What do you do when a scam operation calls you?

[abefroman329]

I was getting calls from a life insurance telemarketer that used some sort of AI/voice recognition response software.  It would ask how I was, I would say "fine," it would ask how old I was, I would say "39," and then it would hang up on me.  Eventually I started responding to "how are you today?" with "please stop calling this number," and after taking that approach 2 or 3 times, I stopped getting the calls.

[US71]

Interestingly, as I was reading this thread I got some b/s spoof call.  I often get the local exchange number trick, but this one came up restricted.  99% of the time I don't answer.  This one I answered, but all I said was "If you want to restrict your number from me then you're not worth my time," and hung up.

Now they know it's a legit number

[signalman]

Interestingly, as I was reading this thread I got some b/s spoof call.  I often get the local exchange number trick, but this one came up restricted.  99% of the time I don't answer.  This one I answered, but all I said was "If you want to restrict your number from me then you're not worth my time," and hung up.

Now they know it's a legit number

That's fine.  Like I previously said, the vast majority of the time I don't answer.  I'm not likely to ever answer again.  Heck, I often let voice mail screen calls from callers that I know.

[inkyatari]

[US71]

I find almost half the "local number" calls I receive are from people who "missed" a call from my number then want to know why I called. It was often difficult to convince them it was a spoofed number.

That's one reason I quit doing my ST: Voyager EMH routine: "Please state the nature of the medical emergency"

[1995hoo]

I find almost half the "local number" calls I receive are from people who "missed" a call from my number then want to know why I called. It was often difficult to convince them it was a spoofed number.

That's one reason I quit doing my ST: Voyager EMH routine: "Please state the nature of the medical emergency"

At home if we don't answer, a caller gets this message. It's pretty effective at getting most people to hang up, although some people seem to call again just to hear it multiple times: http://www.sillyhumor.com/answer/spock.wav

[kphoger]

I often get the local exchange number trick, but this one came up restricted.  99% of the time I don't answer.  This one I answered, but all I said was "If you want to restrict your number from me then you're not worth my time," and hung up.

I may have told this story before, but...

One day, back before cell phone days, a man I once knew got a phone call:  "Hi, this is Southwestern Bell!"  *click*  He hung up the phone.  A few minutes later, another call came in:  "Hi, this is Southwestern Bell!"  *click*  He hung up the phone.  I'm not sure how many times this continued until he finally answered back, "WHAT?"  It turned out to be his wife, who was out of town at the time, trying to call him collect.  OOPS!

[bing101]

Play Al Yankovics Phony Calls if you get a spam call.

[hotdogPi]

Is there a difference between spam calls and scam calls? To me, spam implies that they're calling a whole bunch of people without regard to who it is, and a scam call is one where they're trying to scam you (hence the name). They usually overlap, but not always.

[kphoger]

Is there a difference between spam calls and scam calls? To me, spam implies that they're calling a whole bunch of people without regard to who it is, and a scam call is one where they're trying to scam you (hence the name). They usually overlap, but not always.

That's my interpretation as well.  Spam is something you don't want but end up with anyway.  Scams are trying to steal your information or your money.

[davmillar]

Depends on my mood. Most recently:

"DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW YOU WORK FOR A SCAM OPERATION?"
"No sir she doesn't because we aren't one." :click:

[jp the roadgeek]

For those that have Verizon Wireless as a carrier: the new, free spam blocker app, Verizon Call Filter, is now live.  I downloaded it this morning.  Waiting to see what happens when the first scam call comes through.

[1995hoo]

For those that have Verizon Wireless as a carrier: the new, free spam blocker app, Verizon Call Filter, is now live.  I downloaded it this morning.  Waiting to see what happens when the first scam call comes through.

I went to download that and it says it's only free for a 10-day trial and then costs $2.99 a month; most reviews are also negative. CNN reported this morning the app is supposed to be totally free sometime in the near future, so I think I'll wait.

[kphoger]

I haven't read a whole lot a about, but I get the impression all it does is alert you that a call might be a scammer.  That doesn't really help me very much, because I still have to either answer the call or then listen to the inevitable voicemail if I decline the call.

[jp the roadgeek]

For those that have Verizon Wireless as a carrier: the new, free spam blocker app, Verizon Call Filter, is now live.  I downloaded it this morning.  Waiting to see what happens when the first scam call comes through.

I went to download that and it says it's only free for a 10-day trial and then costs $2.99 a month; most reviews are also negative. CNN reported this morning the app is supposed to be totally free sometime in the near future, so I think I'll wait.

Mine says it's free.  It gives options of upgrading to premium for $2.99 a month.  Maybe the iTunes version only is live and Google Play isn't up yet.

[1995hoo]

For those that have Verizon Wireless as a carrier: the new, free spam blocker app, Verizon Call Filter, is now live.  I downloaded it this morning.  Waiting to see what happens when the first scam call comes through.

I went to download that and it says it's only free for a 10-day trial and then costs $2.99 a month; most reviews are also negative. CNN reported this morning the app is supposed to be totally free sometime in the near future, so I think I'll wait.

Mine says it's free.  It gives options of upgrading to premium for $2.99 a month.  Maybe the iTunes version only is live and Google Play isn't up yet.

This is what I find in the App Store (note the text at the bottom):

[jp the roadgeek]

This is what I found:

[1995hoo]

I see that same "what's new"  blurb, but I doubt the part about "free"  because the full app description showed what I posted and lots of reviews even from the past 24 hours talked about a fee. Guess I'll see what happens in the next week or two.

This is what I get, in order, as I view that in the App Store (the final one is what I get when I tap "more"  in the third one):

[davewiecking]

The pictured review is not for version 2.1, released yesterday. 2.1 includes free features including blocking, and optional in-app purchases (customizing lists, tracking, etc).

[jp the roadgeek]

It works.  Got my first call that says "Potential Spam"  instead of the dreaded "No Caller ID"  for one of those calls that rings once and leaves a voicemail.

[1995hoo]

The pictured review is not for version 2.1, released yesterday. 2.1 includes free features including blocking, and optional in-app purchases (customizing lists, tracking, etc).

Yes, I know, but I didn't want to add even more photos.  When I viewed all the reviews and sorted by most recent, there were a ton from the past 24 hours giving it one star and complaining that it's not free beyond ten days.

[Paulinator66]

Now they know it's a legit number

Answering the call, or even sending it to voicemail, still alerts the caller that the number is valid.  Once they proof of that it's likely that your unwanted calls will increase.  I always silence the ringer (pressing one of the volume buttons on the iPhone) and let the call continue ringing silently. 

Also, the iPhone has a Do Not Disturb feature.  I'm guessing Android has a similar feature but I don't know how it works but the iPhone's DND feature can be set to allow phone calls from people in your contacts even when the DND is turned on.  This effectively only lets people you know get through. 

[jp the roadgeek]

I use YouMail for my voicemail.  It plays an out of service message for the spam calls, and won't let those ringless spam voicemails leave their message.

Update: IT'S USELESS!!!  Scam call with spoofed first 6 digits got through and was able to leave the 0% interest rate credit card scam message. 

[roadman65]

I got that phony IRS call left a message on my voice mail earlier today.  They said the government was suing me and that I should not ignore the call that even the real police and IRS say we all should ignore.

[Max Rockatansky]

I just block the numbers.