OT: Cell phone telemarketers

[Lion8286]

Verizon to release free features this week to help stop robocalls and catch spam calls

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...blocking-tool-spam-alert-due-week/3275108002/

 

[masterbaker65]

I saw a study that said in a few years 40-60% of all cell phone calls will be robo calls.

 

[PSUSignore]

I saw a study that said in a few years 40-60% of all cell phone calls will be robo calls.

I'm already there.

 

[demlion]

Geez, none of you people are interested in extending your cars warrenty?

Lol. As a joke I told them about my 21 y.o. Tacoma that i use as a daily driver AND a log skidder/firewood hauler/boat tow vehicle. I tell them i want a 100 percent bumper to bumper warranty for EVERYTHING--tires brakes, belts, oil changes. Where i switch over to my Jerky Boys spoof("You gettin this down, Chief? I ain't got no time to waste, ") they usually hang up.

If not, i tell em, "I got stains on the cloth seats. They were on there when I got the truck, i dont know WHAT the F it is. You cover that? How much? What're we talkin, Jerky? Hmmm?"

 

[pandaczar12]

My number and my wife's number are consecutive. Numerous times I've gotten a call, didn't answer. Immediately after my phone stopped ringing, hers began ringing -- from the same number. I believe in a lot of cases, they just dial numbers in order.

But, I also think the third party apps people use on Facebook allow the app to suck in their contact information. Now they start calling people from that contact list trying to sucker you into some scam by using the name of the person you know.

 

[rohrmd9]

If the mood strikes me, I answer and then I'll start asking a bunch of "stupid" questions. I'll string them along for as long as I can and then after a minute or two they realize that I'm just wasting THEIR time and then usually they start getting pissed off and spout out some choice words before hanging up on me. When the IRS calls and tells me I owe them money I go through the whole thing of how much I owe and can I write them a personal check....can they give me a street address cause I'd like to deliver the check in person so it doesn't get lost in the mail...blah, blah, blah. At that point the guy is getting irritated and says I better get myself a good lawyer. Or as someone else suggested...put your 3-yr old on the line. My kids are grown so that's no longer an option for me.

One thing that works well for us is that we still have a "house" phone so if we ever give our number out it's always to that phone. Our email is the same...we have an email account we use whenever we give email out so all the junk calls and junk emails go to these and we rarely check them. Close friends and family we use a different number/email. Seems to work pretty well as I don't get inundated with unknown calls and junk email to my alternate phone/email.

 

[tboyer]

I saw a study that said in a few years 40-60% of all cell phone calls will be robo calls.

I'm sure it's that high now. Number of robo calls estimated at around 100 billion a year, next year will be 200 or 300 billion. ( https://hiya.com/blog/2019/02/27/robocalls-skyrocket-globally-growing-325-85-billion-worldwide-2018/ )

And most of tho world's robocalls are aimed at the US since we have money and a government that does absolutely nothing to protect our privacy. In this and many things, Americans are the suckers of the world.

Really though everybody has to think of phones in a new way.

Having a phone that anybody in the world can ring any time they feel like it -- that is a quaint 20th century notion.

The future is going to be that only people on your contact list (a whitelist) can actually make your phone ring. Everybody else in the world can leave a message. Vast majority of robocallers will not leave a message, and the ones who do, it's easy to delete them.

But blocking robocallers is a waste of time because the outgoing number sent to caller id can be spoofed -- it can be any number they want it to be. They have tens of millions of numbers to choose from every time they call you.

 

[nittanyfan333]

yesterday I started getting a call about how there was some suspicious activity so they suspended my SSN. I literally got 6 calls and 5 messages from them.

I have a vegas area coded number from when I was stationed there. I get probably 2-3 calls a day from the vegas area code. Use to be that the next 3 numbers were always the same as mine (702-285) but when I started using the neighbor block app, I started to get calls from 702-XXX (different than 285). can't block them. it's getting more sophisticated by the day... I've had to school all of my older relatives that if you get a call from a number that you don't recognize, DO NOT PICK IT UP. if it's important, they'll leave a message.

How many of you have gotten a call or text from someone pissed that you were calling them and spamming them?

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

How many of you have gotten a call or text from someone pissed that you were calling them and spamming them?

I've had two of those calls, both from what were clearly elderly people. Each time I tried to explain but to no avail.

 

[Roar More]

In a new twist, I got a call from my own number telling me that my Microsoft certificate has expired.

 

[scartiger]

Have blocked well over a 100 numbers but they still call from different numbers at least 4 times a day.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

From the WSJ:
The FCC Has Fined Robocallers $208 Million. It’s Collected $6,790.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fc...llion-its-collected-6-790-11553770803?mod=mhp

 

[PS4814]

From the WSJ:
The FCC Has Fined Robocallers $208 Million. It’s Collected $6,790.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fc...llion-its-collected-6-790-11553770803?mod=mhp

[URL='https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjZqJDa5KThAhUhc98KHaIQC3MQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiphy.com%2Fgifs%2FND7XC2HCDQTyo&psig=AOvVaw2o_as-6gLKaeAOSrT7b154&ust=1553860800674006'][/URL]

 

[demlion]

From the WSJ:
The FCC Has Fined Robocallers $208 Million. It’s Collected $6,790.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fc...llion-its-collected-6-790-11553770803?mod=mhp

They have tried calling them, but it's always busy.

 

[Uh Clem]

Happily, I kept my Chicago phone number when I moved back to the Delaware Valley 10 years ago. The only spam cell calls I get come from cloned "local" numbers in Chicago. Since I have no more people in Chicago with whom I stay in touch, and the few I do have are in my phone with their name and number, so I just never answer.

According to Market Watch, spam phone calls jumped from 3.7% of total calls in 2017 to 29.2% in 2018 — and it predicts that number will hit 44.6% by early 2019 before rising to half of all calls by year end. Obviously, the FCC and Congress has been ineffective to this point in eliminating the problem.

 

[BBrown]

then block each number- it will cut down on them

That will not work.

 

[BBrown]

Ok so now I’m having a conversation with myself. One thing that just occurred to me is that my wife never gets these calls. I roll on my own plan with sprint and shes on the family plan with her parents through Verizon.

I wonder if service provider plays a role in this?

I will say this too... I registered with the health care market place years ago. But I have insurance. Also, right after registering my LLC in 2014, I began receiving calls for loan offers. That has since died out. Now the calls other than insurance are a guy that sounds like the bookie from New York who used to try to get me to buy his daily pics and claiming I can make $10k a month.

I’m just curious if there is any kind of connection here that I’m missing. Perhaps why I’m being specifically targeted. It’s clear that the state (PA open for business) sells your info to people after they charge you $160 to be “legit”.

So they charge you to register then dump your info.

Fvckin shit.

I just read today so maybe it will help but you are correct its a huge problem.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...blocking-tool-spam-alert-due-week/3275108002/

 

[BBrown]

The Do Not Call registry is as effective as a screen door on a submarine.

I do think it helps a little. It has cut down on the number of calls I get to both my landline and cell but hasn't eliminated them.
I also found that if you re-register it helps.

 

[BBrown]

Easy way to greatly reduce these phone calls. Go to the store and get a whistle and or air horn. When you get a live person on the phone blow. Believe it or not it works. The one time after I blew the air horn the telemarketer hung up the called back and asked if I was the a$$hole the blew the air horn in his ear. I asked him is sounded like this, and blew it again. What a dumba$$

LMAO.
\

 

[BoulderFish]

From the WSJ:
The FCC Has Fined Robocallers $208 Million. It’s Collected $6,790.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fc...llion-its-collected-6-790-11553770803?mod=mhp

LOLOLOLOL

Sounds like the FCC needs to hire some Robocallers to call the Robocallers.

Robocallers that paid the $6,790: "What!? Who the f*ck answered the phone!?"