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Let’s Destroy Robocalls

nytimes.com

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Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#221

Post by silvestrov »

biztos wrote: post #218
cletus wrote: post #62

So robocalls are the result of: - Cost of phone calls decreasing to basically zero - Cost of automation going to basically zero - Phone calls that can come from the Internet so there are no national boundaries anymore - Caller ID operating on essentially the honor system - Bad actors (telephone companies) benefitting from this traffic by charging for it - Larger players having no incentive to punish bad actors There'…

That sounds plausible, but then why are robocalls not a problem in Europe? I have two EU numbers and have never gotten a robocall on either of them. I have never heard of anyone getting a robocall in Europe, and while that might just be anecdata I think I would have heard something after two decades, especially in privacy-minded Germany. When I get off the plane in San Francisco and activate my American SIM card, I u…

Denmark: almost all (cold) sales calls are forbidden by law.

Exceptions are sales of books, newspapers, insurance, and research (e.g. Gallup). There is also a "do not call" list that blocks all such calls.

In Danish: https://www.forbrugerombudsmanden.dk/hvad-gaelder/markedsfoe...

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#222

Post by nullc »

arthurofbabylon wrote: post #164

My non-scalable solution: I occasionally answer the robocalls, get through to a human, establish common ground, and then let the caller know how they are helping to commit fraud. My goal is to in some way provide a feedback system. I don’t think that this is the responsibility of the consumer, but like most of us, I’m desperately interested in solving this problem.

Thank you for your service.

Actually what you're doing isn't really non-scalable-- the spam calls are just not viable if even a small percentage of non-victims waste their time.

(Though I've noticed now that they're automating more of the calls, it takes some effort to get through to a human... and the automation is starting to sound surprisingly realistic)

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#223

Post by fjord_ »

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…

This is a perfect example of why government doesn't come up with good solutions and often just makes it worse.

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#224

Post by fjord_ »

gesman wrote: post #40

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.

How are you going to fine a warehouse full of 500 people in India?

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#225

Post by timstapl »

Someone1234 wrote: post #150
egypturnash wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contacts-only whitelist with some work: Default ring: silence, no vibration. Custom ringtone for everyone you actually want to pick up the phone and talk to. Yeah you gotta spend some time setting it up for your existing contacts, then spend 5s selecting a ring when you add a new contact.

This seems like an iOS specific work-around. On other platforms they simply give you the choice to block non-contact calls. I can do so on my Pixel by leaving Do-Not-Disturb on with Contacts Only.

I've done this on my Pixel 2 for some time, however it no longer appears to work. Have you experienced issues with this on recent android updates?

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#226

Post by Scoundreller »

neuralRiot wrote: post #213
nathan_long wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The nightmare case for whitelisting is an emergency call from or on behalf of your spouse or child using a stranger's phone. This is why I don't want a whitelist. What I want is for spammers specifically to be identifiable and blockable, or for their business to be made prohibitively expensive. I didn't get spam calls on my cell phone 15 years ago, and as you say, what has changed is largely economics. Why can't we w…

I only answer calls from contacts, i ran into this scenario a few weeks ago, my wife lost her phone and wanted to contact me to locate it with "find my iphone" she just text me from her coworker's phone, no problem at all.

Sounds like some next century level “how to track anyone”. Just send an SMS from a random (non-spoofed) phone number, ask to do a “find my iPhone.”

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#227

Post by Scoundreller »

reaperducer wrote: post #190
bonobo_34 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get a lot of robocalls from spoofed numbers that have my area code and even the first 3 digits of my phone number in common. I guess the thought is that people are more likely to pick up if the number looks familiar? For me, it's just an indication of a robo call that I won't pick up.

It's called "neighborhood" spamming. You're supposed to think it's a neighbor calling.

Or worse, someone from your own organization (because you own the number block) and you’re on-call for a critical system...

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#228

Post by neuralRiot »

Scoundreller wrote: post #226
neuralRiot wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I only answer calls from contacts, i ran into this scenario a few weeks ago, my wife lost her phone and wanted to contact me to locate it with "find my iphone" she just text me from her coworker's phone, no problem at all.

Sounds like some next century level “how to track anyone”. Just send an SMS from a random (non-spoofed) phone number, ask to do a “find my iPhone.”

Yeah, that would sound suspicious but she just let me know that she was calling from a diferent number.

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#229

Post by musicale »

Maybe it's just as well that the phone system is being destroyed by robocalls - it's a great excuse to ignore all incoming calls, or not to have a voice number at all.

If the FCC and phone companies continue to do nothing, the problem may eventually correct itself as the phone system becomes unusable by humans.

Re: Let’s Destroy Robocalls

#230

Post by Scoundreller »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #152
cfallin wrote: post #84

One solution, not practical for most folks but works well for me: live in a different area code than phone number. (My cell number is in the area code I grew up in.) It seems most spam calls either fake a source number that's in my phone's area code, or use a completely random source. Almost any inbound call I actually expect without an address-book entry would come from my (new) local area code, so I can pick up a c…

Yea, any time I see an 808, I know it's almost certainly spam as only one real person I know has that area code. BUT.... I've had the opposite effect where they spoof to where I physically was regardless of my phone number. I recently contacted a phishing prevention company for a quote. They knew where I was physically located, and called me using a spam number of my local-actual code. I told them flat out that was a…

There’s a recent Reply All podcast on that topic.

The “feature” started innocuously enough.

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