How robo-call moguls outwitted the government and completely wrecked the Do Not Call list (truc)

Tampa Bay Times ^ | 01/15/18 | Simon van Zuylen-Wood

[sparklite2]

As soon as you buy a new car or computer and get home with it, it’s obsolete. That’s life. The Sentry is, IMO, the best thing avaibloe for call blocking and it works perfectly.

I don’t what burr is under your saddle, but letting the perfect drive out the good seems to be part of it.

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

All I get on my landline is scam calls and political polls. Soon as I find another internet provider, I will eliminate the landline.

I am on the Do Not Call list, but it matters little.

My main defense is that I don’t answer any call for which I do not recognize the number. If someone that I don’t normally talk to needs to call me, they can leave a message and I’ll call back. Funny, the robo-dialers don’t seem to care that nobody answers. They call every day and night at about the same time anyway.

People like the one described in this article are among the lowest life forms on earth. I know that everyone is redeemable in God’s eyes, but these people are worse than murderers.

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[Paul R.]

Sentry looks good, but, it would cost very little to add capability to cell-based phones and most newly purchased landline phones to do essentially what most of us end up doing manually. Or maybe do a bit more:

1) Create a “white list” of known “ok” phone numbers from which calls are handled normally. Perhaps add prompts or nags to make sure local emergency services are added.

2) All other calls are routed to voice mail, but with some twists: These get a unique “pickup message” and either allow for longer “pickup messages” or better yet allow for a 1 minute delay between the end of the message and the “begin recording” tone. During this time, the caller will be advised they can speak, but no message is recorded (call screening). The recipient can at their discretion listen, mute, end the call, or of course pick up at any time. The OGM (Outgoing message) for these caller numbers can go something like (stern male voice?) “Hello, we are away from the phone. After the first tone, there will be a one minute call screening delay, during which you may speak, and we can monitor or pick up, but no message is recorded. After the second, higher pitch tone (or double beep?), you may record a message up to (user selected allowable length).”

3) The call screening part of the above may not work with existing flip phones.

4) The above might appear to “use more minutes” if a cell phone is called, but in reality most robo-calls abort themselves anyway when going to voice mail. Plus, the deterrent effect should be excellent.

5) A somewhat similar approach with a “whitelist” should work with spam text messages, too.

Alternately we can hunt down a few individuals behind robo-calls and very publicly drop them into ISIS controlled territory. Ditto for scammers. Scammers additionally get their choice of a Star of David or Cross branded onto their foreheads, pre-drop.