Poll of the Day > "Do not call list" - hahahaha that's a good one

(+) Yeah! (+)

But seriously why do I get spam calls like every other day :(

Because the list only applies to legitimate companies who care about the possibility of getting sued, not scam-ish companies which don't have a real address and are likely already committing crimes.

Granted, even some of the scam-ish companies often have an option to be taken off their list which they follow.
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True, but fuck it. Why can't I just block their number? Or is that a feature some phones have, just not mine?


Not like it would really make a difference as it's almost always a different number each time, but I have had one number call me three times this week

You can say something like "I opt out of this service" when you're on the phone with them... if they phone you again, they're actually breaking the law.
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I don't think that's going to matter if it's a spam call. I've heard answering those sometimes can be a bad idea because then they know you have a valid number or something. And I imagine a large number of them are just recordings so telling them something isn't going to do anything

DorkLink posted...

True, but fuck it. Why can't I just block their number? Or is that a feature some phones have, just not mine?


Not like it would really make a difference as it's almost always a different number each time, but I have had one number call me three times this week

Blocking is only a feature available to landlines supposedly. Plus they use tons of different phone numbers so it's infeasible. Prior to opting out from one of them, I would get 5 calls a day from different numbers both around the state and out of state. It wouldn't necessarily be a problem if not for the fact that I also freelance and potential first-time clients will sometimes call rather than email.
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Lokarin posted...

You can say something like "I opt out of this service" when you're on the phone with them... if they phone you again, they're actually breaking the law.

Lol. Like they care about breaking the law. These are scams in the first place.

And besides, it's not actually a real person on the line. It's a recording. And you can't just block the number because they call from hundreds of fake numbers. I've been getting these calls every day for like the past 4 months and can't stop them. Sure, you can block the number but it makes no difference because they call from a different number each time, and you're just blocking random real people that they're faking caller ID from.
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idk why but since i switched to t-mobile i've been getting a LOT more spam calls that i have to block
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Zeus posted...

Blocking is only a feature available to landlines supposedly.

My cellphone most definitely can block numbers. I have several numbers blocked at the moment.

And by several, apparently I mean 1. I have 1 number blocked.
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Whoever had my phone number before me had a lot of shit go into collections. They do not believe that I am not the person. It only stopped in the last year.
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lol i got a call from some "health services survey for new york state" even though the number was from texas and if you search the number they run the same scam in texas. trying to get personal information from me for a "study."

i was like nah i'm not interested in participating and the guy got seriously offended and was like "uh.. okay." really shortly. and i just hung up my phone.
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Hejiru posted...

Lokarin posted...

You can say something like "I opt out of this service" when you're on the phone with them... if they phone you again, they're actually breaking the law.

Lol. Like they care about breaking the law. These are scams in the first place.

And besides, it's not actually a real person on the line. It's a recording. And you can't just block the number because they call from hundreds of fake numbers. I've been getting these calls every day for like the past 4 months and can't stop them. Sure, you can block the number but it makes no difference because they call from a different number each time, and you're just blocking random real people that they're faking caller ID from.

Actually, some of the recordings have a "Press 1 if you want to be taken off the list" and, since pressing 1, I don't think I've heard from them. Originally I was hesitant to do so just in case there was some reverse charges scam or something, but I haven't seen any added costs on my phone bill.

Dynalo posted...

Zeus posted...

Blocking is only a feature available to landlines supposedly.

My cellphone most definitely can block numbers. I have several numbers blocked at the moment.

And by several, apparently I mean 1. I have 1 number blocked.

When I talked to a rep, they said that blocking would cost extra because they'd have to tie my number to a landline to handle the blocking. Granted, it was a rep so it's possible that they were lying through their teeth or had no clue what they were talking about.

Doctor Foxx posted...

Whoever had my phone number before me had a lot of shit go into collections. They do not believe that I am not the person. It only stopped in the last year.

Why didn't you just change numbers? In general, though, collection companies are used to people pretending that they're somebody else.
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Switch numbers, then get google voice then only give out your voice number. You can easily block as many numbers as you want or you can just flat out stop call forwarding from your voice number. Alternatively if you like it, but it's getting too many spam calls you can change your number easily.

Zeus posted...

Why didn't you just change numbers? In general, though, collection companies are used to people pretending that they're somebody else.

Because I'd had the number for over a year and someone was giving it out for their collections stuff at that point. To heck with that person in collections.
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Zeus posted...

When I talked to a rep, they said that blocking would cost extra because they'd have to tie my number to a landline to handle the blocking. Granted, it was a rep so it's possible that they were lying through their teeth or had no clue what they were talking about.

It's literally just in the call settings on my phone. Go there, punch in the number and that's it. Or go into the logs, select the number and hit block number.
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Get a new phone, or don't reply to any phone calls for two months while spammers purge your name from the list.

play along, get some information, thank them for the information and inform them you are going to file a complaint with the fcc. You will stop getting calls in a week or two.
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jamieyello3 posted...

Get a new phone, or don't reply to any phone calls for two months while spammers purge your name from the list.

I haven't answered the phone for one of those ever in the many years I've gotten these calls. I do seem to go through some dry periods though. They probably leave you alone for a while but inevitably new scam operations will just keep showing up.

DorkLink posted...

True, but fuck it. Why can't I just block their number? Or is that a feature some phones have, just not mine?


Not like it would really make a difference as it's almost always a different number each time, but I have had one number call me three times this week

it should have it, it's been a thing smartphones have been able to do for years.

usually you just put the number on a contact lableled Do Not Call" or" Blocked" or something.

whats your phone?
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i can block numbers on my phone but it still allows them to leave voicemails, so pretty much it's just a "forward to voicemail automatically" option
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I don't see any built-in ability to do that on my phone but I'm gonna try the Mr. Number app in this article:

http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-block-phone-calls-numbers-android-phone-246484/


Business Caller ID would be handy for me too

Doctor Foxx posted...

Whoever had my phone number before me had a lot of shit go into collections. They do not believe that I am not the person. It only stopped in the last year.

Had that happened to me, I actually found there office, drove the 30 minutes to it with my cell phone bill, marched in the front door showing them my bill and demanded they take me off their call list.

Surprisingly, it worked! Now I only get calls from the woman's psycho ex-boyfriend.

Part of me would want to do something like this, but I am just too lazy. Much easier just to use a blacklist app:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7532224
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helIy posted...

DorkLink posted...

True, but fuck it. Why can't I just block their number? Or is that a feature some phones have, just not mine?


Not like it would really make a difference as it's almost always a different number each time, but I have had one number call me three times this week

it should have it, it's been a thing smartphones have been able to do for years.

usually you just put the number on a contact lableled Do Not Call" or" Blocked" or something.

whats your phone?

What good is blocking the number when they call from a different fake number each time?

You guys are mixing these people up with regular telemarketers. It's not that. These are just scammers. And it's a recording, not a real person.
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The app I just downloaded seems to be able to apply a blanket "suspected spam" rule. It shows me feedback people have given on some of the numbers that previously called me. I imagine those numbers would get blocked thanks to the numerous people that they dialed before me who reported them as spam.