Fake Phone Calls Running Rampant

[Karl00]

This has been really getting ridiculous lately. I'm receiving numerous phone calls daily where they never say anything. I'll call back and the number will not be in service, immediately goes to voicemail, or some other variation. I block these numbers, but they seldom use the same one. This is wasting my time and needs to stop. It shortly started after stop doing business with a crap company but could be a coincidence. In the past it was seldom and not as bad. Now it's a problem. I need a solution to this.

 

[backwoodsman]

It could be spammers that are spoofing caller ID to local-to-you numbers. If you answer around the 3rd ring, someone else almost always picks up before you, so you get a dead line. That's been a big problem around here off & on for a while now. Only solution I know is to let calls go to voicemail unless you recognize the number. The spam blockers on my cell and IP phone are ineffective because they work off the number reported by caller ID.

 

[Markverhyden]

Stop answering every phone call. That's what I do. I know that if, for instance, I get a phone call from the same area code and exchange as my personal or business cell it's spam.

 

[Porthos]

Stop answering every phone call. That's what I do. I know that if, for instance, I get a phone call from the same area code and exchange as my personal or business cell it's spam.

Same here. Every call that is 210-445-xxxx is spam.

 

[GTP]

Simple. Phone rings, no one there after 3 seconds...hang up.
Phone rings.. Indian accent..hang up.

You can also call your service provider and make them block spam calls.

Here in Aus all the telcos/ISP's have there own internal TIO, (Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman) and every state and territory has one as well. But there is also the overall (Federal) Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
If you send them a complaint about a Telco, it gets fixed lickety split! No if's, and's or but's!
At the moment the ACCC and the TIO are on the warpath with telco's for lying to and cheating people over the NBN debacle. So they don't need too much of an excuse to pull some ones head off!

 

[Karl00]

It could be spammers that are spoofing caller ID to local-to-you numbers. If you answer around the 3rd ring, someone else almost always picks up before you, so you get a dead line. That's been a big problem around here off & on for a while now. Only solution I know is to let calls go to voicemail unless you recognize the number. The spam blockers on my cell and IP phone are ineffective because they work off the number reported by caller ID.

Most of the time I pick up around 1st or 2nd ring and rarely ever the 3rd. I get the same results.

Stop answering every phone call. That's what I do. I know that if, for instance, I get a phone call from the same area code and exchange as my personal or business cell it's spam.

Not going to happen

Same here. Every call that is 210-445-xxxx is spam.

None of my 100 blocked numbers are 210-445-XXXX.

Simple. Phone rings, no one there after 3 seconds...hang up.
Phone rings.. Indian accent..hang up.

You can also call your service provider and make them block spam calls.

Every single time I hear an Indian, I get suspect. It makes me have to ask a lot of questions to ensure and verify. Google Business My Listing support has Indians by the way and even when that number is listed on Google, I still remained suspicious.

Anyway I signed up to Nomorobo that supposedly blocks robocallers and telemarketers. I hope it helps at least somewhat. It's free for Verizon FiOS Digital Voice and landlines. I almost never get telemarketers on my cellphone luckily.

 

[NETWizz]

Lately some Indians call me at work with some Global IT Solutions or something they claim to be... They call now ever day!

Yesterday some lady calls and she is almost unsure of her sales routine, but she starts confirming my email address and asking why I haven't responded to her via email asking me "did you get the email?"

I said, "about that... could you unsubscribe me, please? I have received no fewer than 20 emails from you folks over the last few weeks, and they keep coming from different domains. We will NOT be buying anything from you."

"Oh, why not?"

Me: "Because I do not do business with folks that are not reputable."

Indian: I can assure you we do good business.

Me: I do not trust folks who spam me with email and constantly have different names. Reputable companies have one name, and they correctly identify themselves in communications. We also already have some very good businesses whom we do business with and there is no shortage of folks to sell us stuff.

Like 5 minutes later, some guy calls.

I told him, "your college just called, and I told her we aren't buying anything from you."

****

Today the lady calls back.

They are too stupid to figure out that I do business with folks only whom have been in business for a while, have good reviews, and have a filing with the secretary of state. If it is a contractor, I verify they have a proper licence, and we verify not only that they have insurrance but whom they are insured with.

When we buy something, we pay with a PO. Then if there is a problem we make them fix it. After which they can send an invoice and we mail a check. If there is a big problem after they are paid, we demand it fixed. If that doesn't happen, our legal department sends a demand letter. If there is still an issue, they file a complaint against the licence and copy their insurance with a demand for payment. If there is still a problem, we serve their registered agent with a lawsuit... Then they pay or they notify their insurance who settles the suit.

Not one time have we ever ended up with a problem that couldn't be resolved because we take precautions dealing with folks.

 

[Porthos]

None of my 100 blocked numbers are 210-445-XXXX.

Of course not. they spoof the area code and exchange of area you live in to trick you to answer.

 

[GTP]

Lately some Indians call me at work with some Global IT Solutions or something they claim to be... They call now ever day!

Yesterday some lady calls and she is almost unsure of her sales routine, but she starts confirming my email address and asking why I haven't responded to her via email asking me "did you get the email?"

I said, "about that... could you unsubscribe me, please? I have received no fewer than 20 emails from you folks over the last few weeks, and they keep coming from different domains. We will NOT be buying anything from you."

"Oh, why not?"

Me: "Because I do not do business with folks that are not reputable."

Indian: I can assure you we do good business.

Me: I do not trust folks who spam me with email and constantly have different names. Reputable companies have one name, and they correctly identify themselves in communications. We also already have some very good businesses whom we do business with and there is no shortage of folks to sell us stuff.

Like 5 minutes later, some guy calls.

I told him, "your college just called, and I told her we aren't buying anything from you."

****

Today the lady calls back.

They are too stupid to figure out that I do business with folks only whom have been in business for a while, have good reviews, and have a filing with the secretary of state. If it is a contractor, I verify they have a proper licence, and we verify not only that they have insurrance but whom they are insured with.

When we buy something, we pay with a PO. Then if there is a problem we make them fix it. After which they can send an invoice and we mail a check. If there is a big problem after they are paid, we demand it fixed. If that doesn't happen, our legal department sends a demand letter. If there is still an issue, they file a complaint against the licence and copy their insurance with a demand for payment. If there is still a problem, we serve their registered agent with a lawsuit... Then they pay or they notify their insurance who settles the suit.

Not one time have we ever ended up with a problem that couldn't be resolved because we take precautions dealing with folks.

Why bother even talking to them? You probably wasted 10 minutes telling them this, only to have them call again; and you waste another 10 minutes repeating yourself?
My .02

 

[NETWizz]

Why bother even talking to them? You probably wasted 10 minutes telling them this, only to have them call again; and you waste another 10 minutes repeating yourself?
My .02

My plan is to convince them not to call me back that it is a waste of their time.

Will it work? I don't know.

Similarly, when a telemarketer asks, "Do you own your home?" I usually respond with a lie and say, "No, my landlord does, but I am being evicted for non-payment." My hope is that gets me off their calling list if they classify me as a bum.

 

[GTP]

My plan is to convince them not to call me back that it is a waste of their time. Will it work? I don't know.

No. All you're doing is confirming there is a real person on the other end of the phone.

Similarly, when a telemarketer asks, "Do you own your home?" I usually respond with a lie and say, "No, my landlord does, but I am being evicted for non-payment." My hope is that gets me off their calling list if they classify me as a bum.

...and they will pass this information on to loan sharks/lending services, banks, finance companies, hire purchase companies and a dozen or more others who you can expect phone calls from....

 

[fencepost]

The two groups I've seen a lot of lately are ones starting with my cell phone area code and prefix (which is uncommon - it's an "overlay" area code that still gets light usage, plus a prefix technically associated with a suburb that's not that close, and service from one of the smaller carriers). Those have seemed to be a mixture of "Ann" calling with information about my eligibility for a new health insurance <click> and some "local" vendors ("Bob with your local vent cleaning company <click>"). I've also been getting a bunch of calls from New Jersey numbers, the few of those that I answered were all healthcare as well.

Some of this may be because with the end of the year coming up everyone in the US who doesn't have health insurance through their employer is looking at the annual option to change carriers.

 

[JoeTech]

It has gotten so bad that I have custom individual ring tones set up for important work, friends, or family, but if I hear the default one, it's always spam and don't even bother looking at my cell phone when it rings. If I don't see a voicemail, I don't call the number back.

I wish we could do that at the office too, it would save a lot of time from having to stop what your doing just to answer the 100th call from Google listings that day.

 

[MichaelBits]

We've had a steady stream of increased robo-callers here at our shop too.
Seems the last 6 months they have doubled, it's getting ridiculous.

 

[Archon Prime]

I use Hiya app on my phone. It's also integrated with my software on my Samsung S8+ but I use the app for additional options. I have 80% of the US eastern seaboard area codes blocked. I don't do business with people in the US. so I have no reason for it. Most of the spam calls have stopped though since the FBI took out that large spammer several months ago.

But this app is nice and I love it. If I see numbers coming up with the same exchange as my carrier, I let it go to VM because it's usually crap. If it's for business, they always leave a message.

 

[timeshifter]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the end of the telephone system as we've known it.

1. The PSTN is broken. I recall reading an article a while back discussing how the carriers were trying to address all the SPAM calls and CallerID spoofing. The takeaway was that the only way to fix the problem would be to replace nearly all the switching equipment network wide and that that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
2. Telephone users are training themselves and others not to answer the phone, mostly because of these robocalls.
3. Texting is taking the place of phone calls in many many situations
4. Younger generations, while they all have mobile phones starting in high school and younger, rarely make actual phone calls.
5. When a one to one voice conversation is needed there are tons of free, better options like Discord, Skype, Facetime, etc.

 

[mr m]

If I do not recognize the number I do not answer my cell phone. If you fail my screen test you go right to voicemail.

I am semi-retired now and cut my home biz landline a few months back. I gave the clients I wanted to keep my cell # over these past two years and instructed them to leave a message.

 

[fencepost]

Yep. Besides, what we think of the PSTN these days isn't really any such thing - it's an old-fashioned UI pasted on top of a completely different all-digital underlying network, and the spam problem is because that UI doesn't support the kinds of authentication, etc. needed.

The modern phone system is like an HTTP-only HTML 2.0 (circa 1995-97, pre-stylesheets) interface on top of a substantial server backend. Security? Encryption? Design flexibility? Those aren't features of HTTP or that version of HTML (remember table-based layouts and when client-side imagemaps were a new and novel thing?)

 

[Ken's PC Repair]

I have scammers spoofing my business caller ID information. We get at least a dozen reports from people a week. People don't seem to fall for it, and ironically we've gotten 2 clients from it.

 

[cypress]

I use Hiya app on my phone. It's also integrated with my software on my Samsung S8+ but I use the app for additional options. I have 80% of the US eastern seaboard area codes blocked. I don't do business with people in the US. so I have no reason for it. Most of the spam calls have stopped though since the FBI took out that large spammer several months ago.

But this app is nice and I love it. If I see numbers coming up with the same exchange as my carrier, I let it go to VM because it's usually crap. If it's for business, they always leave a message.

I use this as well and it definitely helps out a lot.