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Ask HN: Why can’t I block all incoming calls that aren’t in my contact list?

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Re: Ask HN: Why can’t I block all incoming calls that aren’t in my contact list?

#121

Post by joshka »

m463 wrote: post #34
WestCoastJustin wrote: post #5

I just put my iphone on "do not disturb" full-time and use my favourites list to only allow calls though (from a selected list). People who double call are also allowed through. Then you are not constantly distracted by notifications, emails, texts, spam calls [1]. My thinking is, my phone should serve me, not the other way around, so I only check when I'm not focused on something else. Personally, I find useless not…

This still lets people on that list wake you up after hours unless you take manual action. I believe apple has a new call fitering API, but of course you don't have a way of really knowing what apps do with their permissions. Apple should give you the ability to firewall apps from any net access.

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/callkit/cxcalldire...

Single number at a time though. Useless for spammers that use random spoofed numbers. Not sure what sort of performance problems you'd hit by adding 10M numbers per area code. It's probably a hashset underneath, so maybe none...?

Re: Ask HN: Why can’t I block all incoming calls that aren’t in my contact list?

#122

Post by dest »

djohnston wrote: post #89
YeahSureWhyNot wrote: post #82

I wish there was no unlimited calling and texting. 1 cent per minute/text is ideal. cheap enough for everyone to afford and expensive enough to make massive scale spam calling business unprofitable. same for emails. make emails cost 1 cent per email that gets donated to whatever good cause and watch spam drop by 90%

i feel like it would be effective but i worry about requiring payment information for sending emails. it seems like a privacy nightmare

Also, this gives a way to entities who control the payments control who can send emails.

Might be a concern in authoritarian regimes.

Weren't there a project with proof of work?

Re: Ask HN: Why can’t I block all incoming calls that aren’t in my contact list?

#123

Post by croisillon »

DonHopkins wrote: post #113

I'm in the Netherlands and I hardly ever get any spam calls on my T-Mobile phone. Is there some reason like Dutch regulations, or are spam calls pandemic in the US because of American deregulation, or am I just unpopular with the spammers?

Living in Austria I've never heard of phone spam either but my parents in France are plagued by it, I guess that's a regulation thing.

Re: Ask HN: Why can’t I block all incoming calls that aren’t in my contact list?

#124

Post by jonathanlb »

deathanatos wrote: post #117

Or why isn't the law enforced? Why is the FCC and do-not-call.gov asleep on the job? Why are scammers even allowed to spoof caller IDs from local area-code numbers that don't even exist? (Thankfully, this makes them blissfully easy to spot. But I fear someday the fraudsters will get up to speed on that heuristic.) Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a technical measure like the one you suggest — it appears to be sorely n…

> Why is the FCC and do-not-call.gov asleep on the job?

I can't speak to the FCC's leadership under Ajit Pai, but donotcall.gov was shuttered during the latest government shutdown.

Re: Ask HN: Why can’t I block all incoming calls that aren’t in my contact list?

#127

Post by joshka »

I'm more inclined to say that the real solution to this is to make it expensive for the callers by having a service that answers the call every time and tries to keep the caller on the line wasting their time. There's obviously an asymmetric principal at play here.

Imagine for a sec a situation where: 1. I receive a robocaller message. 2. I press a button on phone indicating spam 3. Software Agent takes over, presses the right DTMF to proceed (ML based analysis of what works and what doesn't) 4. Agent waits for human to come on, starts playing random conversational pieces that sound right (extension, the google thing that booked a hair dresser appointment takes this even further https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D-6mxb_Mu8). 5.

Re: Ask HN: Why can’t I block all incoming calls that aren’t in my contact list?

#129

Post by est31 »

joshka wrote: post #127

I'm more inclined to say that the real solution to this is to make it expensive for the callers by having a service that answers the call every time and tries to keep the caller on the line wasting their time. There's obviously an asymmetric principal at play here. Imagine for a sec a situation where: 1. I receive a robocaller message. 2. I press a button on phone indicating spam 3. Software Agent takes over, presses…

It's surprisingly easy to fool spam callers with a set of prerecorded messages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB0fj0vLJPE&list=PLduL71_GKz...

Re: Ask HN: Why can’t I block all incoming calls that aren’t in my contact list?

#130

Post by askmike »

joshka wrote: post #127

I'm more inclined to say that the real solution to this is to make it expensive for the callers by having a service that answers the call every time and tries to keep the caller on the line wasting their time. There's obviously an asymmetric principal at play here. Imagine for a sec a situation where: 1. I receive a robocaller message. 2. I press a button on phone indicating spam 3. Software Agent takes over, presses…

Are you sure this is a problem you want to (try to) solve technically?

- You'll make it very hard for genuine people to contact you.

- You don't solve the problem, you only make it more expensive. As long as the benefit of calling you is bigger than the cost they will jump through whatever hoop to call you.

For some context: this isn't a problem everywhere in the world. In my country there are strict laws about unsolicited phone calls (especially to people who have indicated they wan't to be called[1]). I never get a spam called (automated or otherwise).

[1]: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/wetten-en-regelingen/productbes...

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