Spam Calls on Home Phone

NEVER answer your home phone, let the answering machine pick up, BUT NEVER physically answer unless you KNOW who it is!!!
 
If I was sitting in front of my computer and the phone rang, I checked the caller-id and if a non-familiar number, I would hit the answer button on my all-in-one printer, scanner, fax machine answer and the caller was treated to the sound of the fax machine answering. Quite effective.
 
Turn on "block unknown callers" and you'll get zero spam calls on your cell phone. It's wonderful.
I agree, but I had to turn mine off once we moved to a new house with various phone calls coming in from people not in my contact list to complete the transaction.

Another problem might be families with children who may try to contact them in an emergency from a different cell phone or landline, the call would not go through with blocking
 
I agree, but I had to turn mine off once we moved to a new house with various phone calls coming in from people not in my contact list to complete the transaction.
Same

Another problem might be families with children who may try to contact them in an emergency from a different cell phone or landline, the call would not go through with blocking
True, however they could leave a voicemail and my kids are all adults :-)
 
Same


True, however they could leave a voicemail and my kids are all adults :)
Oh yeah, wasn’t talking about your kids in particular. I was just mentioning it in case anybody here with young kids. You would need to make sure, for example even if the school calls you from a different number or extension that the call goes through.
I was just mentioning it, I used to do call blocking too.

It is much improved since AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are required to filter out spam
 
It is much improved since AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are required to filter out spam
No, the carriers can't block spam. They can attest to the origin of the call, but they can't block the call. The receiving system or device can choose to block the call, for instance your cell is the receiving device and can choose to block the call based on attestation received from the carrier.

Some carriers will block calls based on the receiving device's wishes, but that's guided by the end users. The bottom line is no carrier is allowed to block inbound calls without end user or system guidance and most calls are blocked by software on the receiving device/system.
 
No, the carriers can't block spam. They can attest to the origin of the call, but they can't block the call. The receiving system or device can choose to block the call, for instance your cell is the receiving device and can choose to block the call based on attestation received from the carrier.

Some carriers will block calls based on the receiving device's wishes, but that's guided by the end users. The bottom line is no carrier is allowed to block inbound calls without end user or system guidance and most calls are blocked by software on the receiving device/system.
Hope this helps, this link has to do with text messages, I’ll see if I could find the phone call one for you, but you will see reference in this article about it.
I post is and was about that. I have noticed a large decrease in spam phone calls and text messages and this explains it

“The new rules require phone providers to block text messages from suspicious sources including phone numbers that appear to be “invalid, unallocated, or unused.” Carriers will also have to block text messages coming from phone numbers that claim not to ever send text messages, or that the government has identified as numbers not used for texting, the FCC said.”

Source
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/17/tech/fcc-spam-text-crackdown/index.html

“The move mirrors a similar US government effort to shut down illegal robocalls, which has led to at least one phone provider being cut off entirely from the US telephone network. Robocall monitoring services say the effort has largely been successful at reducing the volume of robocalls. But in recent years, an explosion of spam and scam text messages appears to have taken their place, leading to more than 18,000 consumer complaints at the FCC last year.”
 
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Hope this helps, this link has to do with text messages
Text messages are a completely different beast, the carriers can block spam text messages and do.

“The move mirrors a similar US government effort to shut down illegal robocalls, which has led to at least one phone provider being cut off entirely from the US telephone network. Robocall monitoring services say the effort has largely been successful at reducing the volume of robocalls. But in recent years, an explosion of spam and scam text messages appears to have taken their place, leading to more than 18,000 consumer complaints at the FCC last year.”
This article is about shutting down the organizations that make the robo calls. Carriers still can't block suspected spam calls as they enter their networks, it's not legal for them to do so.
 
For some reason my mother has been genetically incapable of passing up a ringing telephone her entire life. ...
Mine isn't quite that bad but it has been a struggle. We have caller-id and it helps in that she won't answer callers from calls that read "unknown caller" but my biggest struggle has been getting her to ignore numbers that look local and have a name attached but isn't anyone she actually knows. All of her friends are programmed into the phone so she knows it's them when they call, but now and then a call with come in from "John Smith" and it has the local area-code and exchange, but it's no one we know and she feels she should answer, and I keep reinforcing to her that is exactly what the spammers are doing to try to get her to answer.
 
Text messages are a completely different beast, the carriers can block spam text messages and do.


This article is about shutting down the organizations that make the robo calls. Carriers still can't block suspected spam calls as they enter their networks, it's not legal for them to do so.
I guess my point being is if you look back at my posts that there is a heck of a lot less spam text messages, and phone calls.
Due to the actions taken by the federal government and requirements on cell phone providers. that’s all. I am saying if you’re telling me that specifically phone calls cannot be filtered out well I guess that is how you interpret what filtering is but there is filtering going on for text messages and in the links I provided below phone calls as well as government regulations and large fines for anybody in the Robo call business.

https://time.com/6513036/robocalls-government-action/
 
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@wwillson
Here is another requirement from phone providers to filter out phone calls
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/...e-is-meant-to-help-cut-down-on-robocalls.html

You might hit the paywall with the above link so here is another one specifically mentioning filtering out phone calls;


“The FCC approves new rules letting phone companies block calls likely to be from fraudsters because they're dialed from certain types of numbers.”

https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/block-robocalls-us-fcc-phone/

The bottom line is all these efforts as I posted about five posts ago lol drastically cut back spam text and Robo calls
 
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I guess my point being is if you look back at my posts that there is a heck of a lot less spam text messages, and phone calls.
Due to the actions taken by the federal government and requirements on cell phone providers. that’s all. I am saying if you’re telling me that specifically phone calls cannot be filtered out. I will accept that, but there is filtering going on for text messages and government regulations and large fines for anybody in the Robo call business.

https://time.com/6513036/robocalls-government-action/
I agree that there are less spam txt and calls. However, the reduction calls is largely due to the shutdown of the call centers making the calls, not by the carriers blocking the calls at the entry point into their networks, because they can't. Spam text messages are blocked by the carriers, as it's not illegal to do so.
 
I agree that there are less spam txt and calls. However, the reduction calls is largely due to the shutdown of the call centers making the calls, not by the carriers blocking the calls at the entry point into their networks, because they can't. Spam text messages are blocked by the carriers, as it's not illegal to do so.
I didn’t give percentages other than to say phone providers can bock spam phone calls and you were telling me they couldn’t.
But the culmination of all these actions led to a reduction, which I have noticed
 
@wwillson
Here is another requirement from phone providers to filter out phone calls
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/...e-is-meant-to-help-cut-down-on-robocalls.html

You might hit the paywall with the above link so here is another one specifically mentioning filtering out phone calls;


“The FCC approves new rules letting phone companies block calls likely to be from fraudsters because they're dialed from certain types of numbers.”

https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/block-robocalls-us-fcc-phone/

The bottom line is all these efforts as I posted about five posts ago lol drastically cut back spam text and Robo calls
This is the heart of the rule you are referring to:

The FCC's new rules authorize phone companies to block robocalls that appear to be from telephone numbers that do not or cannot make outgoing calls. They can block calls purporting to be from a phone number placed on a "do not originate" list by the number's subscriber. They will also be allowed to block calls purporting to be from invalid numbers, like those with area codes that don't exist, from numbers that have not been assigned to a provider, and from numbers allocated to a provider but not currently in use.
Some of these type calls may already be blocked, such as invalid numbers. The ability to block calls from allocated but not assigned numbers and numbers marked as "do not originate" is a good step in the right direction. However, I would argue that these rules probably don't slow the spammers down much, as they just use other numbers to originate their calls. Most of the reduction in spam calls is most likely because of the shutdown of call centers that are breaking laws.

I would be curious to know how many carriers have implemented and maintain a list of the numbers that can be blocked like those described above. It's not simple to compile, maintain, and implement blocks on numbers and it's expensive. I'll bet you few of these rules have been implemented widely.
 
I didn’t give percentages other than to say phone providers can bock spam phone calls and you were telling me they couldn’t.
They can't block suspected spam calls, they can block those types of call listed in my post above. There's a big difference.
 
They can't block suspected spam calls, they can block those types of call listed in my post above. There's a big difference.
When is a block a block? I feel like we are talking politics here so will bow out of the conversation. :) Yes but most spam calls originated at the time from those types of calls that they can now block. Which I suspect is why there are less spam calls.
 
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