Community Chat

[Carmie]

@pitdakota   I have seen that program to basically get on unwanted callers nerves on our local new channel.  I agree it is funny and fun. You can download the app to your phone.

I would not work for me because the calls I get are all a recording. I very seldom get a live caller.

[Marp]

@Carmie, by chance is your phone a Panasonic?  Do you get a lot of legitimate calls from numbers that are not in your phone's phonebook that you have to take?

My Panasonic also blocks 250 numbers so what I have done is assign numbers to groups--family, friends, urgent, business, miscellaneous, etc. each with their own ringtone as a matter of convenience for me.  I know by the ringtone which group the call is from.

I then set the phone to silent mode from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. but allow calls from particular groups (or all your groups) to ring through.

Of course if you get a lot of calls from unknown numbers that you must answer, like business calls, this procedure won't work for you but if you only need to answer known callers it should work well.  Your phone won't ring and if it is a legitimate call they will leave a voicemail. 

[Carmie]

@Marp   Yes, my phone is a Panasonic.

I never thought to assign numbers to groups.  It sounds like  that might help me.  Most of my legitimate callers are from family and friends...people I know and they are in my phone book.

 I need to be available because I take care of two elderly family members who will call if there is an emergency or they need something...like they slid out of the recliner and are stuck sitting on the floor...yes, this has happened more than once.

i will check out my manual tomorrow and try to figure this out.  Some days I can ignore the ringing, but in other days, it drives me crazy.

Thank you for your suggestion.  You might have saved my sanity.

[Pook]

I rarely get any calls anymore since I started answering as a business and asking how I could direct their call.  There is a silence then clicking as they try to disconnnect.  I was getting several calls a day and now there are only about 3 or 4 a month.  

[Imaoldhippie]

Wouldnt that be considered double taxation and against the law?

[Cakers3]

Another question:  What about throw-away phones?  These scammers are not always using a family plan from the usual providers.   These scammers can easily avoid this "tax". 

And pray tell-what would the gov't do with all this extra $$??  A penny seems so little but think of all the legitimate calls made all day, all night.

[JustJazzmom]

I found the article about the FTC shutting down 4 call centers!

From USA Today:

As the war against robocalls wages on, the Federal Trade Commission claims to have won yet another victory against the illegal spammers. 

In a release this week, the agency touted that it shut down "four separate operations" that were responsible for "bombarding consumers nationwide with billions of unwanted and illegal robocalls."

According to the FTC, the groups responsible pitched a wide array of services from auto warranties and debt-relief services to home security systems, fake charities and services meant to help improve Google search results. 

All four operations named by the FTC were charged in either late 2017 or in 2018 with operating their illegal practices. 

“We have brought dozens of cases targeting illegal robocalls, and fighting unwanted calls remains one of our highest priorities,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in the release. 

[Sunshine Kate]

Only like this idea for charging the robo-callers only and it should be more than .01.

As far as ME paying .01 per call, even though I don't make a lot of calls -- absolutely NOT.

[CelticCrafter]

I don't care how little it is, why should we have to pay to stop people from annoying us.

[Spurt]

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@pitdakota wrote:

I saw just a blip on Shark Tank a couple of weeks ago with 2 guys that had come up with some type of a software system consumers can purchase that when the incoming call rings, it activates a voice recording with a voice that states they are having trouble hearing the caller, can you repeat that again a time or two.  I think there was also a point where the voice asks them to hang on and there is a barking dog or something, then comes back and says okay, now what were you saying?   Evidently the system they have can recognize the robocalls and the system was supposedly updated to add new numbers several times a day.

The actual recording they played was really funny and all of the sharks that night were really laughing.   I had to leave though so I don't know whether the guys were successful in having their venture picked up by one of the sharks or not.  But couldn't help thinking......I would love that type of a robocall spoofer system!  LOL

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@pitdakota 

There's already a company called Jolly Roger Telephone Company that already has had something in place for several years......was it them? 

Here's some of the scenarios they use to tie up scammers.  A local news station had a feature story on them....Google their name ....

1.   A bee got in the house

2. ..Sally is a busy mom doing her best to pay attention to unsolicited calls, but her teenage daughter keeps distracting her. Let’s try not to get her mad

3.  Mary She seems like a nice old lady with a couple of screws loose. But she’s crazy like a fox when it comes to luring scammers into long, funny conversations

and many others