New Gadget Blocks 'Spam' Phone Calls

Smivs writes "The BBC report on a new gizmo that can block/filter spam phone calls. The system basically intercepts all calls. If it recognizes them as a friend or a member of the user's family — numbers on the so-called star list created by the user — it lets them through as normal. If the caller's number is on a zap list — numbers of telemarketers or other nuisance callers — the device answers it, and all future calls from that number, with an automated message which means the phone does not ring at all. If the system doesn't recognize the caller's number, or the caller withholds their number, it asks them who they are, puts them on hold and then rings the user's phone. The user has the option of taking the call, having the system take a message, or they can reject the call and add the number to the 'zap' list. Users can add callers to their 'star' list by pressing the star button on their phone at any point during a call." So wait, they can't spam me twice? If I press a button? And if they actually show their phone number on my caller ID? What about the auto insurance scammers that hit me 10x/week?

Comments

Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[elrous0]

The only criticism that I have is that it rings my phone at all (for an unrecognized number). I would prefer a system where an unknown caller (those not on the white list) has to first identify themselves as a real person (by keying some numbers) and then leave a message. The phone should only actually ring for whitelisted callers, everyone else should have to prove themselves human for the privilege of leaving a message.

The most annoying calls now are the "robo-calls." What really infuriates me about them is that I can't seem to hang up on them (if you try to hang up and pick up the phone later, the message is still playing). This pisses me off because it means that my phone company is somehow in cahoots with these bastards and is essentially letting them hijack my phone line without my permission. What if I needed to make an emergency call and had to wait for the robo-call to go through all its "great offers" before I could even dial out?

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[Spazztastic]

The only criticism that I have is that it rings my phone at all (for an unrecognized number). I would prefer a system where an unknown caller (those not on the white list) has to first identify themselves as a real person (by keying some numbers) and then leave a message.

This would be a great option for it, however it could be looked at as annoying for the caller. The reason I got rid of my land line when I moved is because of all of the telemarketers, robo-calls, etc. It got to the point where I wouldn't answer unless I recognized the number anyway. If it was an important call, they would probably leave a message anyway.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[fotbr]

That works great, except for all the organizations that managed to get themselves exempted from the Do Not Call list. Political campaigns being the biggest offender. And retards from both sides are calling 1-2 times an hour from about 7-9pm almost every evening since August. Isn't living in a swing-state fun?

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[elrous0]

I *am* on the "do not call list." I still get at least two or three of these calls a day. They just masquerade themselves as "surveys" or non-profits (or give me the "We are calling on behalf of your credit card company to tell you about this great offer..." line) to get around the do not call list.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[zappepcs]

I've been using Vonage for quite awhile now, signed up for the do not call registry, and if I don't recognize the number or it is not shown, I simply do not answer. Life has been much simpler doing that.

Truly, if it is important they will leave a message. I refuse to let my life be ruled by the ringing of a phone or the whims of another person who wants my attention. Leave a message, I'll get back to you ... sometime... if you're nice.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[gid]

Annoying for the caller? Too fucking bad. If you can't be bothered to enter the numbers, then I can't be bothered to answer the call.

I've always dreamed about such a device, basically a little captcha for the phone. I work from home and get tons of robo calls, and even if it's not a robot talking on the phone, marketing firms usually have some machine dialing the call and then hand it off to someone once the machine determines there's a human on the line. Ever wonder why you say hello and it takes the person on the other end a few seconds to respond? That's why. Phone captcha would eliminate these calls... at least for awhile until someone beats the captcha.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[Emb3rz]

Not I.

I'd like to have certain programs of mine call my cell phone to alert me to problems with pre-recorded messages. So far I've been too lazy to adapt them to do such, but my point is that this is something I would consider useful. By no stretch of the imagination do I believe it should ever be considered a felony to automatically contact a person.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[GalacticCmdr]

The most annoying calls now are the "robo-calls." What really infuriates me about them is that I can't seem to hang up on them (if you try to hang up and pick up the phone later, the message is still playing). This pisses me off because it means that my phone company is somehow in cahoots with these bastards and is essentially letting them hijack my phone line without my permission. What if I needed to make an emergency call and had to wait for the robo-call to go through all its "great offers" before I could even dial out?

I write robo-call software and when something like that happens it is the fault of your local carrier. Many of the local carriers in the US have been getting lazy about sending the proper signals when a connection is disconnected. It is up to the carriers to send this signal. I can regularly call my boss' landline and get a difference of 30 seconds between when he hangs up and when I finally get the signal has been disconnected.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[grub]

I have a similar box (Caller ID Manager) from PrivacyCorps.com which intercepts the first ring and checks the caller ID. We have a Panasonic wireless setup with 4 handsets from which the base station is fed from the CID unit. Bad CID? We never even get that first ring. The call is routed to another plug on the device where we have an answering machine telling the caller we don't take calls from their number.

We've blocked all 800, 866, 888, 000, 123-456-7890, etc. The thing works beautifully.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[xerxesVII]

I write robo-call software...

I'd like to take a moment to thank you for your tireless efforts to make the world a better place.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[Emb3rz]

<Zybl0re> get up
<Zybl0re> get on up
<Zybl0re> get up
<Zybl0re> get on up
<phxl|paper> and DANCE
* nmp3bot dances :D-<
* nmp3bot dances :D|-<
* nmp3bot dances :D/-<
<[SA]HatfulOfHollow> i'm going to become rich and famous after i invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet

Prior art. ;)

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[scotts13]

Best way to avoid this is to never register to vote. Cuts way back on the political calls (mailings, too.) I've never received either.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[KeX3]

"And you, sir, are worse than Hitler."

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[lysergic.acid]

VoIP is definitely the way to go. we really shouldn't need to purchase/install another device just to have automated control over our phone line. seems like with an open VoIP standard and an open source VoIP handset, you could just program such behavior directly into the phone. there's really no need for special hardware.

the other thing to do is regulate cold-calling (whether commercial or political/non-profit). force all automated cold-callers to be registered in an online database. when you receive a cold call, the caller will send you its number/ID that your VoIP phone will automatically look up on the online database and handle the call appropriately (e.g. hang-up/block all commercial calls, or take a message if it's a non-profit caller and save the voice message to a special inbox).

VoIP systems can also be easily extended. for instance, you can require anonymous callers to enter a password that you'd only give out to friends. that way if a friend needs to reach you from an anonymous line they can still get by your call filter. you just can't do this type of thing with traditional cellular or landlines because they're on proprietary networks.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[supernova_hq]

I write robo-call software

Of all the times not to hit the "Post Anonymous" check box.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[TubeSteak]

I work from home and get tons of robo calls, and even if it's not a robot talking on the phone, marketing firms usually have some machine dialing the call and then hand it off to someone once the machine determines there's a human on the line. Ever wonder why you say hello and it takes the person on the other end a few seconds to respond? That's why. Phone captcha would eliminate these calls... at least for awhile until someone beats the captcha.

Buy a Telezapper.
http://www.telezapper.com/

When you (or your answering machine) picks up the phone, the telezapper plays a dialtone.
Humans just hear a tone, auto-dialers interpret it as "this line has been disconnected"

I got one for my parents, long before the Do Not Call list and after around a month, as your number gets taken off of auto-dialing lists, it makes a huge difference in the volume of calls that come in.

You can also do it, like I did for myself, by recording the tone onto the beginning of an answering machine message, but the telezapper works whenever you pick up the phone. So if you're fine with letting every "unknown number" go to the answering machine (my parents were not) you can implement the Telezapper's $40 functionality for free.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[Soruk]

I do this on my Asterisk system by having an answering machine on my POTS line give out an 0870 (expensive to call) number that forwards to my VoIP phone number. My friends and family have the real number (so don't pay the 0870 call rate). The ringer is switched off (as is the speaker) on my answerphone so I don't hear it ring, it doesn't disturb me and the call spammers don't generally like to call 0870 numbers. It's a win-win. :)

Also, whocallsme.com is a very useful site in looking up the caller IDs of call spammers, and isn't restricted to USA or UK.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[genner]

I would post the name of my company, but our poor corporate server would last only seconds against Slashdot.

In that case just post a phone number.

Re:Hey, we could use that in the U.S. too

[stfvon007]

At work whenever a telemarketer calls, we switch the sound system over to a cd of "Never gonna give you up" and put the phone next to a speaker.

Do Unto Others ...

[eldavojohn]

What about the auto insurance scammers that hit me 10x/week?

You can't reason with scammers, they use playground logic. Scam 'em back with a not so new gadget.

Partially useful

[Trailer Trash]

For me, this would cut out the "firefighters" and "police" charitable funds, and a couple of others that call locally. But the ones that really irk me are the "lower your credit card interest rates" that I get every few days, and it's different caller id each time. Usually falsified caller id. So I would still end up getting about the same number of nuisance calls.

What would be optimal would be the FCC doing their job and shutting the scammers down, but I'm not holding my breath.

Re:Partially useful

[KingSkippus]

For me, this would cut out the "firefighters" and "police" charitable funds, and a couple of others that call locally. But the ones that really irk me are the "lower your credit card interest rates" that I get every few days, and it's different caller id each time. Usually falsified caller id. So I would still end up getting about the same number of nuisance calls.

First of all, don't EVER give money to these "firefighters" and/or "police" charitable funds. Many, many scammers pose as these charitable organizations, and they only want your credit card/checking account info. Also, even if such a charity is legitimate, there's no reason to fund their administrative costs, money that doesn't go to the police or firefighters, money that pays for them to—you guessed it—make more telemarketing calls.

If you want to support your local firefighters and/or police, call them and tell them that you'd like to make a donation. I assure you that they will be more than happy to accept your kindness, and best of all, they will make use of 100% of the money you donate, not pay people to bother yet more people by making unsolicited calls.

Second of all, you're missing part of how this gadget works. If you're not on the whitelist or the blacklist, you'll be asked to say your name. It then rings your line and tells you what the name of the person is who is calling. Or, at least, what they recorded as their name. At that point, you can either answer, whitelist them, or blacklist them.

I suppose your phone might still ring, which could be considered a nuisance, but you're never actually talking to the idiot who is calling you, and there's a measure of satisfaction knowing that they're getting a message that says something like, "This person is refusing to take your call. Have a nice day!"

Re:Partially useful

[gad_zuki!]

>I assure you that they will be more than happy to accept your kindness, and best of all, they will make use of 100% of the money you donate, not pay people to bother yet more people by making unsolicited calls.

Is this true? When I worked in the NPO world, fundraising was an expense in the budget. All money collected while fundraising when into the budget. There wasnt a special budget for people who called directly for donations. It all goes into the pool. Perhaps it would be best to write a letter telling them you refuse to donate if they continue to use outbound call centers.

Nothing new here

[orkybash]

Phone whitelist services which make callers you're unsure about go through an extra prompt have existed at least since I was a kid. They're annoying as hell to legitimate callers.

Re:Nothing new here

[MadKeithV]

Just like locked doors are annoying as hell to legitimate visitors.

Asterisk

[SpooForBrains]

I'm pretty sure that all the above and more is possible with an asterisk setup.

Re:Asterisk

[mollymoo]

I'm pretty sure that all the above and more is possible with an asterisk setup.

With a machine shop you can build a car. Most people prefer to buy one ready made though.

you can do this with Asterisk too

[Dan667]

There is a crazy girlfriend option for Asterisk that you can have a blacklist and the phone never rings either. Actually, you can have rules as complicated as you like.

Re:you can do this with Asterisk too

[Farhood]

...and GrandCentral. Lord knows I record or "listinIn" _every_ incoming call from an unknown number and then send the telemarketers "to spam" where I never have to worry about them again.

GrandCentral also has its own spam filter of (supposed) telemarketers, and the application allows friends and family to get right through.

End vs. flash

[tepples]

What really infuriates me about them is that I can't seem to hang up on them (if you try to hang up and pick up the phone later, the message is still playing).

How long did you leave the phone on-hook? You might have to hold it a few more seconds so that the exchange can determine that you're trying to end the call and not perform a flash.

Re:End vs. flash

[elrous0]

Doesn't matter, it WILL NOT let you hang up on them, no matter how many seconds you leave the phone on the hook. I noticed this when a friend mentioned that he had tried to hang up on one and couldn't. The next time I got one, I tried the same thing and sure enough, it wouldn't let me hang up on it until it had played all the way through. This isn't the case with normal telemarketer calls, only the "robo-calls" (which used to be just political hit-jobs, but now have expanded out to sales calls too).

Re:End vs. flash

[greed]

Contact your telephone company and ask for "disconnect on hang-up" on your line. If they don't know what that is, ask for "the thing you need when you get a dial-on-demand burglar alarm."

Phone systems in North America traditionally require both parties to hang up to terminate the circuit. With disconnect on hang-up, you can kill the circuit from your end by hanging up for at most 10 seconds.

This is increasingly the default. But it should be available everywhere these days; I think the last mechanical switch is finally gone.

RAH's SASL gadget is still better

[Monty Worm]

I remember reading about a gadget in Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land that did a better job than this.

If you want to talk to me, deposit $midrange_sum_of_money . I will stop what I'm doing and respond to you. If I think the interruption was justified, you'll get your money back. Otherwise, it's a donation to the Charity of Me. Obviously you can let some people bypass this, at least at some times of the day.

Implicit in this is the belief that if you don't trust me with your cash, or you feel that you don't want to risk the money on my whims, leave a message. And there should be a much smaller charge here too, just to stop the telemarketers clogging that also.

$sum needs to be fairly large, but not cripplingly so. A day's pay? Hmmm. Maybe I should just get an 0906 number for my house....

How it works

[PearsSoap]

So, basically, it has a local blacklist and whitelist. Except that

In future, there are plans for the device to be able to download a list of blacklisted numbers from a central database, which can be dialled into via a modem inside the box.

And this will be updated by the users. It might just work.
I'm more impressed by the whole "virtual receptionist" aspect. That could be handy.

Unlisted Numbers

[dmomo]

That's the problem I would have. Probably more than half of the calls I get that are unlisted are calls that I want. The other half are telemarketers. Even though I am on the "Do Not Call" registry, they get around it by either:

a) Pretending to get the wrong number, hanging up quickly when I call them on it.
b) Have some loose (and yes, sometimes legitimate) connection to a "Not for profit and Tax Exempt" business which, at least in Massachusetts is enough for the registry to not apply
c) Is a survey related to some business connection I have. Credit Card companies who sold my info etc.

None of these three are calls that I would pick up, but I just don't see this device weeding them out. I suppose if this device could "answer" then ask for a name, and instead of ringing, play the recorded name... otherwise hang up. That would be good.

Want to trade phone numbers?

[ThrowAwaySociety]

I live in an area with a high Hispanic population, and coincidentally have a Spanish last name. I've been on the DNC list for years, but I get all kinds of telemarketers trying to scam me in Spanish. (It's pretty obvious that these are not legitimate nonprofits or companies. They hang up on me once they find out I speak English.) Blocked CID, of course, so it's hard to report them.

They're counting on the fact that most of their Spanish-speaking targets are either unaware of the DNC and other laws, or more likely are illegal and thus afraid to report them to the Feds.

And that's ignoring the peole who are "Conductiing a survey about your telephone service" or "Conducting a survey about how you recieve television"

What if a Robo-call....

[sam0737]

...call into this auto-answer system?

Will two robot start chatting together? We should definitely put some recording to watch them or else the first two machines that pass turning test might gone unnoticed.

round here we call that fangled gadget a secretary

[Capn_Snazzy]

but I would love to set up a touch tone menu for just the telemarketers. --press 1 if you are an annoying caller --press 2 if you are probably just trying to waste my time --press 3 if your intention is to sell me something --press 4 if you just want me to answer your questions for free --but not actually buy anything --press 5 for another menu --press 6 to hear these options again --press 7 seven three three... two three three... five five..one to connect to a live operator (really it would just be another menu but this time with 130 different options spoken in a heavy Scottish slang)

Voicemail

[Leif_Bloomquist]

Every couple of days I get a "spam" message from a telemarketer, left directly on my voicemail. The phone never actually rings. That's about as frequent as real telemarketer calls. Doesn't sound like this system would stop those, unfortunately.

The Only Thing I Have to Say - Where Can I Buy One

[gadlaw]

Nothing gets my blood pressure rising more than phone calls coming in that are not welcomed. I pay for the phone and it's not for advertisers, political pleadings, scammers and assorted idiots who think I owe them the time of day. I just looked at Amazon and it's not there, make this available to the US and you have a best seller.

Wait where have I seen this before?

[noundi]

Isn't it hilarious? The industry has created such an itch that people actually PAY to get rid of them. The mafia of this century, and this time it's legal!

Revenge

[mcgrew]

About fifteen or so years ago I had a modem that came with Cheyenne Bitware voicemail software. It was pretty cool, I set something up similar to this gizmo in TFA.

I had it set up so the voicemail messages and callers went thhrough the PC speakers, so if someone I actually wanted to talk to came on I'd just answer. (caller ID showed the number).

"Hello" (pause so it sounded like a person answered and they would start talking) "Hi, you have reached the mcgrew residence. Press one if you wish to leave a message, two if you are a telemarketer, three if you are with a charity, four of you wish to conduct a survey, five if you represent a political candidate who wants my vote...

I had every chioce leading down a labrynthian rabbit-hole that went in circles. Friends and family knew to hit any key twice or just leave a message.

Much hilarity ensued.

My 77 year old dad, when he gets a telemarketer, just lays the phone down and lets them talk, checking periodically to see if they're still on the line. They want to waste your time? Tit for tat. Telemarketers are WORSE than spammers IMO.

Re:Revenge

[Archangel Michael]

My 77 year old dad, when he gets a telemarketer, just lays the phone down

This is very useful. I typically will do it like this .....

ME: Can you hold on a sec, I'm right in the middle of __________.

THEM: Sure.

Me: COOL! (set phone down) .... five minutes later ...

ME: You still there? Sorry, but this is taking a bit longer than I thought, could you hold a bit longer ????

(wash rinse repeat) I have a record of almost 40 minutes for one poor idiot, before he caught a clue.

Other Hillarious ways to deal with it... pretend to be having sex while chatting with them ..."honey, you know when I love when you __________ like that". It really helps if your SO is also in on it in the background.

My dad taught me a game: "winding up the caller"

[Chrisq]

I see every unsolicited call as an opportunity. If I am in a hurry there are a number of quick responses.

The "National Security drop number" is a good one. You sound agitated and ask them what their security clearance is. When they don't understand you say "this is a top secret number - hos did you get this?". Whatever they say you then become really calm and say "O..K.. don't worry. Just stay on the line and we will soon have this resolved". Move the phone away from your mouth and ask "how is the trace going.... good". They usually hang up really soon.

Another good one is to ask them for their number so you can call them back. Say you never trust anyone unless you made the call. Some actually will give you a number, which you pretend to write down but ignore

Another is the "sexual interest". This takes a little longer, because you have to start by listening as normal. After a bit you say something like "you know, you sound really hot. Do you live anywhere near (somewhere a long way away)?". If they don't hang up then you can start asking what they are wearing, etc. This works really well for other men, they usually can't wait to get off the line. (I wouldn't go to far, I don't think anyone would try to prosecute you for harassing them when they made the call, but stay legal)

Then there's the "in the same line of business". This can actually be used for a quick call, but its best to wait until they finish. Note down a few points then respond with something better. "Actually I work for associated life insurance, and whereas you can guarantee 4% growth I can offer you a policy that will guarantee 4.2%, plus with a discount on the first six months premiums.

Another one is to listen all the way through and then decline for a really illogical reason. They are well rehearsed at the "can't afford it", "already have an alternative" and so on - but "well I would really love too. But you are called Acme associates. I'm afraid that is just incompatible with my star sign. Especially when you call on a Wednesday"

There are plenty more but you get the picture. They are giving you an opportunity for fun.

Re:I can't imagine

[Overzeetop]

Cell service is still poor when compared to landlines, for one thing (I'm speaking of quality here, though availability is true during high-volume call times), and a cell phone for everyone in the family is generally more than land service. It's also expensive in many areas to get dry-loop DSL or cable internet service (for me, it's $17-40 more for internet without a land-phone, depending on speed and provider).

Also, with the DNC list, we get maybe 1 call per month which is a telemarketer. My wife got more wrong-number dials on her new cell number in the first 6 months.

Land lines are convenient for several reasons, though some admittedly fall into the old-codger realm. The biggest is a phone that never moves. For those who have ever a) misplaced a cell phone or b) had an emergency in the house (i.e. 911*), there is a good use for them.

*yes, in theory they can get your location from your cell. In most of the US (by area, not population), though, the only information a 911 center is going to get inside of 10 minutes is your address which is linked in their internal database to your phone number. Even e911 isn't universal - or close to it. If you have a stroke or a heart attack, it may make the difference between recovering and being dead. Remember - Not everyone is 20-something and single.

Google Grand Central does all this and more...

[jerryasher]

Google's grandcentral offers this (they call it call screening), and they offer more too. Currently in Beta. Currently free.

http://www.grandcentral.com/home/features

Screen Callers
Know who's calling and screen unknown callers

ListenInTM
Hear why someone is calling before taking the call

Call Record
Record calls on the fly and access recordings online

Block Callers
Unwanted callers won't be able to reach you anymore

Notifications
Receive voicemail notifications via email or SMS

Ring Different Phones
One number that rings different phones based on who's calling

Greetings
Personalize your voicemail greetings by caller or group

RingShareTM
Go beyond the ring and choose ringback tones for your callers

WebCall Button
Let people call you from a web page without showing your number

CallSwitch
Switch phones in the middle of a call

Click2Call
Call from your addressbook and save your typing

Mobile Access
Visual voicemail for your mobile phone

Re:An idea whose time has come

[Anonymous Coward]

Got so fed up with that as a kid. We lived on the border between two area codes, and our number as the same as a pizza joint down the street. I would take their order and credit card number and then tell them I'm not actually a pizza place, and they called the wrong number and gave me their personal info and they authorized me to use it. Was fun.

$ a minute work

[IdeaMan]

Not a huge fine, just make it # cents per minute, like a 900 number. Any phone call not on the white list has to pay to contact me.
If they want to waste my time, they pay for it.