Damned Phishing and other phone calls

M

mystang52

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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Jan 12, 2011
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Location
Fair Lawn
These nagging calls are getting out of hand. I'm on Do Not Call registry for both landline and my cell. I know that is useless, but I would think it might at least help partially.
I'm not counting, but I swear I get 4-5 calls every day. At least with caller ID I don't answer the phone, but it's still annoying, and apparently getting worse.
 
mystang52 said:
These nagging calls are getting out of hand. I'm on Do Not Call registry for both landline and my cell. I know that is useless, but I would think it might at least help partially.
I'm not counting, but I swear I get 4-5 calls every day. At least with caller ID I don't answer the phone, but it's still annoying, and apparently getting worse.
Click to expand...
I dropped my landline last year, more to stop these calls than because of the cost, though I didn't want to pay more for caller ID to help identify those calls. I don't get very good cell reception at home or I would've done it soon.

Unfortunately, Heather from Cardholder Services found my cell number. I have a different ringtone for numbers not stored in my phone, so that helps. Someone on this forum suggested making it silent, but I get just enough legit calls from those numbers that I don't want to do that. I immediately block any scammer numbers but the pros use different numbers so that's not perfect.
 
I installed Mr. Number on my android phone to be able to block Heather (and my college donation callers). It works well with robo calls as it has a great number of users who are reporting and building a database of the scum calls.

No more landline either.
 
aja8888 said:
I installed Mr. Number on my android phone to be able to block Heather (and my college donation callers). It works well with robo calls as it has a great number of users who are reporting and building a database of the scum calls.

No more landline either.
Click to expand...

+1
Both for Mr. Number (free, and excellent at blocking all unwanted calls) and losing the useless landline. To block unwanted texts on SMS, I use Postman (free). Also use free Pushbullet app to sync phone to laptop for notifications of both calls and texts, so you never miss either if you're phone isn't nearby. You can also respond to texts right from the computer. Probably my favorite app so far.
 
This problem was so bad it drove me up the wall. Like the OP, we were getting several of these calls per day.

Nearly two years ago, we dropped the landline and went with Ooma (getting a new number in the process. The nuisance calls immediately dropped to just a few per week.

About a year ago (IIRC), Ooma began incorporating Nomorobo in their service, and since then we have had at most two or three phony calls in the last six months. None at all in the last several months.

The Ooma Premier service costs me about $4 monthly, and gives me an unlimited personal block list as well. Very happy customer here.
 
aja8888 said:
I installed Mr. Number on my android phone to be able to block Heather.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that tip. I just got my first "Heather" call on my cell phone this morning. My son is out of the country on business in a dicey Middle East location. (Ugh!) He was supposed to call this morning so when my cell rang I jumped up from the kitchen table to the desk where it was plugged in charging. Instead of youbet jr giving me a thumbs up call, it was that bitch Heather. I was so pissed.

The appropriate punishment for those involved in robo-calls should be :confused::confused::confused::confused:? (fill in the blank).
 
Options said:
+1
Both for Mr. Number (free, and excellent at blocking all unwanted calls) and losing the useless landline. To block unwanted texts on SMS, I use Postman (free). Also use free Pushbullet app to sync phone to laptop for notifications of both calls and texts, so you never miss either if you're phone isn't nearby. You can also respond to texts right from the computer. Probably my favorite app so far.
Click to expand...

I'm using Mighty Text for syncing phone texts, etc to the computer. I love sending texts from my PC (big keyboard!).
 
aja8888 said:
I'm using Mighty Text for syncing phone texts, etc to the computer. I love sending texts from my PC (big keyboard!).
Click to expand...

+1

I've been using Mighty Text for a while and really like it. Can't 'type' worth a damn on my cell phone and using a keyboard is very nice.
 
RunningBum said:
I dropped my landline last year, more to stop these calls than because of the cost
Click to expand...

I did the same thing when I moved on July 1st. I cancelled my landline and didn't resurrect it at my Dream House. While Frank is getting a dozen political calls a day on his landline, I have received..... NONE. And, the runoff election is Saturday. :D

RunningBum said:
Unfortunately, Heather from Cardholder Services found my cell number.
Click to expand...

I am not looking forward to this! :LOL:
 
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We still have a land line and the unsolicited calls were driving us crazy until I discovered that our Panasonic wireless house phone has a call block feature. If an unblocked nuisance gets through I just add it to the call block list on the phone. Works great and has eliminated most all the bothersome calls. This phone is probably 5 years old and I had no idea that it would do this for us.
 
We got Magic Jack to save money on our landline - and with it got caller ID. That was enough for a while - to screen the robo callers... but then it got out of control - really amped up in the last month. So I forward the land line number to google voice... I get an email notifying me of calls (and the occasional message). Since the kid's school has our landline number - we can't ignore it completely - but I get email on my cell - so I can always see if they called the landline and call them back.

I still use my landline for most forms - and that's kept my cell phone relatively robo-call-free.

I'll have to try Mr. Number for the few robo calls that come through to the cell phone.
 
I still use a landline. The calls were driving me nuts but now I have a call blocker device (requires caller ID to work) that is whitelist based. The device I have with my setup still has one ring for spam or rejected calls, but that's still better than the calls going through to my answering machine or ringing several times.
 
rodi said:
I still use my landline for most forms - and that's kept my cell phone relatively robo-call-free.
Click to expand...

I used to do that. Then, thinking we'd be cancelling the land line, I started to use my cell phone number when giving folks and forms tel # info. I regret that. I think I'm going back to giving the cell phone number to no one other than folks that truly might have a need to contact me while I'm on the go.
 
We were using nomorobo with great success after reading about it on this forum. Sadly, it doesn't take spammers/scammers long to defeat efforts to block them. So we're back to depending, as we have for 30 years now, on the electronic butler: the answering machine. Spammers and scammers rarely leave messages. When they do, their pathetic grammar gives them away.
 
Amethyst said:
We were using nomorobo with great success after reading about it on this forum. Sadly, it doesn't take spammers/scammers long to defeat efforts to block them. So we're back to depending, as we have for 30 years now, on the electronic butler: the answering machine. Spammers and scammers rarely leave messages. When they do, their pathetic grammar gives them away.
Click to expand...

Amethyst..... Our old fashioned answering machine on our land line is currently our main line of defense too. We listen to whatever the call is and only pick up the ones we want. It's still a pita, but better than picking up and being surprised that "Heather" has some important info for ya.......

This was tough on DW as she habitually leaped for the phone whenever it would ring. Getting her to relax and just listen, or check for a message later if we're out of convenient hearing range, was a challenge. But she seems to have the hang of it now.

I categorize these robo-call folks as being similar to folks who steal from the poor box at church. Real scum. Yet few elected officials or gov't bureaucrats seem to be saying much about stopping robo-calls despite the unpopularity.
 
Since I no longer need a number for work, I reduced that main phone number's service to message only for $10 a month. I call in once a day for messages.

I have a new phone number but have only given it out to 4 people. Every one else has the old number.

I block my number when I call anyone except the 4 people who already know it.

Most of my friends and I prefer to set up coffee dates, etc, via email. Far less intrusive.

Hope this helps.
 
Walt34 said:
Having been fortunate in the past we are finally starting to get a few of these calls a week and I suppose it'll get worse. Someone posted about a call-blocker on Amazon and raved about how well it worked so I'm thinking about buying it. Glad I put it on the wish list there so I could find it again.

http://www.amazon.com/V2-Automatic-...qid=1447974020&sr=8-1&keywords=Tel-Sentry+Inc
Click to expand...

How does this handle the legitimate 'info' calls - like doctor/dentist appointment reminders, many of which are 'robots' now? I doubt that their robotic system knows to 'press 0 and call back'? These go to the answering machine now, which is just what I want.

Being dependent on Caller ID isn't great, the scammers have been spoofing that to trick systems like this and NoMoRoBo (still cuts down, does not eliminate).

I just wish my ans machine would auto-delete, and not beep, when 'someone' does not leave a message. The scammers seem to almost never leave a message.

-ERD50
 
No landline. We get very few unwanted calls, but I've been using the iPhone call block feature on the few.
 
ERD50 said:
How does this handle the legitimate 'info' calls - like doctor/dentist appointment reminders, many of which are 'robots' now? I doubt that their robotic system knows to 'press 0 and call back'? These go to the answering machine now, which is just what I want.

Being dependent on Caller ID isn't great, the scammers have been spoofing that to trick systems like this and NoMoRoBo (still cuts down, does not eliminate).

I just wish my ans machine would auto-delete, and not beep, when 'someone' does not leave a message. The scammers seem to almost never leave a message.

-ERD50
Click to expand...

In advanced (on) mode, the default of this device is to screen out calls not on the wait list. So, if you expect a legitimate automated call from a doc or dentist, if you already know the number, you can add that number manually. If not, then you can leave the device on basic (off) mode and wait until the call comes through, then add that to the whitelist. Of course, while in basic mode, all calls good and bad come through. Once calls are added on the whitelist, they go through directly bypassing the screening.

The good thing about this call blocker is the default of screening (while in advanced mode). I was getting a call from a caller named "Doctors Group" and they would always spoof to change the number around and call early in the morning. Now when they call (not too often as I think they know I'm on to them :D), the call blocker only gives them one ring before going to the screener.

With the call blocker, it is nice to come home and see if my answering machine shows 2 messages, there are 2 legit messages and 0 robocalls. Before, for example, the machine may show 7 messages, but only 2 of them are from people I know, the rest are robocalls or dials tones when a telemarketer hung up.
 
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Occasionally, we get a weird message where someone (always a man who sounds young, and with a local accent) will say Mr. Amethyst's first name several times as if he's very well acquainted with Mr. A. "Pick up! Are you there?"

As everyone knows, Mr. A. is a gentleman of some maturity. Anyone entitled to call him by his first name, is someone we already know. But we entertain ourselves with the notion of me picking up during the call and saying, "Yeah, this is [name], whattaya want?" in my best NJ-girl voice.
 
I haven't had a landline in over 15 years. I've recently been getting some unsolicited calls on my cell phone despite being on the Do Not Call registry. The funny thing is that most of the calls I get now are these unsolicited ones, as my friends and family mostly just text or email me.

I noticed my iPhone allows me to block numbers I don't want to hear from, so I've begun using that.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
 
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