(Picture alt text: a screenshot of my phone’s call log, with numbers redacted (just in case). The phone numbers (except for one) are all spam calls)
I’m not sure if this is the correct place for this, but I am at my limit with these.
Constantly throughout the day I get spam call after spam call. I constantly report them to Google (I’ve got a Pixel 5, if it matters), yet nothing changes. This has been happening for months.
These calls will also leave the exact same, completely silent, 4-second voicemails. I will block and report spam, but you know how it is. There’s no way to turn voice mail notifications off, and I wouldn’t necessarily want to, because I know I’d miss something genuine or important.
What do I do? Is there anything I can do, beyond changing numbers? Even then, I’m sure a new number would exist in some database somewhere and be victim to more spam calls. This is heinous.
Thanks for reading. I’m just so frustrated.
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Of course nothing changes when reporting them to Google, your number is somewhere on the internet, change it.
Are they all from your home area code? I got an app that lets you block every number in a range (straight to voicemail)
They mostly are. Occasionally I’ll get a few that are from the next area code over, even less occasionally I’ll get them from completely different states.
It would be my luck that blocking a range of numbers would block something important.
Your contacts can call normally, anyone else has to leave a message if they want attention.
This is a tactic that worked for me, but your mileage may vary. I used to get dozens of spam calls a day on both my work and personal numbers. I did all the things that you’re supposed to do and they just kept coming. I also needed to answer unknown numbers on my work phone so I couldn’t just block them.
So after a while, I started answering the calls and calling them back when I got silence. I made sure I could talk to a person/scammer as often as possible. In the beginning I would just ask them if they felt good about themselves trying to scam people out of their money. They would generally just hang up but one guy gave this long speech about how if you were that dumb you didn’t deserve that much money and how he was living the American dream (although I did ask him if he was in American at which point he hung up on me). After that, I would just start trying to keep them on the phone as long as possible. My job is such that I can work and talk on the phone at the same time, so I made a word document that had a fake name, birth day, social security number, address, a fake person basically. Then I would put on my “old man” voice and just act stupid to keep them on the phone. I kept one guy on the phone for four hours as I pretended to be too inept to turn on my laptop to give him my IP address. He was quite upset when I told him I knew he was scamming me.
Anyway, I haven’t gotten a scam call in like 6 months. I think scammers put me on their do not call list. Maybe worth a shot?
One spam call I asked the guy to stay on the line while I verify his number by running a route trace. He hung up and I stopped getting spam calls almost completely. Now I get a few that are auto-blocked but I still get robo-voicemails.
This has been effective for me, too, though I haven’t put that much effort towards it. I lose interest and change my mind about wanting to be on the phone for very long, but I’ll engage with them. Like question why they are asking for my name if they called claiming there was a warrant for me, or similar situations where they are asking for information that they should have if the call was legit. Their goal isn’t to call people and annoy them, they want easy money from stupid people (and tbh, I don’t have much sympathy for those dumb enough to fall for it).
If you slow them down in their system, they seem to have another system to help filter people like you out.
Pretty similar for me, almost disappointed I haven’t gotten one in a while. It’s funny to waste their time, and get them all worked up lol.
Yeah it was kinda fun. I figured ever minute I had them on the phone was a minute they weren’t scamming old people with dementia out of their money, so at the very least I was doing something mildly good too.
If you’re not getting calls it’s just coincidence. Scammers don’t have a unified do not call register.
You’re just wasting your time.
Arguably what he is doing is for good, because he is also wasting their time, not being able to scam actual victims.
Not really. If you really wanted to help your time would be better spent volunteering for an organisation that teaches tech literacy to people.
Also I don’t really believe OPs claims. Sure OK occasionally you might get a scammer to talk for more than a few minutes but not often.
I do love the idea of wasting their time! I’ve done it a couple of times, but nothing quite so extensive as what you do. Usually when I call robo call numbers back, I get “this number is disconnected,” so I can’t even annoy the hell out of them like they do to me. :/
Four hour guy I had a lot of clerical work to do at work that day and didn’t need to talk on the phone at all so I just kept him going. Would go off on long made up stories related to what he was saying. Told him about my kids and their kids and my deceased wife. They guy told me that my card was used to purchase (among other expensive things) “$3,000 worth of Bitcoin” and I kept being like “what’s a bite coin?” and he COULD. NOT. GET. PAST. me calling it bite coin instead of Bitcoin. He would correct me every time. Then I asked what that was and he told me it was a digital currency and I told him about my coin collection for like 8 minutes before he steered me back on topic. I only told him I was wasting his time because I was done with work.
I will say, one guy asked if I lived alone and I told him I do now because my wife of 47 years died two months ago and he said “Ahhh…that’s sad…” and hung up on me. So at least that guy wasn’t completely evil.
Totally anecdotal but if you have the number connected with social media like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc if you delete your account or maybe even switch out to a different phone number, you will get less to no spam calls. I deleted my social media and after that I don’t receive any calls. I only get calls that I’m supposed to get now.
Also, my phone number registered with bank and dmv is different so this might also be a contributing factor.
Did the same thing. I switched my number and only gave it out in my professional and personal life. Zero spam calls.
That does mean no “rewards programs” at stores and what have you as well.
Would some temp voip number work?
If my phone rings, and I see an unknown number, I just decline. I’m at this level of trust.
Anyone important will leave a VM,email, or text to reach back out.
Answering my phone is like answering my door.
If I’m not expecting you, I’m not answering.
Just disable the phone function on your pocket computer. It’s just for boomers.
I dont know where you live but in Croatia (EU) there is a registar “Dont Call” that you can add your number to. They told me that phone service providers are sharing our numbers LOL unless you ask them not to. This registar should be level above providers so your number should be private no matter what. I was just going to apply to that
That’s… not how that works.
Diallers just dial random numbers. They don’t need a list of numbers to call.
They DGAF if you’re on a do not call register.
In EU due to GDPR you do have the right to be forgot. I have asked those companies who have called me, to delete all information they have about me, and in return I have got the information needed to go through the process. That way there have been less spam calls
Not in America. Dude, same. I get 2,3 spam calls a day, sometimes like 6. It’s so annoying.
I have a policy - only those who should know my phone number is family and they are very strict about asking me before giving to anyone who asks. So, it’s usually not given. Then for businesses and other places which require a phone number, I use a Google Voice number. From doctors, to banks, or other places. I rarely get the scam calls.
HOWEVER
I get around 6-15 SPAM text messages daily. All 100% Political for Trump, Biden, Harris, or whatever scammer tries to get me to support on my non-shared number. A lot try to guilt you into “donating” to them too! I feel bad because while I won’t fall for it, I know many people already do. I have to use Google Messages to effectively block those automatically.
I have AT & T and complained to them about it to be told that I could change my number, but it would be $40.00 to do so. That’s a big scam in itself and I refused.
I don’t even get political texts anymore
All my spam texts are from “people” asking if I want to go golfing, or sending me a picture of a wine bottle. It’s absurd.
Thanks, I never knew that’s what it was called.
I was also the “victim”(?) of a brushing incident before. It was a strange experience.
I’ve used it for years now. Very few calls make it through any more.
YACB the GOAT
Blacklist: *
Whitelist Contacts: On
Advanced Call Blocking Mode: On
Absolutely nothing gets through
Would that work in OP’s case, where the spammers just spoof a local number? You’d think that it would get around that, just by virtue of being an “unrated” number.
Use Carrion from F-Droid and make it your screening app. Numbers that call you have to go through a verification that is mandated in the US & Canada. Numbers that fail this handshake verification will be rejected.
Will this effect callers who’s numbers I don’t have that I need to take? I have business calls all the time where I don’t know the number.
As long as its a legit number that uses a popular carrier that supports modern protocols they should come through. I’d test it out yourself if you have any concerns.
That’s awesome. Thank you. I’ll try it.
This totally blocks all scam calls for me:
I thought it was just me! The fuckers have literally been filling my voicemail to the max and I have to delete it all every day.
Who is your provider? If they have an online toggle for more spam detection/blocking, turn that on. Alternatively you could move to another provider who does a better job at handling spam calls.
