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Almost Half of US Cellphone Calls Will Be Scams By Next Year, Says Report (cnet.com)
According to a new report from First Orion, nearly half of the mobile phone calls received in the U.S. next year will be scams. "The percentage of scam calls in U.S. mobile traffic increased from 3.7 percent last year to 29.2 percent this year, and it's predicted to rise to 44.6 percent in 2019, First Orion said in a press release Wednesday," reports CNET. From the report: The most popular method scammers use to try to get people to pick up the phone is called "neighborhood spoofing," where they disguise their numbers with a local prefix so people presume the calls are safe to pick up, First Onion said. Third-party call blocking apps may help protect consumers from known scam numbers, but they can't tell if a scammer hijacks someone's number and uses it for scam calls. "Scammers relentlessly inundate mobile phones with increasingly convincing and scary calls," said Gavin Macomber, senior vice president of marketing at First Orion, in an email statement. "Solving a problem of this magnitude requires a comprehensive, in-network carrier solution that dives deeper than third-party applications ever could by detecting and eliminating unwanted and malicious calls before they reach your phone."
But carriers don't feel like doing it.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Just fucking block calls coming out of Pakistan and Eastern Europe that don't have regionally appropriate phone numbers on them.
source=reddit.com :'D
I'm glad, it hope it gets worst. I'd say 90% of incoming phone calls I get are scams or telemarketing calls. The worst it gets the more likely the carriers will do something about it. Until then, I'll continue to set my blocking app automatically hang up if they're not in my contact list. I'd be even happier if i could send them to the Jolly Roger phone company with a simple button press.
On our landline, we get an average of one non-spam call per week.
All of my cellphone calls are unsolicited and unwanted.
Because anyone who actually knows me knows I don't answer phone calls. My default ringtone is silence. I have actual make-a-noise ringtones for a couple of family members in case of emergency, but (thankfully) no one's tried to call me for an emergency in the last ten years or so. And the fam+friends know better than to make that thing ring for anything else; I'll just bite their head off. :)
AFAIC, The phone system's been outright ruined by spammers. And so far, unlike email, there's no phone call spam filter worth the name.
Text me or email me, otherwise, you go your way, I'll go mine.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
I pick up the phone and say I'll call them right back...
You can't generally call back scammers, the numbers are pretty much always forged.
That's of course the calls that make it past the robocall blocker...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I don't answer calls from numbers I don't recognize. If it's important they'll leave a voicemail. Back in the days of still having POTS landline, I had an answering machine like everyone else, and I'd screen calls. In this day and age why do otherwise?
You still have a land line.
GENERATION 27: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
Three alternatives (lacking a deep technical knowledge of the implementation issues)
--Calls from carriers that are only willing to pass authenticated caller id could be flagged as "authenticated". Calls passed thru carriers who don't authenticated would show up as "possible scam". This would make the calls more obvious.
--Along with caller ID pass along the originating carrier (or perhaps the last identified carrier). I'd be a lot less likely to answer a call for a carrier I didn't recognize than one I did. (On the other hand, I almost never answer calls unless I recognize the number.)
--It seems that on-net calls (e.g., Verizon to Verizon, or AT&T to AT&T) would be easy to authenticate and the calls could be flagged as "not spam".
The mobile carriers (and legacy landline) are doing everything possible to kill voice as an option. How long before there is a mobile without any voice option (other than over data).
Fix caller id...by throwing it out. Replace it with the *authoritative* origination number that the system already carries for billing purposes (like when you call a 900 number).
We can fix this by making you pay more for what we should have been required to do in the first place.
What? You thought we were in business to sell telephone calls? Young people don't call their parents anymore, even when we push weepy ads they block that show happy families calling grandma.
Oh, and your landline prices will go up too.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
The "feature" of changing the CallerID must become illegal. Telcos should have until Jan 1, 2019 to get this into play. After that, if it can be proven that the technology still exists, it is a $1,000 dollar fine per call.
And this DOES NOT have to be pushed through our inept congress. I won't live that long. However, the FTC can implement this overnight. As a citizen, I need to be protected from the unfair tactics of these scammers. CallerID spoofing is not a feature, it is a deceptive practice that harms people. It is a lie, plain and simple.
Here's where to let them know. www.ftc.gov Under the "Take Action" section, file a complaint.
No More CallerID spoofing.
Lou
I don't understand why phone OSes don't have a builtin report feature to report spam calls. You could easily check calls against a server based blacklist/whitelist, and notify the user or alternatively automatically block calls from numbers with a certain amount of flags. Obviously you'd need the ability to enable/disable, and it'd have to be well implemented, but it really wouldn't be that hard, and I don't understand why this isn't already a feature.
Sorry for the question from someone that did not experience it, but what kind of scam is it about? In the Internet world, I know about technical support scam, Nigerian prince scam or fake drug scam, but here?
The remnants of AT&T's ancient SS7 are still infecting voice calls today. Back then, it made sense to not authenticate caller ID information because the threat model required physical access to phone company switches and a lot of equipment to implement. It wasn't feasible.
Now that VoIP and packet-switched networks have replaced circuit-switch voice band twisted pair landlines, we still lack a way to enable secure authentication to a trusted root of who is actually calling. The FCC is supposedly looking into solutions, but implementing PKI in the network can prevent these calls from ever getting to people. Many of these scams are on VoIP gateways that have default passwords.
Normally I'm against a lot of government involvement in people's lives, but this is one place where it's required. If Congress could pass the CALM act to end annoying loudness changes in broadcast TV, the passing of which had little economic consequence, then Congress can definitely get their act together and pass a law to do the same for authenticating phone calls using PKI and removing security holes. Inaction in this area already has a tremendous negative economic consequences, particularly for the elderly and other vulnerable individuals who are defrauded systematically and who are typically more reliant on phone services due to their ease of use and familiarity.
The real tell in all of this will be what the carriers do when this is enacted. I suspect there will be tremendous resistance spearheaded by the argument that it will require equipment replacement. I'm not sure that's the case given that the magic is in firmware, but more on the system engineering side. In that case, let them put a deadline down to get their act together. Where there's a will (and a law), there's a way.
It's more than profit. Let's say you're a major corporation calling someone about an overdue mortgage payment. Do you really want the outgoing caller ID to be a random line in their phone bank or their toll-free number? That random line might be busy when you call back, but the main number will find an open line.
I use caller ID spoofing when I see my VoIP provider's outgoing caller ID to match my Google Voice number - it ensures that a returned call gets me anywhere.
Google Voice is one of the main gateways being abused. They use Google Voice to get a number in a specific region, then robocall people in that area from that number.
Also, for me, at least 95% of calls to my cell are telemarketers. They are using some middleman robocalling system that initiates the call via Google Voice then does some filtering, requiring the person being called to interact in some way and confirm. Then that middleman service calls the actual telemarketer. The telemarketer, legally speaking, is in the clear because they did not initiate the call - they were called. The middleman is probably not in the US and is a fly by night operation that is receiving kickbacks from the telemarketers in some way.
Better known as 318230.
Or whistle the SIT tone to convince their system that you're number is no longer in service.
Within my remarks is a potential 0-spam, 0-coldcall, 0-dunning, 0-buttdialer, 0-random-idiot solution for those adept enough to grasp it.
It's quite possible that group may not include you.
I'm okay with that. In fact, your "who cares" is exactly how I feel you. Isn't that curious?
Cheers. :)
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
> The most popular method scammers use to try to get people to pick up the phone is called "neighborhood spoofing," where they disguise their numbers with a local prefix
The originating phone company must by definition know what line or cellphone the call is actually being made from. It boggles my mind why phone companies even (continue to) provide this functionality in the first place. I very much hope that it becomes illegal soon.
My Google Voice number requires caller ID spoofing and I'm not ready to give it up yet. Otherwise incoming calls to my cell will show my own GV number instead of spoofed to match the original caller's number.
My landlord and some database has connected my phone number with my address so about once a month I get a chinese recording. Makes it easier to hang up on them.
Also, I love the "Car insurance renewal" scam calls I get. I always feel tempted to ask what kind of car they want to give me before I buy insurance on it.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
We all get these stupid calls. Indian-based Microsoft support proactively finding a problem on your computer and they have the solution. We heard you suffer from chronic pain, we have things that will help. You've been selected for a free trip to Disneyworld. There's a solution for your creditcard debt. Refinance your student loans to get a lock-in before DeVoss ends the program.
It is all bullshit. We know that.
So why do they keep coming?
Because they freaking work. You get one moron that only goes online once a week on their 56k dialup line at home to check the facebook, they're more than willing to whip out their credit card to take advantage of such a limited time, exclusive offer.
It's that one moron that ruins it for us all. The scammers then make money, the carriers make money, etc., so they are incentivized to call the rest of us looking for more idiots.
Unless I am expecting a call from a mechanic or something, I haven't picked up a phone number that doesn't give caller ID in a year (to say nothing of "unknown" numbers.)
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
I used to get a lot of calls from India. At first I just told them to fuck off but the calls kept coming. Then I tried spending time winding them up but that always seemed like a waste of my own time. The thing is, I spent more than a decade studying psychology so it eventually occurred to me to use that. The question was not how to tell them to fuck off but how to get them to decide to fuck off for themselves. India is heavily honour and family oriented. This is a rough transcript of the last call that I answered, now many years ago: ... [strangled voice] ...no... [line disconnects]
Me: Hello?
Scammer: This is John from Microsoft, you computer has a virus.
Me: Have you told your parents that your job is trying to steal money from people like them in another country?
Scammer: [5 seconds of silence]
The number of scam calls dropped hugely. I like to hope that at least one Indian decided to move on to an honest job instead.
It's time to end this. People need to find other work.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
I live in a different area code than I did when I got my phone number. I use Hiya to block all calls from the old area code and whitelisted all the numbers that are in my contacts with that same area code.Sent out a mass text letting everyone know to email me if they ever change their phone number so I can update my records.
I've got an App called Call Blocker on my phone (android). If anyone calls me and they are not in my address book it goes straight to voicemail. Most of the time, of course, there is no voicemail because the robocall hangs up. If it does happen to be something important the person can leave a message and I'll call them back. The beauty of it is that the phone doesn't even ring.
I gave up on trying to block numbers because it just seemed like a game of whack-a-mole. The scammers would call from a different number next time.
Works for me and it's free.
Force the telcos to not allow callerID spoofing of any kind. It's gooten out of hand
In theory, it allows a company to have a representative call you, but their phone number is spoofed to give the general contact number instead of that person's desk. It made sense back then, but almost every single callerID spoofed number is a scam.
Just stop allowing callerID spoofing. We don't need it as much as we need relief.
The law requires that people be able to use callerID blocking,
So businesses that do not want you to call back on the number that called you can block it, and they can say in the conversation, or voice mail, what number to call them back on.
$1.14 would be worth it to not get all the scam calls.
That can be permitted since they own both the outgoing line and the incoming toll free line.
Have gnu, will travel.
Put the onus on the phone companies. They're the only ones that can detect, and block these. Let me charge my carrier $10 for every fake phone call I get, and I promise within a month the problem will go away.
I have a Googod Voice number in an area code where I know no one. All calls from that area code are junk.
Warning: This signature may offend some viewers.
"Press one for our legal department. Press two for our enforcement division. Press three for the anti-fraud division. Press four if you're not paying attention. Press five to hear these choices again in a random language."
Simple - the phone companies make profit from the fact of the robocallers making calls. That's why they don't offer a WhilteList. However, one of the earliest replies offers a solution: Set your default ringtone to Silence and then add an actual ringtone to everyone in your Contacts list ... at least the ones from whom you'd want a phone call.
hello USA, rest of the world here: we don't have this massive scam call problem, because here it is always the caller to pay.
Frankly, this is a Planet USA peculiarity. I am sure you guys can't, for the most part, imagine how it could even be possible to be otherwise than in the USA, but it can.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
C'mon, the "free market" fixes all problems, answers all needs, satisfies all hungers...
Imagine how subscription rates would soar if one of the cell carriers advertised that automated crap-call blocking is part of their normal service. Pretty soon all the carriers would be blocking these calls.
Let callers that receive these call press #99 or something and that would send a report back to the cell company and flag it. Then on the back end they can trace it if it if fake block system making the calls. The tech is already in place.
Don't answer your damn phone if you don't recognize the number.
They'll leave a message if it's important.
Problem solved.
Just like the good ol days
These are fine ways to fix the problem, but completely unnecessary. The phone company could fix this problem if they wanted to, but they make money from letting it persist. The one way to fix the problem once and for all, is to make it unprofitable for the phone company to facilitate this behavior. Just slap a 10 million a day fine on the phone company for each day there is a complaint registered, and the problem will 'fix' itself inside a week.
Its the fuckers running things. They don't give a shit about customers if it means they make a few million more each year.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
And this right now has no method to authenticate. Unless you're saying every business should buy all phone service through a single provider.
I get one or two calls a week from him despite repeatedly telling him I use Linux.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
A local city started requiring parking meter payments be made by phone app. I started getting scam calls the day I parked and every day after. Yay, full 'monetization'... - made mandatory :/ (all the non-metered roadway had new no parking signs - can't have that cash slip away...)
It would just take a record in a database. The only reason it's not there now if that the telcos don't care. If they did care, it would be just a matter of filling out a form (at most) and a quick check from one telco to another.
I'm already ahead of the curve.
if they aren't one of calls from someone I expect, and don't leave a vm for a call back, they get blocked
nothing to see here - move along
I've seen numbers on my phone that were from Federal Agencies. They own certain blocks of numbers. When I picked up, it was obvious that was a spoofed number and another bullshit call.
It depends on where you live. I was born in a small town that got its second exchange in the 1970s. For the past 10 years or so, I've been living in cities that have had a second area code as an overlay, with 10-digit dialing required. The only other number I know of with my current exchange was printed on the side of a work truck I saw one day while I was driving around. My number has been with this house since the mid '90s, and is one of the old wireline exchanges for this part of town from the days before number portability.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
My wife has a photography business, so her voice mail has her name and a full greeting on her cell number. She got an irate call the other day, and it was someone looking for my wife. Her number had evidently been spoofed, but the people who spoofed her number also harvested her voice from the greeting as the recorded voice people heard when the spoofed number called. PITA
None of my friends have the first digits of my phone. When I see that, I KNOW it's some loser and don't answer. It actually tells me they're a scam.
You could alwasy use the taken speech.
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
So google voice adapts to the change or disappears. If I have to choose between spam and google voice disappearing, guess which one I'll choose?
Guess which one I'll choose?