Community Chat

[sfnative]

@homedecor1 

I've read only a few replies and know this thread has addressed other more important issues, but wanted to add my two bits.

Congress recently pass a bill with regard to these types of calls.  I found that about a week after that action, my calls measurably decreased (have ATT).

Also, if your friend hasn't already done so and she'e tied to a land line only, urge her to purchase a telephone that has a digital read-out and the capacity to visually show who is calling you.  This is possible on more sophisticated telephones, where one can input the telephone numbers of family, friends, physicians, etc., so that when they call, their name appears on the digital read-out and you can answer the phone with confidence.  *Any time the phone rings and the digital read-out has no indicator or has garbage language on it, then one simply doesn't answer the phone.  Let it keep ringing.  Do not pick up the receiver then drop it back in the cradle.  That qualifies as an answered telephone.

We no longer have a land line.  I have an iPhone and it's quite easy for me to take care of these calls.  My phone rings and shows me the phone # and the city it's coming from - sometimes it just says United States.  If it's just a city, state or it says United States, I never, ever answer it.  Following these calls, there is always a record of them in "Recents."  I always go there, see that junk call number, go to the "i" on the right, click on it, this brings up a new screen, then at the bottom there are the words "Block this caller."  I click on this for every single scam call I've received and we all know that these scammers have a ga-zillion telephone numbers.  *The thing is to be patient and keep blocking all of the callers and deleting any voice mails without listening to them.

Again, advise that if your friend has a rather old phone without digital screen perks, that you might help her purchase one that can help her navigate through the forest of scam callers. 

I don't know where you live, but in some places in the west coast is a retailer called Fry's and that would be a terrific place to go to purchase a phone.

Good Luck!

[BirkiLady]

@homedecor1  Ahhh, sounds like you've done all you could possibly do. Thanks for filling in the blanks and answering my questions. You have been an excellent friend to someone in need.

Confident you will return to your own life with much greater appreciation! ENJOY! Thanks, again, for helping your friend.  

[Mindy D]

I’m getting the same annoying calls coming from scammers. This is on my land line. Phony charities “Can we count on your donation.”,credit cards “Hi, this is VisaMasterCard”(no such thing), Social Security, Medicare sales, clean my air ducts, eligibility to lower my electric bill by buying their energy saving solar panels, we’ll be in your area, mortgage rates, phony banks with phony alerts. Florida is the scam capital of the

U.S.  The same companies call over and over, even after I select their option to get off their call list. They lie, they scam, they annoy. On my husband’s cell, the callers numbers are spoofed to look like they come from local callers. He’s getting phony texts too. It’s every day. Congress is doing something, but it is not working. They are getting the same calls too. Apple and other phone carriers are letting users block unknown callers and there is the National Do Not Call List, but in spite of everything these... are getting through. Oh, how much I wish they could be found, charged and sentenced to jail time, but they usually aren’t even in the U.S.🤬