a lot of people and spreading rumors like that around.

[Dan_Theman]

Yep, more than likely. Also, there are several classes of institutions that can still call you. Here are a few:

* political organizations
* surveys (even if it's someone working for a company that wants your business)
* charities
* someone you've done business with recently (I think it's in the last two years, but I'm not sure)

[dbt1949]

I have supposedly been on the list since it started. For then last year I've ben getting these robot calls about credit card debt reducing and to touch 1 if you want to talk to a representative. Uusally I hang up but 2-3 times I've followed thru and told the person that answered that I wanted to be put on the do not call list. At which time they promptly hang up on me.
I'm thinking about getting a police whistle and the next time I talk to a "live" person blow their eardrum out.
Did that with an airhorn and an obscene caller once.

Noticed my next door neighbor couldn't hear for awhile there.


Okay, just kidding about the next door neighbor part.

[Grifman]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Link.

Hahaha, that link was my thought!

How was/is that done?

Link

Even I didn't even know what question to ask (don't know anything about lmgtfy) I still found that helpful

[Eightball]

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Link.

Hahaha, that link was my thought!

How was/is that done?

Link

Lol!

[Gedd]

I have supposedly been on the list since it started. For then last year I've ben getting these robot calls about credit card debt reducing and to touch 1 if you want to talk to a representative.

I get these and car warranty from time to time. Sadly the do not call list doesn't work on scammers (and the credit card thing is definitely a scam).

[tgb]

Some things never get old.

[Carpet_pissr]

Any new credit cards you sign up for can cause an increase in calls also.

I have a couple in which the terms for opting out of marketing by the company and its "affiliates" requires you to call them, or mail them a letter, something I will probably never do. I would rather endure listening to my answering machine pick up on them. If you DON'T opt out by their stated methods, of course, you are fair game for telemarketers that buy your info from them, thus exempting them from being blocked

Also, if I didn't have caller ID, I would be a LOT more proactive about anti-marketing calls to my house.

[naednek]

If you get on the do not call list, how will you know that your car warranty is about to expire?

I had 3 of those calls yesterday on my cell phone. Each one said it's my 2nd notice. Bullshit, you guys notified me more than 50 times.

[theohall]

The problem with the do not call list:

If I register my number on the National Do Not Call Registry, will it stop all telemarketing calls?
No. Placing your number on the National Do Not Call Registry will stop most telemarketing calls, but not all. Because of limitations in the jurisdiction of the FTC and FCC, calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom you’ve provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls.

Basically, if you own anything from some company and have registered it with that company, that company can call you. This info is on the Do Not Call Registry site.

The counter to that - my phone used to ring 20 times a day with BS calls. Now, it's only once or twice and it is in relation to things I own - even if they are scams. If I don't own something from whomever called, I warn the telemarketer and file a complaint at the Do Not Call Registry. It's extremely easy to file a complaint. Caller ID does wonders for reporting purposes - since mine records the number and the time of day of the call.

[Defiant]

If you get on the do not call list, how will you know that your car warranty is about to expire?

I had 3 of those calls yesterday on my cell phone. Each one said it's my 2nd notice. Bullshit, you guys notified me more than 50 times.

I got four of those in the last week. And I don't even have a car.

[McBa1n]

Yep, more than likely. Also, there are several classes of institutions that can still call you. Here are a few:

* political organizations
* surveys (even if it's someone working for a company that wants your business)
* charities
* someone you've done business with recently (I think it's in the last two years, but I'm not sure)

Ugh - I've been on this list religiously since it's availability. Living in Las Vegas is RIDICULOUS. There's probably 100 charaties per person in this city - and they ALL will give me 'gold' status just for donating 1$US.
The political calls I get are freaking ridiculous. I only answer them when I'm drunk.. Usually they are republican shills trying to scare me off of voting democrat. For that alone, I let them know I'm VERY conservative (which I am - aside from social issues) and that I'm voting Democrat across the board - which I also do now because if you interupt me while I'm watching football or something important - I'll be sure to let you know you can go F yourself. At least only evangelicals and pro-gay dems solicite my front door (something that happens MANY times/week). I just make sure that they know that they won't get a dollar, I'll take every piece of paper off of them that they can provide - and also, I'll be sure to talk with them for at LEAST 15 minutes.

I'm not as bold as a neighbor I had. I lived in a 3 story house (1 apartment per floor) in New Haven, CT, while going to college. Every Saturday EARLY some soliciting krishna, born again, or some evangelical tosser would ring the doorbell at 6 freakin AM.
Now, you can probably google my upstairs neighbor - his name is Paul Valentine. He led a worldwide "santanist" church (and had something like 40 kids despite being married - he also had a totally awesome pet collection of snakes/spiders and whathaveyou). Actually - the lead singer of a band was arrested (My Sister's Machine, I think they were called) because apparently they thought they were Mr Paul Valentine - my upstairs neighbor... IN my 2nd favorite record shop in New Haven.

Anyhow - to set the stage - we had a double glass door that viewed into the hallway (we lived on the 2nd floor) - so if the 3rd floor apartment in the house wanted to go downstairs - I could see them. Anyhow. Since I sleep really really really strange hours and always have - I was awake to get my doorbell rung at 6am on a freakin Saturday. I peaked down the stair to the locked door (with a big window) and noticed a born again wanker trying to solicite whatever from my apartment.

THEN - I noticed my 3rd floor neighbor (Mr. Valentine) start coming down the stairs via my living room window that led to the hallway... I jumped up quick and bust out into the hallway to alert him it was the born agains. His eyes lit up like an Xmas tree.
He ran upstairs and stripped down TOTALLY nude and grabbed a hampster. He answered the door with a hampster in his hand completely naked and said "can I help you?"

Needless to say - he was heading back to his 3rd floor apartment shortly thereafter and I just about died laughing.

The bottom line is - that moment changed my life. When being solicited - I'm going to waste as much time from those knuckleheads as I possibly can. Heck, I'd only waste the time anyway...

[dbt1949]

25 years ago or so when the machine calls first started I would hang up immediately. Then I learned that if you didn't hang up the machine would go on for 5-10 minutes and waste it's time. So I started leaving the phone off the hook for these calls. Then they got smart and you had to answer a few seconds into the phone call or it would hang up automatically. So then I would wait for a few seconds, make a sound and then leave it off the hook. Eventually they got wise and now hang up almost immediately unless you transfer to a live person.

[Grifman]

The problem with the do not call list:

If I register my number on the National Do Not Call Registry, will it stop all telemarketing calls?
No. Placing your number on the National Do Not Call Registry will stop most telemarketing calls, but not all. Because of limitations in the jurisdiction of the FTC and FCC, calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors would still be permitted, as would calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship, or those to whom you’ve provided express agreement in writing to receive their calls.

Basically, if you own anything from some company and have registered it with that company, that company can call you.

Uh, you do know that you can demand that they place you on their do not call list and they cannot call you anymore, right?

[cheeba]

Uh, you do know that you can demand that they place you on their do not call list and they cannot call you anymore, right?

Incorrect. Surveyors, political, market research, whatever, are not beholden to that. If a market research firm calls you to see what you think of Obama, and you tell them to put you on their Do Not Call list, they just mark that as a refusal and continue on. The next survey they do has just as good a chance of calling you again.

Telling a company to put you on their Do Not Call list only works with telemarketers - companies that are trying to sell you something.

[Isgrimnur]

Technology Review

Sure, legitimate telemarketers will refrain from calling you if you’ve put your phone number on it. But criminal telephone spammers will call you anyway because it’s become so easy for them to evade U.S. law enforcement.

Now the Federal Communications Commission is hoping phone companies can fix the problem. “The bad guys are beating the good guys with technology right now,” FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler said last month at the initial meeting of an industry-led team his agency has assembled to help beat back the robocall “scourge.”
...
These calls are easy for scammers to make thanks to inexpensive automatic dialing machines and spoofing tools that hide the source of the call from your phone company and make your phone’s caller ID display a bogus number.

The charge of the “Robocall Strike Force,” which is headed by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and includes representatives from more than 30 technology companies, is to develop “comprehensive solutions to prevent, detect, and filter unwanted robocalls.” The group has until October 19 to submit a plan to the FCC.

We already have some tools for blocking and preventing unwanted calls. In addition to the National Do Not Call Registry (which is run by the Federal Trade Commission) there are smartphone apps that can block known spammers or send their calls straight to voice mail. If you have certain landline and mobile services, you can use a product called Nomorobo, which screens incoming numbers against a database of known spam callers.

But spammers can easily get around these defenses by spoofing other numbers, using standard software on voice-over-Internet phone systems
...
That’s why the Internet Engineering Task Force, a group of engineers that develop and upgrade open-source technical standards for the Internet, is working with communications companies on a new way to verify the source of voice-over-Internet calls. The service provider originating the call would add a cryptographic signature to indicate that the caller is legitimately using the number. Separate carriers along the way could then validate the signature and catch spoofed numbers.

How aggressively will telecom companies work on this? Many carriers have little incentive to participate in anti-spam efforts because they profit from increasing traffic of any kind on their networks, says Gail-Joon Ahn, director of Arizona State University’s Laboratory for Security Engineering for Future Computing. But that could change, Schulzrinne says, as the number of customer complaints about robocalls keeps rising.

Or, you know, it becomes mandated by regulation.

[killbot737]

I still have a "land line" (it's a little cell base station plugged into the house wiring). That one gets all the garbage calls. I never answer that line unless it's a number I know or I'm expecting a call. I also have my cellphone which I Never give out to anyone unless absolutely necessary.

I think as everyone moves to cellphones the scammers will have a much harder time since it's so much easier to set up blocking and whitelists on cells.

P.S. Fuck you Rachel from Card Services. Also Steve Martin from the IRS threatening me with random British legal action. And that fog horn where I don't even know what comes next.

[LordMortis]

P.S. Fuck you Rachel from Card Services.

I was getting calls from Rachel 3 times a week for several month from different numbers.

Spam calls to my cell have gone through the roof lately. Infuriating.

[Isgrimnur]

FTC

Four separate operations responsible for bombarding consumers nationwide with billions of unwanted and illegal robocalls pitching auto warranties, debt-relief services, home security systems, fake charities, and Google search results services have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the FTC Act and the agency’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), including its Do Not Call (DNC) provisions.

[Jeff V]

I'm to the point where I won't answer the phone unless caller ID recognizes the number (and it's someone I care to talk to). The rare times it's a legitimate call, voice mail is left and I call back.

[Kraken]

On the trail of the robocall king

Long story, but a good one.

[Zarathud]

Thanks, Trump.

[dbt1949]

If I get a live scammer on the line I blow a police type whistle into the phone.
I've never had repeat phone scams.

[LordMortis]

I expected the king to be .... from card services.

[Jeff V]

If I get a live scammer on the line I blow a police type whistle into the phone.
I've never had repeat phone scams.

They are all robocalls these days.

[dbt1949]

No, they're not. Trust me. But they do all talk with an Indian accent.

[Pyperkub]

Ouch.

The Federal Communications Commission has issued $208.4 million in fines against robocallers since 2015, but the commission has collected only $6,790 of that amount. That's because the FCC lacks authority to enforce the penalties, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal.

[Isgrimnur]

The FTC filed the proposed orders in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and the orders will not take effect until the Court approves them.
...
NOTE: Stipulated final orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

[em2nought]

Hunting down and eliminating robocallers and telemarketers should be how SEAL Teams stay in practice.

[Isgrimnur]

WaPo

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday proposed granting AT&T, Verizon and other telecom carriers clearer powers to block suspected spam calls from ringing consumers’ phones, a move that comes a month after robocallers dialed Americans nearly 5 billion times, according to one industry estimate.

The idea put forward by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai -- and pending approval from the agency's commissioners -- encourages carriers to enable their anti-robocall technology by default, as opposed to waiting for consumers to turn on those features themselves.

Currently, consumers often must elect to use carriers’ robocall-blocking tools, some of them costing a monthly fee, which means “fewer people are using these services,” Pai said. While the chairman said the agency is going to “encourage companies to offer this for free,” the FCC’s forthcoming directive does not require them to do so.

The FCC said the order still could help telecom carriers and their customers battle back against robocall fraudsters that use a tactic known as spoofing, which makes it appear as if they're calling from a legitimate number that's similar to the one they're trying to target.

The agency also plans to use the order to encourage AT&T, Verizon and others to develop tools that limit the calls a consumer can receive to only the contacts in their phones, a technical restriction that Pai said could help certain smartphone owners, such as the elderly, who are most at risk of fraud.
...
In recent months, though, Pai has sought to pressure the AT&T, Verizon and other companies to adopt new technology that would present consumers with an alert when they’re receiving a call that’s coming from a number believed to be fraudulent. The FCC reiterated last week that it expects the system for fingerprinting phone calls, known within the industry as SHAKEN/STIR, to be implemented this year.