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Why Robo-Calls Can't Be Stopped (washingtonpost.com)
"When your phone rings, there's about a 50 percent chance it's a spam robo-call," reports the Washington Post. Now a computer science professor who's researched robo-call technologies reveals the economics behind automatically dialing phone numbers "either randomly, or from massive databases compiled from automated Web searches, leaked databases of personal information and marketing data."
It doesn't matter whether you've signed up with the federal Do Not Call Registry, although companies that call numbers on the list are supposed to be subject to large fines. The robo-callers ignore the list, and evade penalties because they can mask the true origins of their calls.... Each call costs a fraction of a cent -- and a successful robo-call scam can net millions of dollars. That more than pays for all the calls people ignored or hung up on, and provides cash for the next round. Casting an enormous net at low cost lets these scammers find a few gullible victims who can fund the whole operation...
Partly that's because their costs are low. Most phone calls are made and connected via the Internet, so robo-call companies can make tens of thousands, or even millions, of calls very cheaply. Many of the illegal robo-calls targeting the United States probably come from overseas -- which used to be extremely expensive but now is far cheaper...
Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission has been asking U.S. phone companies to filter calls and police their own systems to keep out robo-calls. It hasn't worked, mainly because it's too costly and technically difficult for phone companies to do that. It's hard to detect fake Caller ID information, and wrongly blocking a legitimate call could cause them legal problems.
The professor's article suggests guarding your phone number like you guard your credit card numbers. "Don't give your phone number to strangers, businesses or websites unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Of course, your phone number may already be widely known and available, either from telephone directories or websites, or just because you've had it for many years. In that case, you probably can't stop getting robo-calls."
Partly that's because their costs are low. Most phone calls are made and connected via the Internet, so robo-call companies can make tens of thousands, or even millions, of calls very cheaply. Many of the illegal robo-calls targeting the United States probably come from overseas -- which used to be extremely expensive but now is far cheaper...
Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission has been asking U.S. phone companies to filter calls and police their own systems to keep out robo-calls. It hasn't worked, mainly because it's too costly and technically difficult for phone companies to do that. It's hard to detect fake Caller ID information, and wrongly blocking a legitimate call could cause them legal problems.
The professor's article suggests guarding your phone number like you guard your credit card numbers. "Don't give your phone number to strangers, businesses or websites unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Of course, your phone number may already be widely known and available, either from telephone directories or websites, or just because you've had it for many years. In that case, you probably can't stop getting robo-calls."
It's impossible to guard a number, when at this point they are simply calling all numbers in a valid area code, probably sharing any numbers that even voice mail picks up on...
Almost getting to the point where I wish there was an hour a day I could designate as a time it was possible to call me, that I could set arbitrarily - then the rest of the day have my number reported by the phone company as disconnected.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Any argument that we can't stop robo-calls because it's "too expensive" is just stupid. The cost of stopping them is miniscule compared to the cost of allowing them.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
Whenever you receive a call from one of these scammers do what you can to talk to a live person. This is what costs them money. When I get a robo-call telling me about pack pain medication or having an import message from my credit card company, I always press whatever button I need to push to seem interested and speak with a representative. Then I keep that person on the phone for as long as possible until they give up and hang up on me.
If everyone did this, the overhead of these bastards would be too high to keep calling people. At worse, it would make them limit their calls to known suckers.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
If your phone rings, and you don't know the calling number - just let it go into voicemail. If it's important, they will leave a message which you can retrieve at your convenience (or if like me you use Google Voice, the voicemail is transcribed to quasi-accurate text). Almost always it's some marketing scam. Fuk Them.
Notice that people have been moving away from phone calls and email for years now. Robocalls/spam are a large part of the reason why. If those old systems aren't capable of stopping the crapflood, then people will move to systems that are.
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
Robocalls CAN BE STOPPED.
It's the phone companies who can't be stopped! From letting 50% of all calls come from a tiny minority of customers and not flag that as suspicious behavior. And remember, in the USA they charge the chump receiving the call as well. We should end that, how bow dah?
When a phone call completes, have an option for the recipient to charge them $1.00. The phone company keeps half.
Another requirement should be that if the caller can't be identified and billed, the phone company still has to pay you.
Anonymous spoofing will end real quick.
I've never in my life experienced a robocall. If we can avoid them in Europe, so can the US.
Most European countries ban anonymous spoofing.
America does not.
America's political system does not respond well to geographically distributed problems. If all the robocalls happened in a single swing state, they would stop tomorrow.
How about simply cutting through their bullshit. Those telecoms also make money on the calls so they allow it to happen on purpose.
Here is how to stop, OHH FUCKING LOOK this fucking phone line made 1,000 calls in the last hour, could it possibly be a scammer, do people make that many calls, no, well cut them off, done and finished.
They are total fucking liars and cunts, they can totally 100% control this, they choose not to because they profit from it. Limit the number of calls any line can make in any set time period, done and finished.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Wait, you people don't pay to make calls, but pay to *receive* them? Holy crap your country really is backwards. Do you get paid when you gas up your car?
How the hell did this happen? And how did it only happen in the past two years?
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife