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'One Ring' Phone Scam

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Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#291

Post by brewdad »

knodi123 wrote: post #287
eatbitseveryday wrote: post #273

One pattern I noticed but haven’t tried to circumvent yet is that I noticed robocalls identify on the caller ID as having the same area code as my normal phone number and my Google Voice number. If we were to acquire a phone number from say, some small town somewhere you have no business with, then could we block all caller ID with that area code and avoid all such robocalls?

> identify on the caller ID as having the same area code as my normal phone number and my Google Voice number. Most of my spam calls copy my area code and the first 3 digits of my phone number. In fact, I installed an android app called Calls Blacklist solely to make any call that began with the same 6 digits as me to not even ring - and now I get about 1 spam call per month. YMMV.

Ooh, I need to look into that. I acquired my mobile number about 15 years ago in a town 20 minutes away where I know practically no one. I get plenty of calls that have the first 6 digits pattern and it is virtually certain that those calls will not be from someone I know. It would be great to have them never even ring.

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#292

Post by opencl »

eatbitseveryday wrote: post #273

One pattern I noticed but haven’t tried to circumvent yet is that I noticed robocalls identify on the caller ID as having the same area code as my normal phone number and my Google Voice number. If we were to acquire a phone number from say, some small town somewhere you have no business with, then could we block all caller ID with that area code and avoid all such robocalls?

I sort of unintentionally did this by buying my first cell phone while briefly living in a small city I no longer have any business with. It was effective for a long time but somehow in the past few months I have started getting robocalls using the area code of the actual city I currently live in.

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#293

Post by amyjess »

anonu wrote: post #157

From the website: How to avoid this scam: Don't answer or return any calls from numbers you don't recognize. If the FCC is recommending we don't pick up our phones, isn't something really wrong with the system?

> How to avoid this scam: Don't answer or return any calls from numbers you don't recognize.

Unfortunately, this isn't great for a number of reasons:

1) The last two times I got a series of missed calls every two hours from somebody who didn't leave a voicemail, it was my credit card company (a different company each time) calling to ask me about a number of suspicious charges on the other side of the country that I sure as hell didn't make (I distinctly remember saying, on one such occasion, "What the hell is a Sheetz?"). Both of those times lead to me having my card declared stolen and the bogus charges reversed. If I didn't answer, I probably wouldn't have noticed the bogus charges.

2) My employer covers a large chunk of my phone + Internet bills. This is so I can answer emergency calls from our NOC whenever one of the important applications my team maintains goes kablooey. The whole thing with Android not resolving people's numbers right away includes them, as well. The call comes in as a long string of numbers, and if I miss it, it takes a few minutes before the long string of numbers resolves to a name on my contacts list. I'd rather not develop a reputation for snubbing our internal customers, especially not when they have an emergency.

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#294

Post by humblebee »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #234
shereadsthenews wrote: post #5

I can’t imagine why anyone ever answers the phone. I get at least ten robocalls every weekday. I don’t ever look at my voicemail and I haven’t answered a call in ages. Edit: I know I’m not alone because CNN just released a poll with no responses from people under the age of fifty, because they couldn’t reach enough of them by phone.

Do you have any guesses as to why you've been chosen? I can't remember the last robocall I got. I'm in my late 30s, have a cell phone only, which is on the do not call registry. The only times I get harassed are when I update my resume on whatever job site. Then for a few weeks/months I get what I consider too many calls from recruiters. I wonder if we have different purchase histories or something that has resulted…

I also have a similar experience to the OP. However, I do not get 10 calls a day. It's generally 1-3 during most weekdays but not all.

I use to not travel much, and any traveling I did was pretty basic flight + hotel. No fancy vacations or anything. A bit over a year ago I booked a trip to a resort in Cancun through a travel agency in Florida. None stop spam since. I noticed a massive increase the amount of email spam I got and started to received a large number of phone calls.

I can't say for certain that was the cause as it seems spam phone calls have been heavily increasing over the last few years, but it's the only thing I can point to as an out of the ordinary change.

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#295

Post by dboreham »

grawprog wrote: post #250
freehunter wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Visual voicemail is one of the best things I've ever seen. Especially with transcription turned on.

I've never heard of this before. Unfortunately after checking it out, it looks like my carrier only offers it for iphones. This does look like a handy feature though.

Hmm...I worked on this 25 years ago. Baby steps...

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#296

Post by seniorsassycat »

I have received dozens of phone calls a day that almost-but-not-quite match the 'One Ring' scam.

I get calls from international numbers, 'private numbers' and 'unknown numbers', (I'm not sure the difference between private and unkown, it's what android displays in caller id). The calls ring once and hang up. I've managed to answer it a few times but they usually disconnect before I can. When I answer I hear a few sentences in a language I don't recognize then they hang up.

The unknown and private numbers don't match the 'One Ring' scam because you cannot call back a private or unknown number.

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#297

Post by matwood »

chadlavi wrote: post #284
matwood wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Voice will transcribe any VMs and send them as a text. The transcription is good enough to know if it's someone you need to call back or add their number to your block list.

this is also done automatically in iOS through the phone app

I should check that out sometime. I've been using the GV one since long before it was offered on iOS.

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#298

Post by cm2012 »

Waterluvian wrote: post #164
anonu wrote: post #157

From the website: How to avoid this scam: Don't answer or return any calls from numbers you don't recognize. If the FCC is recommending we don't pick up our phones, isn't something really wrong with the system?

Absolutely. The phone system is totally broken. A few years ago I disabled the incoming call part of my phone to everyone except a few family members and my wife. So far it's been great. Everyone who needs me emails me. I've yet to run into a situation where someone I needed to hear from would only call me.

Doctor's offices will almost always only call you for fear of HIPAA violations.

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#299

Post by dwyerm »

malka wrote: post #240
astura wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, because when your spouse is getting rolled into emergency surgery after suddenly collapsing you'll definitely know what number is going to call you to inform you, so you'll want to whitelist that one. And when a drunk driver hits her car on a rural road in the middle of the night and her phone is trapped in the wreck, you'll want to make sure you whitelist the phone number of the passerby that stops to help. An…

If people want to contact me, they can leave a message on my voicemail. The only people who think "just disable incoming phone calls" is not a viable option either have no decent friends and/or family, very little life experience, or both.

Will reverse-911 bother navigating your IVR? Will their automation leave a clear message?

I can tell you that calls from 911 don't come from the phone number '911'.

Re: 'One Ring' Phone Scam

#300

Post by sib »

cm2012 wrote: post #298
Waterluvian wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. The phone system is totally broken. A few years ago I disabled the incoming call part of my phone to everyone except a few family members and my wife. So far it's been great. Everyone who needs me emails me. I've yet to run into a situation where someone I needed to hear from would only call me.

Doctor's offices will almost always only call you for fear of HIPAA violations.

My doctors either send email with a link to their secure messaging portal (meh) or a push notification to their mobile app which contains a messaging capability (much better).

This is much better than the old days of phone-only contact.

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