VOIP Scam Calls
 

So, I'm not exactly sure what link I've clicked or feedback I've given to God-knows-who, but for about the last 4 or 5 months I've been receiving a totally unacceptable level of scam calls. I don't pick up the majority of them, but when I do there's been two different types of call - one is wanting to know if I would like to donate to firefighters or state troopers, the other says they've received my request checking on insurance plans (and the always start by calling me "Gerald"). I've politely and not-so-politely asked both entities to remove my number from their call lists, all to no effect.

So as the calls have gone on, I've tried doing the reverse number lookup thing. Most of the numbers come from rural areas in Missouri, generally from the same or neighboring area codes. Some of the searches return numbers that have been identified as scam numbers, so I block them. At this point I have well over 125 numbers blocked and I get no fewer than 3 or 4 of these bullshit calls a day. I've been on the national no call registry for a long time, but apparently this VOIP system allows these turds to bypass the rules somehow?

The question is what I can definitively do to stop this annoying crap from happening any longer, if there is anything I CAN do?

What can you do? Not have a phone.

It's bullshit but I consider them a fact of life and just decline the call as soon as they come up. It's pretty easy to tell which ones are on my phone though because I have a California number and I live in Oregon. Most of the scams come through with the same area code as my number.

Yep.

There's no way to really stop them. The Do Not Call registry is a joke - it's super easy to get around that.

Plus with number portability (both VOIP and mobile phones) and the fact that ANI numbers can be spoofed easily means there's really no way to stop it. They can just rotate through phone numbers in your local or neighboring exchange.

Yeah, that's basically all I've been doing. Verizon has a call filter feature I can use where I can report numbers and label them as "scam" or "telemarketer", but it doesn't slow down the calls. I've blocked so many calls that I'm starting to worry I might meet someone whose number I actually need and they'll be blocked in my phone, lol.

That actually happens more than you know.

They're just selecting local numbers (to you) at random and using them. If you were to redial the last incoming call, you would get your neighbor, who knows nothing about you getting scam calls. LOL

The calls mostly come from India so being on a national registry does nothing. They also spoof the numbers coming in so blocking them does nothing because they'll use a different number for every call.

Sometimes if I'm bored I'll just try to keep them on the phone for a long as possible until they get frustrated and hang up. If they know they can't get any money out of you, then there's a chance that they'll delete your number. The problem is that there is a ton of these scam groups all over so once one goes away another is right there.

Use a prefix block. For example, today I blocked all numbers comingnfrom 817-391-XXXX. If it's legit they'll leave a message

Sadly, I don't answer my phone any more unless it's a number that's already in my contacts. If it's legit, they'll leave a message (I hope).

99 percent of the calls I receive now are these scammers, and I hope they all die in a third-world bus crash. Slowly. Not painlessly decapitated. I hope they're pinned under the bus for days with many broken bones before they finally die of thirst.

This. The only exception is if I know a call is coming, and the number looks as if it would have come from there (Doctor's office with a number from the correct area, for example).

I was getting a bunch of those. A few years ago, I installed RoboKiller but it was so so. I didn't remember what all was wrong with it but it was far from great.
I have ATT and a few months ago, I installed their Active Armor. It seems to have fixed most of this issue.

No wonder I can't reach you.

For the very last time I HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.d40a93c1...pid=ImgRaw&r=0

The warranty on your car is about to expire, we HAVE to get this done this week or you will be unprotected.

Most of the big providers (like ATT) are using blacklists, meaning they're not proactively identifying scammers, they're just blocking already-reported spammers. And with number spoofing of local numbers, the blacklists really only catch TF numbers.

It's gotten ****ing ridiculous. I'm assuming it's because you can't do anything anymore without giving out all of your info and as a result, all of our info is everywhere out there now.

I still get some occasionally, but now it's three or four a week as opposed to perhaps a dozen or more a day like a few years ago. Mostly they were from spoofed legit numbers with my area code and prefix, and it got so bad that I finally had to turn my ringer off at work. I must have blocked over a hundred numbers before I finally got Robokiller. It doesn't get them all, but it ended that bullshit in a hurry.

I really hope there is a special level of hell for these ****ers.

I believe that place is called India ,lol sorry i couldnt help with that one.

I have over 500 numbers blocked now. It's just crazy.

I got a call from my own damn number. Sneaky bastids!! :mad:

I was an Android user, specifically the Nexus and then the Pixel phones from Google, for more than a decade until 2021. Google has some software that blocks spam calls from even ringing your phone. No freaking clue how it works, but I swear to god I would get less than 5 spam calls/year.

And I never really appreciated it until I switched to an iPhone. I don't get nearly then amount the OP is talking about, but it's more like 5-6 a week rather than an entire year. It's completely annoying and maddening. One of the many things I miss about having an Android but I assume it's proprietary in some way bc I don't think other OS or manufacturers have figured it out.

So there was a law change apparently last year. Short version of it is that if you make outbound phone calls to multiple numbers (don't know the threshold) and they appear to come from the same phone #, legitimate or not, it will show as SPAM.

We have this issue with our business. Same caller outbound caller ID for thousands of customers; all of our calls are marked as SPAM now.

It's stupid.

Our phone system allows this. :):)

This

It is pretty easy for me to identify spam calls down here, as most of them come from the numerous different area codes up there, since my number is still the one I had up there with a 630 area code.

For some reason the previous two weeks was relentless with them, but I must have gotten them all blocked, as it has stopped.


If a call comes in with the 417 area code, it has always been legit so far.

The amount of bullshit calls I am fielding on our company's RingCentral number is staggering.

Like 30-40 a day

Can you have that changed if you prove that you're a legitimate business?

Yes, but it's a process. And even if it's done correctly, there is a chance that we'll end up back on the list.

I've been getting dozens a day for months. It's making me want to invade India to shut these ****ers down. I have 2, TWO, spam blockers on my phone and they still sneak one through occasionally

same, i just have a message that says due to spam calls, please leave a message with your name and reason for calling, or text me with your name and reason for calling.

i think there might be a 3rd party app that can do this, but it might only be on android


(edit: nope, its on ios as well. try this app : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/youmai...il/id308331524 )


(edit2: i love that app and cant live without it if you have android or iOs, try the free version a bit)

Hmmm, I'll have to give this one a try.

What works great for me....either you have to get a live person or if you are lucky enough to get someone live off the answer

"This is Special Agent Smith with the FBI Fraud Division, how may I help you?"

not 100% effective but it definitely has reduced the volume.

3 spam calls in 24 minutes! Might be setting a new record today. I wish these dickheads would get real jobs.

I did install that app from Ming. I can say this.... I have only had 1 SPAM call since I installed it.

I have no idea if that means this app is blocking them & I never see them; or if I just moved to the bottom of all the SPAM call lists.

I have RoboKiller installed on my phone but i still get a missed call notification and every so often they sneak one by.

I love it when i get a call from some Indian guy trying to sound like John Wayne.