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Let’s Destroy Robocalls

nytimes.com

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Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#31

Post by michaelt »

guitarbill wrote: post #17
gonehome wrote: post #3

What confuses me about this is that Apple could solve this in two seconds by allowing contact whitelists where only incoming calls in your contacts are accepted and everything else is sent to voicemail or dropped. Is there a law against this or something? Nomorobo, Robokiller, Hiya all do an okay job as blacklisting applications but that seems like the wrong way to go about it. Some suggest using do not disturb to do…

You'd still miss out, like with the surgeon's example of a patient calling. It doesn't need a technological solution at all. In the UK and Germany, there were some calls, but it was rare, not even once a month. Do-not-call lists are enforced, and e.g. the ICO can fine directors of companies, not just the companies. Reporting nuisance calls can be done on a website, immediately. Then again, in the US, everything requi…

The UK system is good, but there are still robocalls and scam calls occasionally.

If you can make your scam calls from a foreign telephone network with spoofed caller ID, or your scam is good enough you can profitably do it from prepaid anonymous SIMs, regulators claim they're powerless.

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#32

Post by imgabe »

Is this generating a lot of revenue for the service providers? I think it must be or they wouldn't allow it to go on. Surely if one provider marketed themselves as blocking robocalls, they would get a large influx of business.

IIRC one of the main selling points of gmail when it started was that it had a much better spam filter than other services at the time.

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#34

Post by orblivion »

aarongray wrote: post #26

Lots of feel good ideas in the post, but no actual good ideas. Back when Congress created the Do Not Call Registry, and then forced law abiding companies to pay $10,000 for it, they pretty much just compiled an amazing list of active phone numbers that non-law abiding companies could acquire for a pretty good price and then sell them in batches to smaller companies that couldn't afford the full thing. Once virtual ph…

Between this and email, I wonder if we need to start over with an opt-in system for contacts. I know that brings in a whole mountain of other problems. But maybe if we slowly adapted to that rather of the mountain of problems with our current blacklist (if that) approach, the outcome will be preferable.

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#36

Post by yingw787 »

Been experiencing robocalls too. I use Hiya, but it's not a complete solution. Now I just let every call I don't recognize go to voicemail unless they call twice. It really sucks for the elderly, the sick, and the otherwise vulnerable because they're more desperate to hear from a doctor or caretaker or somebody without saved contact information / less technically savvy or on a landline / otherwise more likely to fall to these scams.

I'm wondering, is VoIP easier to call block than general call service? If it is, the inability or unwillingness by the telecoms to address this issue might prove to be a systemic disadvantage (though I'm pretty sure they make most of their margin nowadays from selling cellular data).

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#38

Post by whatislovecraft »

bovermyer wrote: post #29
whatislovecraft wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm having trouble imagining Republicans have have >89% support for robocalls Really? Why though? I would assume they do. Robocalls are the maximum free-market ideal communication / ad mechanism. Aren't Republicans constantly trying to get less regulation in the US? Constantly removing laws around protecting consumers from this stuff? I would assume most Republicans are in favor of Robocalls.

You must not talk to many Republicans.

I sure don't. I'd like to, but most Republicans seem to want me to die. They vote out the very existence of people like me, denying our right to safety and to live as freely and openly as they do. So it's quite scary, talking in person with people who encourage me to commit suicide based on my beliefs or identity, and even pass laws that seem to serve no purpose but to cause pain to others.

I'll be here to talk to Republicans, or anywhere really. But they'd have to meet halfway and stop the intentional causing of pain on minorities before that can happen.

The last time I sat in a restaurant with Republicans they both encouraged me to stop breathing and kill myself, because "that would be the best thing for the environment right?" as I wouldn't be exhaling CO2 any more. No thanks. I've tried hard but it's too dangerous.

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#39

Post by tjoff »

gonehome wrote: post #3

What confuses me about this is that Apple could solve this in two seconds by allowing contact whitelists where only incoming calls in your contacts are accepted and everything else is sent to voicemail or dropped. Is there a law against this or something? Nomorobo, Robokiller, Hiya all do an okay job as blacklisting applications but that seems like the wrong way to go about it. Some suggest using do not disturb to do…

Is there a law against this or something?

Common sense? In what universe is that a solution?

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#40

Post by gesman »

Make it mandatory $10000/call fine + prison sentence and teach users how to get a money trail.

Then the hunt will get efficiently crowdsourced.

After few well publicized cases the problem will greatly diminish.

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