Have any of the cell phone carriers gotten a leg up on the telemarketers?

[Zeke]

I have Sprint here in SoCal. 5 calls a day min if only the one is calling. They've defeated NoMoRobo by changing the incoming number with each call. I suppose you all know they use existing customer's numbers including mine ti show on the screen.

I have to leave the ringer off full time now. I wonder what people like law enforcement do with their phones. Anyone?

On a side note and I don't want to confuse things, but here in CA Frontier (the old Verizon) throttled back data usage during the recent record breaking fires. LEO's a FF's were having a hard time communicating with each other, the POCO and residents.

Frontier agreed to not do that anymore. Bastards.

[berettafan]

I would like to see Congress fine carriers for every one of these calls.

I would also like to see access to our cell network in the US be restricted and treated similar to a drivers license. If you are proven to be a telemarketer you lose your access to US phone networks.

[VINMAN]

Apparently not.

The do Not Call List is a freakin joke.

[MBAtarga]

Why do you think this is the carriers' fault? They have to follow FCC regulations:

https://www.consumerreports.org/robocalls/block-robocalls-new-fcc-rules/

Excerpts from the article: my emphasis of the text in BOLD

The Federal Communications Commission voted on Nov. 16 to allow telephone carriers to block robocalls that appear to be fraudulent—a particularly annoying and costly problem that has mushroomed in recent years.

Mahoney says Thursday's decision by the FCC is a step in the right direction, but she points out that only a small percentage of the calls will end up being blocked.

The FCC's ruling comes partly in response to a request from the telecommunications industry, which wanted to know whether it could block calls without breaking federal call completion rules, which bar phone companies from call blocking without customer authorization.

[cabmandone]

On AT&T when it's a telemarketer it reads "Telemarketer" on my phone same with possible SPAM calls. It has reduced the number of times I have answered pointless calls. Just look at the screen and swipe to end. It's an app called Call Protect

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by cabmando

On AT&T when it's a telemarketer it reads "Telemarketer" on my phone same with possible SPAM calls. It has reduced the number of times I have answered pointless calls. Just look at the screen and swipe to end.

That is the information that I'm looking for.

On the fines, a Florida man was fined millions last year. That's one out of how many?

Just got my 2nd call for the day. Since I was waiting for a text, I had the ringer on. This is what pisses me off. I'd literally pour boiling water over someone who ran this type of company.

[JavaBrewer]

So as of Monday this week I was getting 10-15 calls a day from random numbers that all used my 760 area code. I was restricting calls from numbers that were not in my contact list (iphone settings-enable do not disturb-> and set Allow calls from-> to All Contacts). My phone would not ring for those calls but the missed call would appear in my phone log. I figure if it's really important they would leave a VM for me. That was working fine but my missed calls log was always full.

So on Wednesday I went to DoNotCall.gov and registered both our phones there. These bogus calls have since (within a day) dropped by 95% so far - knock on wood. Hope I didn't just jinx it

[cabmandone]

I was wrong about Call Protect being what labels it a telemarketer. That must be within AT&T's system. Call Protect will block the call completely so I don't have to look at my phone! Timely thread because I just enabled Call Protect. You allow access to your contacts in the app is my only real issue. We'll see how it goes.

[pwd72s]

Very few on our cell. Probably because we usually have it on for only a few hours each week. Most of the time it sits unused on a shelf. We only pick it up when out & about. Just a cheap flip TRAC phone, $100 worth of minutes lasting the entire year. Our $8.33 per month plan. Wouldn't have bought that except no pay phones now.

Ahhh, but our home phone? 2-3 calls per day. A royal PITA. Usually, I just hang up, but sometimes I fool around with them. One I enjoyed stringing along was a guy posing as a grandson, claiming to be in jail needing bail money. I let him give his pitch for a good 15 minutes before letting him know there was one problem...that is..I have no grandkids. Sure glad he isn't my grandson...the impolite little bastid hit me with a string of cuss words only a Navy Chief could match.

(edit) I really feel for those of you who must have a cell on because of work.

[KFC911]

I have a "Do NOT answer" list...it's pretty exclusive (or inclusive....I dunno which)... all of y'all are on it!

Don't call us....do do do do do do do do....we'll call you....

[drkshdw]

I still use a flip phone that's 5 years old. It has a lovely feature that only allows calls to come through from numbers on my contact list. Haven't ever had a spam call since enabling the feature. Not having it on a smart phone is the only reason I haven't upgraded to one.

Now if you use your phone for business, good luck. When I had a business phone, I let every call go to voicemail. If I answered every call, I'd never have gotten work done. It was ridiculous.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by drkshdw

I still use a flip phone that's 5 years old. It has a lovely feature that only allows calls to come through from numbers on my contact list. Haven't ever had a spam call since enabling the feature. Not having it on a smart phone is the only reason I haven't upgraded to one.

Now if you use your phone for business, good luck. When I had a business phone, I let every call go to voicemail. If I answered every call, I'd never have gotten work done. It was ridiculous.

This is the case. Best scenario I have witnessed is a plumber who forwards all calls to a call center. If the call is legit, they text the number. He usually calls within minutes. He then makes a contact so all other calls from this customer go directly to him.

Let's face it, people want action. If you don't call them, they will keep calling until they reach someone with a solution. Lots of damage to businesses because of unwanted spam calls. Maybe 'damage' is not the best word, but works for me.

It actually calls for a class action lawsuit. Might have to go to the Supreme Court for a change in law.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

..... which bar phone companies from call blocking without customer authorization.

I will authorize! I WILL AUTHORIZE!!!

[Dantilla]

My cell phone is the only number I have. Business and personal.
It's finally worth it to pay an extra $3/month for caller ID. Quite often the ID says: "Potential spam"

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cabmando

On AT&T when it's a telemarketer it reads "Telemarketer" on my phone same with possible SPAM calls. It has reduced the number of times I have answered pointless calls. Just look at the screen and swipe to end. It's an app called Call Protect

I'm on T-mobile and I get calls that are labelled "SPAM likely".

[74-911]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm on T-mobile and I get calls that are labelled "SPAM likely".

Wife's Galaxy is on T-Mobile and she also gets the "SPAM Likely" messages.

I'm on T-Mobile with an old LG flip phone, call and text only. I seldom get a robo-call but I have got a few robo- texts lately ?? Perhaps robo-callers aren't interested if you lack a data plan ?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm on T-mobile and I get calls that are labelled "SPAM likely".

Same here except it says "Scam likely" or something like that (also T-mobile)

[gduke2010]

And they're going to pick up toward the end of the year. Enrollment season is almost here. It might already be here. I wouldn't know, I don't answer my phone

[Porchdog]

You have to think that if the Government gave a damn some targeted legislation and a relatively small investigative unit could stop this stuff cold. (Not to mention Craigslist scams, sale forum scams etc). Someone is making money by letting this continue.

Just curious - how could these scammers possibly be making enough from the rare person who falls for the pitch (and they must be getting rarer every day) to make it worth the effort? By now they must have managed to fleece all the rubes who are going to fall for this crap.

[jyl]

I use an iPhone app called "Mr Number". It identifies scam and telemarketing calls, either flags them or blocks them as I choose. I also tend to not pick up if a call isn't in my contacts, I let it go to voicemail. As a result I essentially never answer the phone to hear a marketer or scammer.