Posted on 02/13/2020 6:43:04 AM PST by rktman
When the phone rings, there’s a better chance than ever that a robocaller is on the other end, industry experts say: Automated calls are up 92% since 2017.
More than half are legitimate calls -- from, say, your school district or doctor’s office, or politicians running for office (which you can expect more of in the months ahead). But about 44% of the estimated 59 billion robocalls made last year – approximately 26 billion – were placed by scammers, according to the Robocall Index, a national database of autodialed calls compiled by a company that sells services to block them.
Making matters worse, many scam robocalls today are disguised to display local area codes to trick people into picking up the phone.
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
I’m starting to get spam text messages from some group in the GOP.......The number starts with 833 and is different every time even tho I keep blocking them.
I do the same. If you want to call me and I don’t know you be prepared to leave a message.
One other trick I use at home is to tag THIS audio onto the beginning of my outgoing message. Let your friends and family know about it so they don't hang up. The recorded/computerized calls will 'hear' it and disconnect quickly. Works like a charm for me.
And due to our so-called representatives being in the spammers’ employment, we cannot block them. I have to use caller id and only answer known calls, figuring if an unknown caller is legit they’ll leave a message. Makes me furious that I can’t control my own d*mn phone!
Same here. Numbers not on my contact list don’t get answered.
And fed.gov doesn't give a damn.
Do Not Call lists are a joke.
Inexpensive and easy to use, with unlimited blocking capabilities.
(no affiliation, just a very satisfied user (and I'm sure there are others similar out there) )
I have a small business so I must answer the phone. Probably 80% are junk calls. Many are robocalls, but often it’s a real person - wanting to sell me everything from google optimization to investments in oil wells
I know what it’s like to pound the pavement for a living, so I am polite, but it’s become a real annoyance
Just use Google voice and get a VOIP phone line. No robo calls are allowed. You can permanently block any number you want. And it is all free..... Unlimited local and long distance calling with caller ID. Again....All free.
Yesterday I deleted 21 voice mails containing an automated sales pitch for an alternative energy scam.
Thanks.
Google is in everything already. LOL!
rktman wrote: “Uh, simple solution, for me anyway is, if the number isn’t tied to a contact of mine it doesn’t get answered.”
Works well for me too. I was getting six/seven robo calls a day. Now only one or two a week. Scammers won’t leave a voice mail but your doctor will.
Frontier started a scheme to try to identify some of these as “Potential Spam” on caller ID.
So I ignored one yesterday. Turns out it was my mortgage loan agent. Important. But she left a message.
Uh yeah... we get it.
I’ve gotten spam text messages from the Bloomberg and Warren campaigns. Probably because I registered Independent after McStain/Romney and especially NY-23 where, after the Republican candidate withdrew, the eGOP told people to vote Democrat rather than support a Tea Party candidate. I will NEVER go back to eGOP or give them one dime after that revealing debacle.
The telcos could end this if they wanted to. They’re the only ones who can really see both ends of the connection and validate it.
But they don’t want to, so we all have to live with the consequences.
I work for a hospital. We can’t not answer the phone. Spammers have taken to spoofing the caller id of our vendors and other local hospitals we deal with. They will call over and over every minute, tying up the nurses’ phones and disturbing the patients in their rooms. It’s incredibly frustrating for everyone.
So far it seems to be working quite well. Agree with you that it's not perfected -- my credit union uses 2-factor authorization and will send an access code via either phone call or text. I selected phone call one day, and, as expected, the phone rang two seconds later, but was flagged as "Potential Spam".
As may have been mentioned, the FedGov’s ‘Do Not Call’ list for land and cell numbers merely provides spammers with a verified list of numbers. It save spammers time. They don’t have to lose money calling out-of-service numbers.
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