Posted on 11/11/2017 6:14:57 AM PST by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA — Unsolicited automated phone calls are a top source of complaint for the Federal Communications Commission, which is way the government agency is trying to enact new restrictions in order to protect consumers.
A proposal brought forth by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai last month would allow voice service providers to block certain calls that “falsely appear” to be unable to make outgoing or taking incoming calls, according to an October FCC fact sheet. The commission estimated that U.S. consumers received more than 2.4 billion automated calls per month in 2016, many of which included a caller with a fraudulent identity. The FCC reported that it’s typical for these types of calls to occur during all hours of the day and are made by fraudster who try to lure customers into sending money or personal information over the phone.
Allowing voice service providers to block potentially fraudulent calls can protect U.S. consumers from annoyances and scams, according to the fact sheet. The proposal would adopt new rules that would allow providers to block calls coming from invalid numbers, phone numbers that are not allocated to a specific provider and numbers that are associated with a provider but no longer in use.
The proposal targets illegal automated calls which can take many forms, including the IRS scam. During an IRS calling scam, consumers will receive a call from a person or recording claiming to be an IRS employee, when in fact they are trying to gain personal information or money from the consumer over the phone.
These calls are common across the U.S. and in southern Arizona. The city of Sierra Vista issued a press release Thursday about a recent IRS phone scam that involved a fraudulent caller claiming to be a Sierra Vista Police Department police officer and an IRS employee.
Brian Sebastian, SVPD public information officer, said in the release that the department will never ask residents to provide any personal information over the phone.
“Scammers often ‘spoof’ caller ID information to make it appear like the call is coming from a credible source,” Sebastian said in the release. “Neither the police department nor the IRS will call a suspect in a law enforcement matter and ask for payment of any type through any kind of electronic transfer.”
MAN ON STREET QUESTION:
How many automated calls do you receive every week? What do you do when you get them? How do you feel about receiving these calls?
Chelsie Wilhelmsen, Sierra Vista
“I get maybe two or three, not a whole lot. A lot of times I don’t answer the phone because I know what it is. But when I do answer I usually just say ‘no’ as soon as I can because I know that I don’t want it and then hang up. It’s a little bit aggravating when you know that it’s not an actual person you have to say ‘no’ to and your phone is ringing at inopportune moments.”
Beth Young, Sierra Vista
“I used to receive, probably, two to three per day. I installed an app on my phone that blocks them now so I don’t get them at all now. It’s called Hiya and anytime you get a phone call (from a reported number) it just blocks it. They are really annoying.”
Willard Braswell, Palominas
“I hang up on them. I feel like if they can’t identify themselves, then I don’t want to talk with them. I get probably four or five a day. I don’t want them but it’s a fact of life, everybody has your number. You do what you want with your computer or your phone, you’re going to give it (your phone number) away.”
Rebecca Cranfield, Sierra Vista
“I get at least one daily – at least. What I’ve done is tagged them in my phone to block them so I can still see in my call log that they’ve come through but what my phone does is just automatically reject the calls...I’ll just go through and keep sending them to auto reject. It’s frustrating because it’s sending to your cell phone, which you pay for, and also it’s at inconvenient times and it’s just aggravating for them to call over and over again.”
Eileen Ostrander, Huachuca City
“I probably get about five or six, at least, a week. What I mostly do is I hang up on them and when I get ones that I know right away that they are trying to scam me, I tell them ‘I know you’re trying to scam me and if you don’t behave yourself, you’re going to go to hell.’ They don’t bother me because I know they are scams, but it bothers me that they’re scamming people who don’t understand and they’re losing money. It’s sad.”
We have Nomorobo, stops most of them but we still get them. They’ve wised up and spoofed their number to a local area code to escape getting blocked.
I kept a record of the calls one month a year ago. Recorded more than 70 that month. Those were only the computer generated calls. Didn’t count the phone sales with a real person.
Sent the list and complaint to the NC Attorney General. He basically said, “Aw, sorry”.
The real culprits are the companies that pay the telemarketers to hound us.
That’s who needs to be shut down. And the phone Co.s for selling the blocks of numbers. Pacific Bell used to be the biggest offender.
The thing that REALLY frosts me is if a live person was hounding you this way you could get the laws after them. But somehow autodialers are immune.
“I have 17 vehicles warranties on my car now.”
I’ve won so many free 3-day 4-night vacations that I can sell my home and go on vacation the rest of my life!
I do the same. My greatest victory was when a telemarketer swore at me while claiming i was too dumb to see what a great deal i was missing and then he slammed the phone down.
I used the circular question ploy. After a while he must have gotten in to my games.
I always ask if their refrigerator is running. Ask them what they’re wearing. Ask if they’re married. Do you like show tunes? Do you pee in the shower? Are you a terrorist?
Excellent.
All telemarketers should be arrested and made to perform 120hours of community service.
We still have our original landline number hooked up to a magic jack in the office. We don’t answer it either because of the telemarketers. It does have voicemail on it and emails me with the voicemail. Only reason we still have it is because a lot of hubby’s retired firefighter friends have that number and not his cell phone number. Occasionally we’ll get a call on it from one of them.
The calls to the office and my cell phone have increased hundreds of percent in the past year. The problem is out of control.
I used Truecaller for a while, but it sort of became bloatware.
I am trying Calldetector which is specifically for Tracfones.
==
One of the current telemarket/spam/robo tactics is to call using the recipient’s area code and local prefix. I get several of those calls per month, even though I am on the state and FED do-not-call lists. Sometimes, a telemarketer will respond, other times it is just dead air. Most times, I just refuse the call unless I recognize the caller. If it is important, they will leave a voicemail.
I’m old fashioned. I give them Nixon’s SS#
More seriously, my dad got scammed by a "your computer has a virus" call. Grrr!
I use this on my landline (actually an older version of it):
https://www.telsentry.com/pages/sentry-3
It’s 100% effective blocking robocalls. The beauty of it is that you don’t have to explicitly block each number. The way it works is that if the number isn’t in either the black or white list, it plays a message to the caller asking him/her/it to dial zero, and if the caller does that, the call goes to the phone. Robocallers never do that, so the phone never rings.
Sanity restored.
No, in order to get more power for themselves.
No, in order to get more power for themselves.
Outlaw auto dialers
it plays a message to the caller asking him/her/it to dial zero, and if the caller does that, the call goes to the phone. Robocallers never do that, so the phone never rings.
My brother’s home phone plays a recording asking the caller to press 1 to reach him or press 2 for his spouse. It rings the same phone and after that it goes to VM. Stops all robocalls.
I wish I had an app that did something like that on my smartphone...
try this:
sign up for a VOIP account from VOIP.MS and forward your current number (if you have one) to them to try them out before considering porting your existing number. Buy a Obitalk gateway, attach it to your existing telephone wiring (first detaching any other provider) and your LAN, and use their website wizard to configure it for your VOIP.MS number.
Then use myvoipmsalt.com to eliminate junk calls from getting through. Works like a charm for me.
(we still need a “land-line” for our businesses, btw, and 15 hours average total talk time costs under $10.00 in VOIP.MS charges.)
Physically cut the lines coming from the India based call centers from which these calls originate.
Send in our Special Forces to blow-up those call centers or better yet, just drop a few strategic tactical nukes, a MOAB, Bunker Buster or whatever the hell is required on a few of 'em.
Watch this problem stop in a big hurry.
No more calls from the "IRS" saying you need to load up a gift card with $2,000 to pay a fake IRS tax lien.
No more calls from "Microsoft Technical Support" telling you to let them into your computer so they can "fix" a virus for you and oh, btw now your computer is held ransom for $300.
No more calls from some "police benevolence society" from some guy with a strange accent named "John" who promises you that your money will go directly to help a grieving state police officer's widow (who doesn't exist)
And finally, from the home office in Lincoln Nebraska: No more calls from "Mary" saying to "please hold on the line for the next available agent who'll reduce your credit card interest rate by half!"
Easy to setup, work great, can add your own list of numbers to block (I block my crazy ex-wife) and both use social media reporting of scam numbers to stay current on numbers to block.
Been using both for over two years now and I have nothing but high praise for both of these apps.
"Mission Accomplished"
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