What do you do when a scam operation calls you?

[zachary_amaryllis]

Tech exists to drop a message into your box (full or not, as I understrand it), without even your phone making a noise.

In which case, it's a moot point.  If the phone doesn't ring...

Sometimes, often even, the simplest solution is the right one.

[vdeane]

I just got a call from a number I didn't recognize. It was legitimate (a Walgreens that I called a few days prior but not my typical one). Not answering unknown calls will result in missing out on things.

Legit callers can always leave a message.

But can and do aren't the same thing.

Also, if one's mailbox is full or not set up, then they cannot.

I had that problem while on vacation a few years back.  Driving down to Key West, I got a call from an unknown number.  No message, so probably junk right?  That night, one of my credit cards no longer worked.  Weird, right?  The next day, I get called multiple times from a different unknown number; the second time, I answer the call, and it's from one of my hotels responding to an issue I had.  Turns out they tried to call before and were unable to leave a voicemail.  That night, I call Cricket and find out that they "upgraded" the voicemail system at some point, resulting in my phone needing to be reconfigured to regain access to it.  After hours on the phone (and me having skipped dinner as a result), they still hadn't fixed it, and I only managed to fix it when a random solution from Google happened to work.  And then the following day, credit card still not working, I finally call the bank and find out that the first call was from them, having locked the card because they thought the Wawa transaction near West Palm Beach was potentially fraudulent (probably because the card may have skipped Jacksonville since I didn't need to buy meals there, resulting in a longer than normal distance/time gap between transactions) and weren't able to get a hold of me.

[Daisy Rahman]

My phone now includes a Google call screener, that will play a script explainning that I am using a call screening service, and for the caller to state wheren they are calling from and reason for calling. I have yet to have one caller continue with the call after using it. Most of the time previously I would just let the call go to voicemail.

I sometimes get the other end of the "scam" call. As part of my job, I have to call customers to let them know their orders are ready, or to follow up on their order a week or so after they pick it up. I had one customer, who was originally from Vietnam I think she said, who I had to call to let her know her order was ready. She of course didn't recognize the number I was calling from, so when she answered she started to scream loudly in her native language. I just sat and laughed to myself for a few seconds before trying to state who I was, and why and where I was calling from. She calmed down and aplogized once she saw who I was. She knew who I was, having dealt with her in person in the store. I've had a few other customers answer irately before realizing who was calling and that we had previously done business, but that one takes the cake. One of these times I'm going to say I'm calling about your car's warranty just to see what kind of reaction I get, but that might get me in trouble.

This is an interesting way. But I just don't answer the phone with unknown numbers.

[SEWIGuy]

My phone now includes a Google call screener, that will play a script explainning that I am using a call screening service, and for the caller to state wheren they are calling from and reason for calling. I have yet to have one caller continue with the call after using it. Most of the time previously I would just let the call go to voicemail.

I sometimes get the other end of the "scam" call. As part of my job, I have to call customers to let them know their orders are ready, or to follow up on their order a week or so after they pick it up. I had one customer, who was originally from Vietnam I think she said, who I had to call to let her know her order was ready. She of course didn't recognize the number I was calling from, so when she answered she started to scream loudly in her native language. I just sat and laughed to myself for a few seconds before trying to state who I was, and why and where I was calling from. She calmed down and aplogized once she saw who I was. She knew who I was, having dealt with her in person in the store. I've had a few other customers answer irately before realizing who was calling and that we had previously done business, but that one takes the cake. One of these times I'm going to say I'm calling about your car's warranty just to see what kind of reaction I get, but that might get me in trouble.

This is an interesting way. But I just don't answer the phone with unknown numbers.

I'm lucky to live in an area code that is different than my number's. So while I usually will not answer a call if it is "unknown," if it is from the local area code I usually answer.

And about weekly I will go through and block all of the numbers that were junk.

[Big John]

My phone now includes a Google call screener, that will play a script explainning that I am using a call screening service, and for the caller to state wheren they are calling from and reason for calling. I have yet to have one caller continue with the call after using it. Most of the time previously I would just let the call go to voicemail.

A lot of those are robocalls and not programmed to answer your question.

[Scott5114]

My phone now includes a Google call screener, that will play a script explainning that I am using a call screening service, and for the caller to state wheren they are calling from and reason for calling. I have yet to have one caller continue with the call after using it. Most of the time previously I would just let the call go to voicemail.

A lot of those are robocalls and not programmed to answer your question.

Ugh, just imagine when they get text to speech good enough that you can hook an LLM up to it.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Unfortunately, scammers are getting more sophisticated, and it can be harder to stay ahead of them.