Anti-fraud tools can't keep pace with robocall scammers

Post by pixl97 » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 7:50 PM UTC

Leif24 wrote: post #57

xethos wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My only solution that I could think of is to have a dedicated phone line just for friends/family/work, and a second line for banking/shopping/utilities/everything else. This fails the moment one of your "clean line" contacts downloads a sketchy app that sells all their contacts, and sells an updated list as your appear in their recent calls list - meaning it's not a one-time thing, it's for a few weeks after every…

It works if you only allow incoming calls from your contacts (e.g. whitelisted numbers) on friends/family/work line. If that number leaks, who cares? The random numbers will be blocked anyway. Probably would want to set it up so the 'public' line is silenced - just periodically check the VM box for anything important.

Post by pixl97 » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 7:54 PM UTC

ozim wrote: post #32

sdenton4 wrote: post #24

I got an obviously-AI voice agent spam call yesterday. Had a bit of fun getting it to answer trivia questions (when was the treaty of westphalia ratified? answer in a rhyming couplet) as a precondition to handing over the keys to my bank accounts.

Downside is they most likely are using stolen tokens, not paying themselves so it cost them next to nothing.

Post by bluGill » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 8:00 PM UTC

Luc wrote: post #56

pessimizer wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent a little time unsuccessfully looking for a reference, but in some ancient Greek and early Roman governments, newly elected officials who were in charge of money were required to personally indemnify (become responsible for the professional liabilities of) their predecessor. If your predecessor committed fraud, you were 100% personally responsible for it. You would then gather the evidence and sue your predece…

That sounds like a great way to attract scammers and dissuade honest people, so if it's ever been tried it must have failed spectacularly (I also searched for variations of this idea but didn't turn up anything).

Post by hutattedonmyarm » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 8:18 PM UTC

dmitrygr wrote: post #48

DeepSeaTortoise wrote: post #11

The solution is accessible law, not better anti-fraud tooling. Introduce a spam / fraud button, using it requires your pin and costs $10, but obliges your telecom provider to record the call (preferably including a few minutes before you hit the button), email you a signed recording and if found to be spam deposit $100 onto your account. Your provider may then hand the fee +10% for himself to whatever network the cal…

Simpler yet: require every call to come with a physical source address, huge (and enforced) jail times for faking it. Let the internet and the pissed callees crowdsource the rest

Post by alex1138 » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 8:20 PM UTC