Do Not Call List

[em2nought]

I wish somebody would make a really good "white list" landline phone in the US. Seniors who aren't even cell phone savy need relief and protection even more.

[Jeff V]

I'll only answer calls identified as someone in my address book (assuming I wish to talk) or those that are at least location identified or from an area code I'm expecting a call from. I reject 95% of incoming calls, but do check voicemails that are left. It reduces the effectiveness of the phone as a tool in general.

[hepcat]

I love screwing with spam callers. Unfortunately, I fear it may have put me on more lists as a result as they've increased recently.

My go to response is to just say, "I'm sorry, I don't speak a word of English."

<pause>

"I wish my parents had had the foresight to send me to a better scho..."

<click>

[Jaymann]

No speaka de Engless.

[Rumpy]

I just love how debt collectors (or so it seems) seemingly out of nowhere start calling multiple times a day when 1), I don't have debt 2) no credit card, 3) don't owe anything, yet don't like to admit they may have gotten the wrong person. I don't think they can be added to DNC lists, but I don't think they're playing by the rules either. I don't even have a bank account at the bank they're calling about.

[Lassr]

I finally turned on the Do Not Disturb feature on my phone, so if you are not in my contacts then you go straight to my voice mail without my phone ringing. If it's legitimate they'll leave a message.

[em2nought]

I love screwing with spam callers.

You should check out the robokiller app which messes with spammers for you. I'd do it, but I'm too cheap to pay $3 a month for it at this time.
http://virtual-strategy.com/2019/03/17/ ... s-arrived/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS_jFJRGryw

[Unagi]

I finally turned on the Do Not Disturb feature on my phone, so if you are not in my contacts then you go straight to my voice mail without my phone ringing. If it's legitimate they'll leave a message.

That's not an iPhone feature, is it?

[Isgrimnur]

Do Not Disturb:

iOS

Android

[Kraken]

Ah, cool. Even my old phone has a version of that. All I really want to hide are notifications of auto-rejected calls, and one must use a broad brush to do that...I set it to ignore all calls and messages except those from contacts, so we'll see how that works out.

[Jeff V]

I wish I could use it, but our India helpdesk calls come through a pool of local numbers, and our UK helpdesk through international numbers. Plus I'm liable to get calls directly from the various plants I support. Since the city the call is originating from is not blocked (unlike spammer calls) I can manually filter at a glance, but automated filtering won't work.

[Isgrimnur]

WaPo

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved new rules that could make it easier for AT&T, Verizon and other telecom giants to block suspected spam calls on behalf of their subscribers, a move meant to crack down on the ever-worsening scourge a month after robocallers rang Americans’ phones nearly 5 billion times.

Under the order, telecom carriers have a legal greenlight to enroll consumers in their call-blocking services by default, as opposed to waiting for customers to sign up for such tools on their own. The change would “make it easier for consumers” to get robocall relief, said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, noting that many people often are unaware such technology exists.
...
Pai’s proposal cleared the commission with bipartisan support, but not without reservations from Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who expressed concern that the agency did not require AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile to offer free call-blocking services. The omission could lead to higher prices on subscribers’ monthly wireless bills, she warned.
...
The FCC also permitted AT&T, Verizon and other carriers to create tools that might allow consumers to block calls coming from anyone other than the contacts already stored in their address books.

Commissioners advanced debate on an additional order that would shield telecom giants from legal liability if they erroneously block calls they cannot authenticate as legitimate.
...
Meanwhile, Pai’s proposal triggered a groundswell of industry lobbying, particularly on the part of financial institutions, debt collectors and hospitals. They met in May with the FCC chairman’s top aides to express concern that the new call-blocking rules could result “in the erroneous blocking of lawful, and often urgent, calls affecting consumer health, safety, and financial well-being,” according to agency records. That includes local utility outages, health-care reminders and vehicle recall notices, which they said might be labeled as spam.

[em2nought]

Whoever is responsible for all of the automated "this is google, your business listing yada, yada, yada" calls must have died, got arrested, went on vacation, or something this month because my number of unwanted cold calls has dropped drastically this month. Down from at least one a day to almost zero. Has something happened? Did google get tired of the ill will those jokers were creating?

[Jeff V]

I got robocall from a Mandarin-speaking bot yesterday.

[LordMortis]

Card Services just warned me that it is my last chance to....

[Daehawk]

I usually dont answer the phone and simply check messages off and on or voicemail.

[em2nought]

I usually dont answer the phone and simply check messages off and on or voicemail.

Unfortunately, with all business calls forwarded to my cell I have no choice but to answer. The very second that changes I'll have a white list.

[Isgrimnur]

NPR

AT&T, Sprint and Verizon and nine other telecommunications companies teamed up with attorneys generals of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia to announce a new pact to eradicate a common scourge in America: illegal robocalls.

The agreement, which amounts to a set of anti-robocall principles, is aimed at combating and preventing the phone-ringing annoyance. Included in the deal is call-blocking technology that will be integrated into a dozen phone networks' existing infrastructure, at no additional charge to customers.

The tech giants will also provide other call blocking and call labeling for those customers who want more screening tools.
...
To get people to answer the phone, MacDonald said about 40 percent of the scammers resort to a tactic known as the "neighbor spoofing technique." That's where bilkers mask who they are by placing calls using the same area code and first three digits of their potential victim.

Under the plan, service providers will help provide technology, known to industry insiders as SHAKEN/STIR, to combat that practice and aid state attorney generals in locating and prosecuting the fraudulent robocallers.

The Federal Communications Commission describes the technology as allowing a phone network receiving a call to verify that it comes from the number it purports to before it reaches the customer.
...
By one estimate nearly 48 billion robocalls were made in the U.S. last year alone. According to YouMail, which conducted the survey, that represented a nearly 57% increase in total robocall volume over 2017 figures.

[Jaymann]

Wouldn't it be attorneys general or attorney generals?

[ImLawBoy]

Wouldn't it be attorneys general or attorney generals?

Attorneys general, and it looks like NPR has fixed their typo since Isg copied and pasted.

[Isgrimnur]

Above The Law

In American English, attorneys general is the correct plural form. The British prefer attorney-generals (the Brits have long hyphenated the phrase).

[Isgrimnur]

UPI

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced it has told carriers to stop delivering auto warranty robocalls, citing it as a top complaint from consumers.

The FCC said it has authorized all U.S.-based voice service providers to stop carrying traffic from Roy Cox Jr., Aaron Michael Jones, their Sumco Panama companies and other international associates believed to be behind the more than 8 billion robocalls generated since 2018.
...
The FCC's Enforcement Bureau also sent cease-and-desist letters to Call Pipe, Fuble Telecom, Geisst Telecom, Global Lynks, Mobi Telecom, South Dakota Telecom, SipKonnect and Virtual Telecom to warn them to stop carrying the robocalls within 48 hours.

[stimpy]

Now I'll have no one to talk too!!!

[LordMortis]

And this does good things for Biden securing my vote in 2024... Or at least feeling better about it.

Tell me they're going after spam texters as well. Sprint has actually done a good job of blocking most of spam calls but now the spam texts the I never used to get are coming all too frequently and there isn't even a (n easy?) mechanism for reporting them. All I can do is block one after another and it's only going to get worse coming in to election season. By August, I'll get three to four a day for stupid election stuff. As if invading my privacy from some arbitrary number and texting me is somehow going to make me more sympathetic to any cause.

Edit:

Apparently this started with the AG in Ohio. So in fairness, this is Republican led initiative I endorse.

[em2nought]

It's so wonderful not having to answer my phone anymore due to no more business calls.

Now if I could stop my mother's physical junk mail. Care must not "Care" too much because I keep sending them their junk mail back marked "deceased", but they still send more anyway. You can only do that with charities that put a postage paid envelope in their mailings unless you want to pay postage. The post office won't return mail marked on the outside as "deceased". Somebody should change that law so you can do that, and make charities responsible for the postage on the returned mail, that would solve that real quick.

[Isgrimnur]

FCC slaps $300M fine on “largest illegal robocall operation” it’s ever seen

The Federal Communications Commission today issued a record fine of $299,997,000 against a robocall operation that specialized in auto warranty scam calls, the FCC announced, calling it "the largest illegal robocall operation the agency has ever investigated."

"An international network of companies violated federal statutes and the Commission's regulations when they executed a scheme to make more than five billion robocalls to more than 500 million phone numbers during a three-month span in 2021, including violating federal spoofing laws by using more than one million different caller ID numbers in an attempt to disguise the true origin of the robocalls and trick victims into answering the phone," the FCC said.

The FCC proposed the $300 million penalty in December 2022. The FCC said it "offered the parties a chance to respond, which they did not do, resulting in today's unprecedented fine."

[em2nought]

Care still doesn't care, and they still send my mother physical mail almost three years after her death. Do not donate to "Care".

[LordMortis]

FCC slaps $300M fine on “largest illegal robocall operation” it’s ever seen

The Federal Communications Commission today issued a record fine of $299,997,000 against a robocall operation that specialized in auto warranty scam calls, the FCC announced, calling it "the largest illegal robocall operation the agency has ever investigated."

"An international network of companies violated federal statutes and the Commission's regulations when they executed a scheme to make more than five billion robocalls to more than 500 million phone numbers during a three-month span in 2021, including violating federal spoofing laws by using more than one million different caller ID numbers in an attempt to disguise the true origin of the robocalls and trick victims into answering the phone," the FCC said.

The FCC proposed the $300 million penalty in December 2022. The FCC said it "offered the parties a chance to respond, which they did not do, resulting in today's unprecedented fine."

Not nearly enough. The less than a buck per man, woman, and child. Let's say $.25 per call minimum. $1.25 billion is my starting ask. To say nothing of the damage they cause from number spoofing. And if they perps are in the US jail. If Cox is involved, he should never see a free day again.

[Daehawk]

They really expect a scam place to pay a fine? lol.

[Kraken]

I wonder how they got a $3,000 discount on that fine.

I know how to block numbers on my cellphone, but one can't do that when the spammers are unidentified or spoofing a different number every time. The ones that really grind my gears are those that somehow leave voicemails without ever ringing the phone. How the hell is that even possible?

There's one voicemail I have to delete a couple of times a week. Someone wants to give me a pandemic business loan. Sure, hidden identity person with a secret silo into my voicemail, you're going to get me $50,000 from the gubmint that I never have to pay back. Sounds legit.

[TheMix]

I wonder how they got a $3,000 discount on that fine.

I know how to block numbers on my cellphone, but one can't do that when the spammers are unidentified or spoofing a different number every time. The ones that really grind my gears are those that somehow leave voicemails without ever ringing the phone. How the hell is that even possible?

There's one voicemail I have to delete a couple of times a week. Someone wants to give me a pandemic business loan. Sure, hidden identity person with a secret silo into my voicemail, you're going to get me $50,000 from the gubmint that I never have to pay back. Sounds legit.

Pretty sure blocking just stops it from ringing. It doesn't prevent them from being able to leave messages. I have my phone set to Do Not Disturb. It only rings for people that are in my address book. But I still get messages periodically.

[Kraken]

I wonder how they got a $3,000 discount on that fine.

I know how to block numbers on my cellphone, but one can't do that when the spammers are unidentified or spoofing a different number every time. The ones that really grind my gears are those that somehow leave voicemails without ever ringing the phone. How the hell is that even possible?

There's one voicemail I have to delete a couple of times a week. Someone wants to give me a pandemic business loan. Sure, hidden identity person with a secret silo into my voicemail, you're going to get me $50,000 from the gubmint that I never have to pay back. Sounds legit.

Pretty sure blocking just stops it from ringing. It doesn't prevent them from being able to leave messages. I have my phone set to Do Not Disturb. It only rings for people that are in my address book. But I still get messages periodically.

I think Verizon offers enhanced blocking for a low monthly fee that I refuse to pay. Here's an idea: if you have that technology, give it to all your subscribers.

[LordMortis]

I wonder how they got a $3,000 discount on that fine.

I know how to block numbers on my cellphone, but one can't do that when the spammers are unidentified or spoofing a different number every time. The ones that really grind my gears are those that somehow leave voicemails without ever ringing the phone. How the hell is that even possible?

There's one voicemail I have to delete a couple of times a week. Someone wants to give me a pandemic business loan. Sure, hidden identity person with a secret silo into my voicemail, you're going to get me $50,000 from the gubmint that I never have to pay back. Sounds legit.

Pretty sure blocking just stops it from ringing. It doesn't prevent them from being able to leave messages. I have my phone set to Do Not Disturb. It only rings for people that are in my address book. But I still get messages periodically.

I think Verizon offers enhanced blocking for a low monthly fee that I refuse to pay. Here's an idea: if you have that technology, give it to all your subscribers.

Sprint (T-Mobile?) have a free "scam shield" for smart phones. It's has a premium features but I don't pay for them. The free version keeps me mostly spam call free. I seem to get a few a month and maybe a few robodailers a year. I get far more text spam, which it doesn't block. Especially during political seasons. Looks like my last block was July 3rd. Looks like it blocked 7 in June. May was a problem month for me. It only blocked 3 and 4 got through. 5 were blocked in May. Looking at the results Spam calls are generally down. I know I didn't block 1. I reported it to the social security admin under concerns that someone was trying to compromise my SS.

[em2nought]

I strongly suggest that if anyone donates to a charity they should do it anonymously, and NEVER make a donation in someone else's name(thanks mom) without clearing it with them first.


I get one repeated spam text wanting me to insure my 2017 GMC Arcadia which is kind of concerning to me since I've never owned a GMC Arcadia, and the IRS sent me that letter awhile back saying someone used my SS# to apply for a job. I hope I haven't bought a vehicle I don't know about.

[LordMortis]

I strongly suggest that if anyone donates to a charity they should do it anonymously, and NEVER make a donation in someone else's name(thanks mom) without clearing it with them first.

Or a candidate for office. One single $5 electronic donation with my contact information has haunted me in an ever expanding all forms of spam for nearly a decade.

[LordMortis]

spam calls for me had been all but gone for me from blockers and an actual decrease in calls except once a month or so a "would you sell me your house" call got through. Now I had been getting one or two calls a week from "fraternal police" this or that, like a shakedown, to the point that I'm no longer answering unknown numbers, which I hate. I seem to need to answer my phone for medical or legal stuff from unknown numbers all too often.

Why can't these police charities and political calls be blocked, reported, and made illegal? No matter how many I block, they just call from different numbers, just like... spammers...

[Blackhawk]

Why do you hate the police?

And that question is why. Not because those calls aren't bullshit, but because of the press that would result from an attempt to block them.

Most people have no clue how broken those (and school fundraisers, which share DNA) are. They only know that you're going after the good guys.

[Isgrimnur]

Because of the limits to FTC’s authority, the Registry does not apply to political calls or calls from non-profits and charities (but the Registry does cover telemarketers calling on behalf of charities). Also, calls from legitimate “survey” organizations are not covered because they are not offering to sell anything to consumers.

[LordMortis]

And two more calls today where I don't pick up and they don't leave a message. I'm guessing the holiday season spam calls will end just in time for political season calls and text spam to start. I wonder what changed recently. I had a pretty good shield for a good long time.