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Eliminating Robocalls

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Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#91

Post by lazyasciiart »

nonbel wrote: post #72
__jal wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is regulation. The US is firmly gripped by the belief that "regulation doesn't work", and keeps electing people who try to prove that true via incompetence, cronyism and ideological malice.

Nope, turns out it is some sort of crappy regulation preventing providers from stopping the robocallers from spoofing numbers in the US: >"The FCC last year authorized voice service providers to block more types of calls in which the Caller ID has been spoofed or in which the number on the Caller ID is invalid." https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/10/robocallers-evol...

Nope, turns out there is virtually no downside to making spam calls in the US, and so companies continue to do it. The spoofed numbers are just a way they implement that to get around consumer efforts to prevent it.

Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#92

Post by arawde »

jeena wrote: post #86

Is there a way to only let the phone ringing if it's a number which is in your address book?

In Android Pie, Do Not Disturb mode makes it so you are only notified of calls from your contacts. All other calls are received silently.

Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#93

Post by Diederich »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #52

I have had a Google Voice number since it was Grand Central. It has gone on all of my business cards. It's at the bottom of every email. I put it on my website. Google does an amazing, world class, mind blowing, job of filtering out robo calls. I get maybe one a week at most. I get more calls direct to my cell number from random call bots that hit every number with mobile carriers than I do through my Google Voice nu…

I've had the same Google voice number since 2009, in the south Bay Area, 408 area code.

I get one or two bogus calls a day, down from two or three a day at peak, perhaps four or so months ago.

To my knowledge, I've had no legit incoming calls incorrectly marked as SPAM.

Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#95

Post by tareqak »

profmonocle wrote: post #76
tareqak wrote: post #68

I don't get that many robocalls anymore after I signed up for https://www.donotcall.gov/ . I also make a point of reporting unwanted calls there too (I got two pretending to be from the IRS saying that I was about to be sued). I know that people find it annoying to go through the process of reporting the call, but I consider it to be one of those things that fall under the "All that is necessary for the triumph of ev…

It's great that the DNC has worked for you, unfortunately it's not much help for me since all my robocallers are criminals trying to steal from me. Naturally, people unafraid of being arrested for fraud are unafraid of DNC fines. I've been on the DNC for years, and a couple years ago I decided to change my number, since my old one was getting 4-5 robocalls per day, always from different numbers.

That sounds horrible. I wonder if there is a way to surrender that number to the FBI, so that they could investigate further. Even one call every other day would be too much to report manually for me in terms of effort.

Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#96

Post by maguirre »

fphhotchips wrote: post #55
godzillabrennus wrote: post #52

I have had a Google Voice number since it was Grand Central. It has gone on all of my business cards. It's at the bottom of every email. I put it on my website. Google does an amazing, world class, mind blowing, job of filtering out robo calls. I get maybe one a week at most. I get more calls direct to my cell number from random call bots that hit every number with mobile carriers than I do through my Google Voice nu…

> Android users have no excuse for not using Google Voice. Except that it's not available outside the US. The other 95% of us can pound sand, apparently.

Or if you are in the US and have a project Fi number

Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#97

Post by nonbel »

lazyasciiart wrote: post #91
nonbel wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, turns out it is some sort of crappy regulation preventing providers from stopping the robocallers from spoofing numbers in the US: >"The FCC last year authorized voice service providers to block more types of calls in which the Caller ID has been spoofed or in which the number on the Caller ID is invalid." https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/10/robocallers-evol...

Nope, turns out there is virtually no downside to making spam calls in the US, and so companies continue to do it. The spoofed numbers are just a way they implement that to get around consumer efforts to prevent it.

I'll take your word for that. But the problem is that bad regulation has created a downside for providers to block spam calls so they continue not to.

I would easily switch providers tomorrow if one of the features was "no spoofed numbers". This would be a giant market advantage if not prevented by this regulatory issue (whatever it is).

Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#98

Post by rp36 »

Interestingly, Robocall algorithms use phone numbers closer to my phone number (either real of fake) and since I live in different Area code, it is much easier to block the numbers.

Though it is not recommended to pick up the phone, I have had some success by picking up the phone, wasting the agent's time and letting them know that my car is real old and would not need extended warranty.

Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#99

Post by [deleted] »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #43
sokoloff wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't reducing spam phone calls directly hurt their bottom line?

So let's say that I've got a network that can carry calls. I rent access by the month. The fewer calls, the less infrastructure I need to be able to handle them, but the rent doesn't change. Why would I want spam calls on my network? Unless they're paying me by the call or something, that's the last thing I want.

[deleted]

Re: Eliminating Robocalls

#100

Post by sokoloff »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #43
sokoloff wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't reducing spam phone calls directly hurt their bottom line?

So let's say that I've got a network that can carry calls. I rent access by the month. The fewer calls, the less infrastructure I need to be able to handle them, but the rent doesn't change. Why would I want spam calls on my network? Unless they're paying me by the call or something, that's the last thing I want.

SIP calls are generally billed by the minute by the carrier. Mobile calls also often have a per-minute charge by the network. That those are often sold as “all you can talk” packages is a consumer marketing bundling action, not necessarily perfectly reflective of the underlying economics.
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