Nomorobo founder here. I'm the "robocall guy" that everyone quotes in the news.
Instead of just popping my head into every comment, I wanted to give some insight into what's actually happening out there.
Background: I won the FTC Robocall Challenge back in 2013. I turned my prototype/idea into Nomorobo, which is the leading robocall blocker out there. In 4 years, we've stopped over 630 million robocalls from reaching people.
I'll actually be testifying at next week's House subcommittee hearing on robocalls.
# Not picking up unknown numbers
Unfortunately, this is what people think is the best solution. Even the government gives this advice. #1 is to use a robocall blocker and #2 is to not answer numbers that you don't recognize.
That frustrates me to no end. That's not a good answer.
"Doctor, it hurts when I do 'this'. Then don't do 'that'."
I really get worried when people say they turn on Do Not Disturb. What if there's an emergency? You have no idea who needs to call you.
This is especially important for people with kids. Is it a school? Is it a neighbor?
This is an actual story that happened to me - no BS.
My Uncle wound up in the hospital last month. Ambulance had to come pick him up off the bathroom floor and everything. No one in the family knew it was happening.
I got a call from a number that I didn't recognize but, since I trust Nomorobo, I answered it. It was my Uncle telling me what happened, what hospital he was in, etc.
Damn good thing that I answered that call.
But the fun doesn't stop there.
A few hours later, I go over to his house to pick up a bunch of his stuff and bring it over to the hospital for him. While I'm getting things together, his old flip-style cell phone starts ringing. I figure it's one of his friends that's worried about him.
I answer it.
"Congratulations! You've won a free cruise."
# Neighbor Spoofing
Yep - if the number shown is close to yours and it's not in your contacts, it's probably a robocaller. But spoofing is the norm with robocall scams.
Our algorithm detects over 1300 new robocalling numbers every day and they're basically all spoofed.
Whatever number is shown usually can't be called back. It usually doesn't belong to the actual robocaller. And they usually try to make the call take a confusing journey through "the tubes" that's impossible to trace back.
Neighbor spoofing is really hard for carriers to stop because a lot of people have sequential numbers and they don't want to accidentally block good calls.
It's especially confusing when people don't understand what's going on and they call back the unknown number:
Person A: Why did you call me?
Person B: I didn't call you. Why are you calling me?
Person A: Because you called me.
Person B: No, I didn't.
Person A: Yes, you did.
Person B: Leave me alone, crazy person. [blocked]
But, as an app on your phone, it's really easy for us to stop.
If you give us permission to look at your contact list (they never leave your phone and are never stored by us), then we can fully block all neighbor spoofed calls. If you don't give us that permission, we simply identify them as "Robocaller" whenever they call.
# Wasting their time
Don't waste YOUR time. It will not help. You are trying to warm up the ocean by pissing into it.
The scale that these automated callers work at is unbelievable.
According to our stats, 40% of all calls in the US are spam robocalls.
Someone mentioned Jolly Roger Telco. We worked with them this holiday season to make www.DoNotCallChristmas.com. It was fun and it makes people feel good but that's about the only impact it has on the problem.
# So...why don't the carriers just make the calls stop?
There are a lot of tech people here on HN. You know TFW someone says to you, "Oh, that's easy - you just hook up a database to a web page, right?"
"And put some that blockchains in there while you're at it."
Well, it's the same way with the phone system. It's not as easy as it looks.
The phone system has a birth defect. Call it one of the worst cases of technical debt, ever.
When it was first created, it was a closed, trusted system (with AT&T running the whole shebang). No one could imagine a situation where someone would lie about the caller ID so they didn't require it to be verified.
But then the system changed. Deregulation. The rise of VoIP. Interconnectivity.
Whoops. Toothpaste is out of the tube. It's tough to put it back in.
So, yes, secure and verified caller ID systems are being worked on (STIR/SHAKEN) but it's years off.
Will it reduce voice spam? Of course. But, this problem will NEVER go away.
People still get ripped off every day by thinking that the Nigerian Price is going to make them rich.
# What about the Do Not Call list?
The laws that govern automated calling were written back in the early 90's.
I was using a 14.4k baud modem and connecting to BBSes at that time. The internet as we know it didn't exist. People were still paying by-the-minute for long distance phone service. Then technology rocketed past regulations.
Today, the Do Not Call list is virtually useless against modern robocalling scammers.
At the House subcommittee hearing next week, I'm actually going to advocate that the government scrap all the existing laws and rewrite them with a simple, plain thought:
High frequency, automated phone soliciting should be opt-IN, not opt-out.
You must have the express written permission of the person that you are calling. Period. Full stop.
It doesn't matter if your number is on the Do Not Call Registry or not.
It doesn't matter if you're calling a landline or a cell phone.
It doesn't matter if it's a business or a residential line.
Got permission? OK. Don't have permission? Nope.
Note: If you're sending a purely informational message, this doesn't apply. I'm only talking about commercial solicitations here. Think of it like preventing modern day door-to-door salespeople. Ride hailing notification, doctor's office reminders, schools closing, etc. just aren't the same type of thing.
# Closing thoughts
So, in 2018, the best way to stop these types of scams is by using a robocall blocker. I'm highly biased here but I think Nomorobo is the best one out there. We understand the problem and the solution better than anyone else. It's completely free on landlines and has a 14-day free trial on mobile. On top of all that, we're extremely privacy friendly.
And, while I never blame the victims, there is a bit of a shared responsibility that we all have here. The more people that use robocall blocking technology, the less effective these scams will be. The less effective they are, the less of them there will be. It's a virtuous cycle.
Let me know if there's anything else that you'd like to dig into. I'm all ears.