I don’t answer either my landline or my cell phone, unless I recognize the ID. Since you can block numbers, it seems a bit harsh to execute robocall practitioners.
If you have a landline get a phone that has a built-in answering machine. Turn the volume of the ringer down to zero. When the phone rings you’ll know it by the light blinking for an incoming call, but there is no ring. Since all in-coming calls immediately go to voice mail, you can answer if it’s a call you want or ignore it if it’s a call you don’t want.
You can also do that if you have caller ID: If you know the caller, you can answer; if you don’t know the caller, you can ignore it.
I use RoboKiller. It is hilarious. It sets up a call where there are random responses. One sound like a Russian. Another pretends to be from Area 51 in a secure line. Another is a drunk. They record it for you for hilarious playback. BTW if the call in suspected spam it doesn’t ring your phone.
I bought the phone set with answering machine and call blocking but you have to keep up with it they keep changing their numbers ,LOL
Here is what I have done:
( Note ) These Robocalls are activated by your voice. When you answer and if you say, “Hello,” or some such, that triggers the Robocall machine to start talking.
Any call of a number which I do not know, and the called ID says, “possible scam/spam,” I simply answer the telephone, either landline or cell, and say nothing. After 10 - 15 seconds I hear a click, meaning that the calling number has auto-disconnected. That number never calls my number ever again. ;-)
Mere execution is too good for them.
When we got locked down, we started getting 30 robocalls a day or more. Got one of these and they dropped to zero,
https://www.amazon.com/Effective-ROBOCALLS-Scammers-Telemarketers-Solicitors/dp/B019ERMS90
Take your fifth amendment right to remain silent.
If it is a real call someone will say "hello?"
If it is a robo call you will hear a "click".
Your number is now in their data base as a dead line.
After a bit the calls will taper off and stop.
Why can't this practice be outlawed, and its practitioners be executed?
My husband has the same question about identity thieves.
I have no good answer except that people would probably call you to whine about it.
Take your fifth amendment right to remain silent.
If it is a real call someone will say "hello?"
If it is a robo call you will hear a "click".
Your number is now in their data base as a dead line.
After a bit the calls will taper off and stop.
Why can't this practice be outlawed, and its practitioners be executed?
My husband has the same question about identity thieves.
I have no good answer except that people would probably call you to whine about it.
We kept our landline when we first got our cellphones, in case the power goes out. Landlines should still work, unless trees knock out a bunch of telephone poles in the area during an ice storm.
But I think cellphones can work in power outage if there are several towers are close by... many towers now have batteries to function. And when the cellphone battery is low, we can use the car battery to charge the phones.
We need to get a landline because we don’t have good cell coverage here and when we try to call 911, it doesn’t go through unless I’m standing on the back porch.
911 calls won’t go through wi-fi because they can’t triangulate off it and that’s a problem because so many 911 calls end up in VT instead of NH. In addition to the regular power outages which leave us with NOTHING.
So we really need a landline here. What I would do is just turn off the ringer and leave it for outgoing calls only.
While FedGov and the telephony industry drags the issue out, at our ongoing collective expense, at least we can enjoy that there are some out there taking matters VERY much into their own hands and dealing VERY direct pain and anguish.
Enjoy this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DatifVfpYck
Same thing happened to me recently and I can’t remember what I did to trigger it. I’m getting IRS scam calls and obvious text message spam. If I don’t recognize the phone number I never pick up, except for when I’m waiting for an important call and the number looks legit.
That still doesn’t work and I inevitably hear after answering, “your car’s extended warranty, blah, blah, blah”.
They spoof phone numbers close to yours and they were using my sons # and I answered. There was a real person trying to sell me something and I cut him and told I was turning them into the FBI, Police, etc stealing my sons #. Got a few more calls and it stopped. Then my son was getting them with my caller ID and I told him to say the same thing.
“Why can’t this practice be outlawed, and its practitioners be executed?“
And you be the first to complain when your car breaks down and you realize you passed on the chance for the extended car warranty .
It goes in phases. Some weeks I will get 50 to 60 calls between 9 am and noon. I don’t ever answer my phone. As a LLC I am required to publicly list my number for the business thanks to our idiot overlords. I keep a burner phone for it, Don’t get me started about the spam texts.
I can also set the phone to not ring if it is an unidentified number. This has its drawbacks. If you are expecting a call and don't recognize the number, your phone won't ring and you can miss the call.
I had a political questionnaire call at 1:45 am last month on my landline. I had to wonder if the dem party was doing it on purpose pretending to be the republican party to get people mad at them. Probably just a screw up but now I understand why my parents would turn the phone off at night.