Holy shit. What is with all the spam calls this week?!

My cell phone went from getting 1 spam call every week or two, to starting earlier this week I'm now getting them every 15-20 minutes, all day long. It's been incessant for the past 5 days or so.

My built in spam blocker blocks about 70% of them, so at least those don't ring. But the spam blocker notifies me with a push notification, so my cell phone fills up with those instead.

And then there's the 30% that it does let through.

This is just ludicrous. I must have ended up on some new list or something.

I set my phone so that numbers not in my Contacts list automatically are silenced go to voicemail.

My Recents list is almost entirely pegged as Scam Likely.

Really annoying but still manageable.

My friends and family know not to call but text. If they need to call they do, but I let it go to voicemail.

I've had 13 spam calls since 10 am today...

I'm about to just shut my phone off.

Cell phones are getting to be just as bad as landlines.

So far today-

3 offers to help cancel my student loan debt. (Never went to college)
5 calls from the “loan service department” only needing a couple more pieces of information to complete my consolidation loan. (Not sure what we’re consolidating.

And several spam texts from the Philippines about me having traffic tickets that need paid.

I have a solution for this.

All mobile phone lines should charge for incoming calls. You set your own rate, like the old 1-900 numbers. Callers must have an account set up with a balance to withdraw these charges from.

When/after a call is made, the recipient of the call has the option to waive the charges. Think of it similar to parking garages who charge to park but where the businesses can validate your parking.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
I have a solution for this.

I have a better solution.

Anyone initiating a spam call needs to be killed. Every single phone manufactured from this day forward, needs to have a charge of C4 installed under the cover. The recipient of any unsolicited call should have the option of pressing the # key, which detonates the other phone.

Problem solved.

Of course there's the whole moral issue, but....meh. These people are parasites, so fuck 'em.

I also have mine set to if you aren’t in my contact list you’re going to voicemail. No ringing. Then the spam blocker takes care of a lot of them. Either way none of them get through. I just hear, like the OP, Siri saying “phone call from…SPAM RISK” and I get a push notification audible. I’ve gotten so used to this happening every day of the week that it doesn’t even bother me anymore even though I think it’s insane. I get 5-10 a day.

I had one that was persistent. It was listed as spam either. I said fuck it, let’s answer one. It was some company wanting to buy my house. Goldman, bunch of the Wall St. banks have been buying up residential homes to sit on them for 10 years as investments. This should be illegal. And they’ll farm this shit out to the low level scum sucking shitbags. So I answer, they want to buy my house. So I give them a price about $250k more than it’s worth. The guy actually starts laughing and asks if I’m serious. I said I’m as serious as fucking cancer man. He states that is high and I replied hey fuckhead, you called me remember? Did I call your dumbass trying to sell you on buying it? No I didn’t. You’re soliciting me and if you want my house that’s the price or fuck off. Then I hung up. I remember feeling reallly good afterwards too.

I even got one from an old girl friend that I haven't seen since 1974. I now assume anyone can get your cellphone number.

quote:

Originally posted by Windhover:
I set my phone so that numbers not in my Contacts list automatically are silenced go to voicemail.

My Recents list is almost entirely pegged as Scam Likely.

Really annoying but still manageable.

My friends and family know not to call but text. If they need to call they do, but I let it go to voicemail.

I have my iPhone set up that way too.

Furthermore, it appears that the spammers detect the fast voicemail redirect and don’t even bother to leave a voicemail. Leaving a voicemail takes time, and time is money. Their money.

Not so much calls but spam/scam texts. Lately the toll roads scams. One text has a country code originating from the Philippines and the other text message has a hotmail address instead of a phone number. So I probably can’t block that “number” as I did the Philippines number.

My T-Mobile phone does a pretty good job of blocking active callers and or identifying then as scam/spam.

About a year ago we finally dropped our landline. That was kind of strange, as far back as I can remember into the early 1950’s I remember us having a telephone in our home, between my mother being a Bell System operator and us living in a pretty isolated area outside of Detroit (certainly not there today!) there was always one to depend on. All we got was solicitations for surveys, political solicitations, fire and police organizations, Medicare insurance, Medicare paid knee and elbow braces, car warranties and the famous “Microsoft, we have detected a problem with your computer” calls. All the B.S. calls you get once you’re flagged as a senior citizen.

quote:

Originally posted by Windhover:
I set my phone so that numbers not in my Contacts list automatically are silenced go to voicemail.

That feature is a sanity-saver.

Anyone who can't, won't - or doesn't know how - to leave voicemail....I have no need to talk to.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:

quote:

Originally posted by Windhover:
I set my phone so that numbers not in my Contacts list automatically are silenced go to voicemail.

That feature is a sanity-saver.

Anyone who can't, won't - or doesn't know how - to leave voicemail....I have no need to talk to.

Yep. If it’s important, they’ll leave a message. If it’s *REALLY* important they’ll send the sheriff.

My frustration with the spam calls and texts is when I am on call for work, and need to have my phone available and since I never know who might call after hours or what the number might be, I am stuck answering all of them, or at least checking the number. Oddly enough my answering service that is actually in my contact list comes up as answering service spam!

Wait until you get to Medicare age.
My spammers/scammers are mostly trying to get you to switch to Advantage plans.