Unsuccessful at Being on the FTC's No-Call List

[dlgoff]

Being on the FTCs no call list doesn't seem to make any difference for me. I get calls all the time from people wanting me to buy something.

 

[phinds]

Being on the FTCs no call list doesn't seem to make any difference for me. I get calls all the time from people wanting me to buy something.

Think how many you would get if you were NOT on the list

 

[jack action]

I remember when they implemented such a list in Canada. Ill-intentioned calling centers were just happy to have a new public list of phone numbers to call and thus most people on the list had more calls than before.

 

[JT Smith]

When we first signed up years ago there was a noticeable decline in marketing calls. The no call list doesn't prohibit other types of calls, like political messages. And it seems that scam calls have increased enough that the reduction in legitimate marketing calls is eclipsed.

We simply turned off the ringer on our land line phone and let everything go to messaging, most of which we then delete. And on my cell phone I usually don't answer unless it's someone in my contact list.

So it's like email spam. It's a nuisance but a lot better than living in eastern Ukraine.

 

[symbolipoint]

I don't answer and call goes to voicemail, then that is used as a "successful call", so the scam/spam caller knows to do it again.

 

[dlgoff]

I don't answer and call goes to voicemail, then that is used as a "successful call", so the scam/spam caller knows to do it again.

Yea. I did the same thing. Just more calls.

 

[BillTre]

Whether I answer it or not, on my i-phone, I can get the information screen for the call, scroll down, and mark ignore calls from this number (or something like that), then delete.

This works sometimes and I think sometimes not. Depends on whether the caller is using something to generate new numbers or not.

The same thing should work for junk text messages, but as I recall its not so easy to do on the i-phone.
I think you have to make a contact record first to access the banning capability.

 

[dlgoff]

Whether I answer it or not, on my i-phone ...

All I have is a land line. Can't just turn if off. I depend on it for doctor's appointment calls, etc.

 

[JT Smith]

I block the numbers of spam calls on my iphone but they keep coming anyways. Probably they spoof the numbers.

How do you know what spammers consider a "successful" call? Do you really think they wouldn't include your number in the robocall list if your phone messaging was disabled? I had my wireless messaging turned off for a while and I still got lots of spam calls on my phone, just no messages.

There was a short time years ago where our land line answering machine message started with those weird beeps that you used to get when you dialed a disconnected number. The theory was that this would dissuade the spammers from trying again. I could never really tell if it did anything. And it freaked out friends and business related callers.

At least these guys don't knock on my door.

 

[berkeman]

And on my cell phone I usually don't answer unless it's someone in my contact list.

Same here, except when I'm on a medical shift, I pretty much have to answer everything since it might be somebody who is calling for help. At big events that I work, I leave my name and cell number on my main medical table, so if I'm away somewhere else in the venue when they go to the table for help, they can call me and I can get back there quickly.

But as you can imagine, about 80% of the calls that I end up taking on those shifts end up being junk/spam calls. I just verbally tear them a new one and make it clear that the number they just called is my medical cell phone and they need to take it off their call list, and that seems to work pretty well.

 

[gmax137]

Years ago I had a friend who kept one of those little aerosol air horns by his home phone. He would blow the horn into the mouthpiece, and then calmly ask, "What was that? Did you hear that?" and then blow it again. Very few repeat calls. Apparently the sound traveled all the way to Nigeria.

 

[mcastillo356]

So it's like email spam. It's a nuisance but a lot better than living in eastern Ukraine.

Like this quote. Brilliant. Greetings!