Slashdot Mirror
Phone Companies Get New Tools To Block Spam Calls (cnbc.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Phone companies will have greater authority to block questionable calls from reaching customers as regulators adopted new rules to combat automated messages known as robocalls. Rules adopted Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission represent the latest tools against "robocalls," which pester consumers, sometimes multiple times each day, and often push scams. Phone companies can already block some calls that trick consumers by showing up on Caller ID with fake numbers. The new rules make clear that they can block additional calls that are likely scams, such as numbers that start with a 911 area code, or one that isn't currently assigned to anyone.
is when the calling number is mine.
I love being able to troll these guys. I always ask to speak to a live person and then have as much fun trolling them as possible. For those who say "they are only doing their jobs" the same can be said about organized crime, military officers for repressive governments etc...They called me to waste my time and I will have as much fun as possible with it.
My household makes use of a VOIP system as well as cell phones for telephony. We can pay extra for the VOIP system to block calls from numbers we identify as SCAM and ROBO calls, but that can be pretty useless since the SCAMers have hacked the caller ID system to switch ID at will. The same can occur for mobile callers. Unless technology can identify the bad guys directly and block them at their source, the problem will still exist.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
Are political calls still exempt from the rules?
My favorite is the one offering between $5000 and $7000 for any women willing to make damaging accusations about Roy Moore
I hate all robocalls, including political ones, and don't see why they should be exempt from the rules.
Also: Don't we hate the FCC because of the net neutrality thing? Has that changed?
I'm using Google Project Fi for my carrier, and they're identifying about 80-90% of robocalls correctly as SPAM. The phone still rings, but the phone's screen turns red and says "Suspected SPAM caller". They also give you an easy way to report calls as SPAM from within the phone app.
The real question is, when will the phone companies let me block them?
My problems began about a year ago when I started getting a bunch of wrong number calls from people asking (in Spanish) for Manuel. My guess is someone didn't memorize their new phone number correctly and was giving out my number instead. I managed to get most of those sorted out eventually. Although one little old lady (I picked out "abuela" in what she was saying) kept hanging up and calling again, thinking she was continuously dialing the number wrong.
But then the robocalls began. Most of them in Spanish, but a few English. Mind you, I've had this number for almost 20 years with only a handful of spam calls each year. But my guess is the person also used my number when signing up for things, because I started getting 5-10 robocalls a day. The phone company was absolutely useless at helping me block them. The only way I survived was because Google's phone app tells you if a number is a suspected spam caller, and I just let it go to voicemail (they always leave a 5 second empty voicemail).
Does anyone know of an app which generates the "number has been disconnected" tones in response to an incoming phone call? I'm reluctant to change my voicemail to that because I do occasionally get real voicemails.
I used to get these all the time, until I decided to play along once. I told the guy that I no longer owned the car in question, but if he would be interested in selling me warranty for my new car....a Bugatti Veyron SuperSport. He said "I can't find that in my system, is it Italian". I directed him to check it out on Google, and he hung up and never called back. Shame too, because I was hoping the extended warranty would cover the $30,000 tires.
If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
I also Google all numbers not in my list. Never answer robocalls. That encourages them.
It's good to see the U.S. government acting as it should. About 15 years late, but better than never.
The article linked in the Slashdot summary has little information.
The FCC meets today to discuss the new rules: FCC Commission Meets Tomorrow; Will Address Robocall Blocking (Nov. 15, yesterday)
I found a PDF of the FCC's ideas about helping prevent robocalls at the November 2017 Open Commission Meeting -- Blocking Unlawful Robocalls (PDF).
The summary? Nothing has been done yet.