Is anyone else getting spammed today with unwanted calls? (live, delivery)

[lchoro]

You could try pruning the old blocks and adding new ones.

Some of the callers can be very arrogant when told about being on the do-not-call registry. There's one "Veterans" charity that used to lead off with "Is Dora home?". They use multiple numbers.

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by lchoro

You could try pruning the old blocks and adding new ones.

Some of the callers can be very arrogant when told about being on the do-not-call registry. There's one "Veterans" charity that used to lead off with "Is Dora home?". They use multiple numbers.

Thanks; I already did that (see OP). What we need is a means for preventing the spam from happening in the first place.

[NC211]

Originally Posted by LuvVA

I remember during last summer, there was a new type of spam call, when you get this call, there will be few questions asked. If you happen to answer 'Yes' to any of the questions, they use it later to steal your bank account or something like that. Don't remember much now. It was on WTOP/NBC etc.

I'm guessing one of the reasons for the increased volume as of late, has to do with tax refund season and your comment about bank accounts above. They're on the hunt to get into the account, knowing that some will likely see a tax refund wired into it soon.

[lchoro]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

Thanks; I already did that (see OP). What we need is a means for preventing the spam from happening in the first place.

There's a loophole in the law that allows charities and political groups to spam. That's why the ass on the other end got uppity when I told him not to call.

[BOS2IAD]

We recently got "NoMoRobo" which cuts off robo calls after one ring. You have to have a landline with digital voice to get it. Now when the landline rings, we wait to see if there is a second ring before we go to the phone. The funny thing is that sometimes after a call gets zapped after one ring, the phone will ring again with a spoofed number shown. We just ignore it.

[BOS2IAD]

Originally Posted by NC211

I also think it's somehow related to the fact that the crazies have returned to the road around here (more-so than usual)!


I don't know if it's the weather or what, but I've seen some of the worst excuses for driving this past week than in the past few years. I don't mean bad drivers, but overtly reckless drivers doing unbelievably stupid things. Must be the weather I guess.

Per the bolded --- Oh yeah! We noticed. Recently, we had a green arrow to make a left turn. Some idiot ran the red light heading in the other direction. We narrowly missed getting hit. I wish that that was the only time we came across a crazy driver.

[Deeman804]

I get plenty of spam calls all the time. At this point I never pick up unkown numbers but it’s annoying as I have missed important calls before. This has got to stop!

[ersatz]

The number of spoofed calls has skyrocketed lately because criminals always use technology to stay ahead. Not so long ago, telemarketers used lists of numbers to call consumers. When the government created the Do Not Call Registry, telemarketing call business dropped steeply. So, then many of them started subscribing to call centers based overseas – where the Do Not Call Registry has no legal impact.

With the advent of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and accompanying automated dialing techniques, individual call centers could raise numbers called per operator from dozens to thousands per day. Unlisted numbers make no difference to them, as the software just generates numbers automatically. VoIP software can originate from anywhere in the world. An originating number (Caller ID) displays whatever the call dialing software tells it to display – real, fake, or no information. The spamming software can change the Caller ID with every call, if it’s programmed that way. That’s why individually blocking numbers is soon ineffective.

Many, though not all, of the telephone spam blocking apps use blacklists. Blacklists are reported bad numbers. To get around the blacklists, many/most of the spammers/scammers now program their dialing software to repeat the first six numbers of the called number as the first six digits of the caller ID with some random four digits. Or, though this is more labor intensive, the more sophisticated criminals harvest legitimate numbers that share the same six digits and use those for an hour or a day or two before changing to the next. These are very hard to block because they are the numbers of real people and businesses.

Nomorobo and others like it work slightly differently and so can still block robocalls from spoofed legitimate numbers. They don’t rely so much on the number as on something called simultaneous ring. That will let the call be answered by two phones at the same time – yours and NoMoRobo’s. That simultaneous ring feature only works with VOIP though, so your phone service has to be VOIP. Most landlines are actually VOIP these days and NoMoRobo is provided free by many landline carriers. You can also whitelist known robocalls that you want – such as a pharmacy reminder. There is also a setting to let through Skype, as that technology can be similar to the characteristics of a robocall.

[PesachSeder]

Originally Posted by ACWhite

I've reached my block limit so have had to erase all and start over. I am working at home today and have gotten about a call per hour from different (probably spoofed) numbers.

I can't be the only lucky one, can I?

I live in Richmond and over the last couple of weeks we've started getting 7 or 8 a day.

[snowdenscold]

Originally Posted by ersatz

Many, though not all, of the telephone spam blocking apps use blacklists. Blacklists are reported bad numbers. To get around the blacklists, many/most of the spammers/scammers now program their dialing software to repeat the first six numbers of the called number as the first six digits of the caller ID with some random four digits. Or, though this is more labor intensive, the more sophisticated criminals harvest legitimate numbers that share the same six digits and use those for an hour or a day or two before changing to the next. These are very hard to block because they are the numbers of real people and businesses.

I actually like the fact that spammers use the first 6 digits. Maybe some people fall for it, but that's a dead giveaway to me that it's a spam call.

I see that 703-ABC-xxxx and instantly reject it. Gone are the days when sharing a prefix ( NXX / local exchange) meant you lived in the same neighborhood, so those 3 middle digits mean nothing.

I'm much more likely to fall for a 703 number that doesn't share my prefix. Now I worry spammers will read this and change their behavior though.