We use Spectrum (formerly brighthouse) for our home phone line, since we've had it for years, wife doesn't want to drop it.

Spectrum provides a call blocking feature, you login to your account, select Phone Services, manage features, call blocking and just enter the phone number(s) you want blocked.

We get several calls a day from telemarketer/machine robo calls, Once a week I go to the call history on the phone, open up the call blocking page and enter the numbers from these calls.

So far after a few weeks I have cut the calls down significantly, this week just added 4 new numbers to the block list.

Works great! My home phone has a built in blocker but it only holds 20 numbers, this really expands the list...

Same here. I checked my call history today and found that my local Congressman's office robo-called my home number 22 times in 10 minutes yesterday. I blocked his number months ago because of that nonsense.

My provider is Spectrum after a they took over Time Warner. They offer a call blocking service called nomorobo that blocks almost all junk calls after one ring. Absolutely great.

I'd been with AT&T for a landline since the 70s. When I called them a few months ago to cancel service their customer retention specialist was offering me deals to stay almost begging. I told her about nomorobo and how much I liked it because my att line was almost exclusively junk calls. She said "we have a call blocking feature too." I asked why they didn't publicize it and she had no answer.

Nomorobo is awesome. My wife and I both use it on our cell phones.

I have Spectrum and will have to look into using this feature. Sounds great!

Now how do I get the same call blocking for all the stupid marketing calls I get on my cellphone?

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Now how do I get the same call blocking for all the stupid marketing calls I get on my cellphone?

Get an iPhone - it's built in. Just click 'Block Caller' from the call history and you're done - blocks voice calls and texts from that number.

I haven't had a land line since about 2002, but I get a ton of unsolicited calls at work. We have a Shoretel system so we set up a dummy extension with voicemail. Then we recorded the 'Doo, doo, doo...You have reached a number that has been disconnected or no longer in use' message tone that you get when you dial a bad number. We set that as the outgoing message and set the voicemail to not accept messages. When I get an unsolicited call or a call from an unknown number that keeps bugging me, I just put a rule in place that automatically forwards them to the black hole extension. Works great and pesky sales calls are greatly reduced

For our hardline phone, we use one of these and its the best investment I've ever made! They really do block the "robo calls" and its extremely rare for telemarketers to go past the automated call screening feature. When they do (maybe one time every month or two), I enter their number into the "Blocked" category and that's it. A very simple to use device, but effective!

https://www.amazon.com/Tel-Sen...ywords=call+blockers

I have Verizon and in the past five or six months I've been getting dozens of robo-calls a week

and I'm apparently on the do not call list

The current problem is call number spoofing. Bastages!

The Hiya app is very good at blocking calls on Android. I re-signed up for the IN do not call list & have gotten a bunch more recently....hmm
Hiya lets known-spam do a 1/2 ring, then kills the call. 2-3 clicks to block those that do get through.

Ugh, I've forgotten what that's like. What a PITA, even with the blocking feature.

I've actually got a better way. I use voip.ms, a low-cost SIP provider, and they have a "digital receptionist" feature. Callers to my number hear "press "1" for Mr. Architect,press "2" for SWMBO, etc. Since I set this up I have had zero (zero as in "0"), none, not one, a complete absence of, etc. etc. etc. spam calls. This includes businesses, charities, and even political calls. Not one call from a "Hillary supporter" during the entire campaign.

Not necessarily specific to this provider, but it works for me.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I have Verizon and in the past five or six months I've been getting dozens of robo-calls a week

and I'm apparently on the do not call list

Same here, it's ridiculous

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Now how do I get the same call blocking for all the stupid marketing calls I get on my cellphone?

Get an iPhone - it's built in. Just click 'Block Caller' from the call history and you're done - blocks voice calls and texts from that number.

Android does the same exact thing. I must have something like 40 numbers now on my blocked caller list.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I have Verizon and in the past five or six months I've been getting dozens of robo-calls a week

and I'm apparently on the do not call list

I get at least 7-10 per week.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
I have Spectrum and will have to look into using this feature. Sounds great!

Now how do I get the same call blocking for all the stupid marketing calls I get on my cellphone?

Nomorobo is available as an App from iTunes/App store. It costs like $1 per month for my iPhone.

I was averaging about 5-10 a week now about 1 every 2 weeks. Did not answer unrecognized tn and just call blocked it on I phone. free with no app.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
I've actually got a better way. I use voip.ms, a low-cost SIP provider, and they have a "digital receptionist" feature. Callers to my number hear "press "1" for Mr. Architect,press "2" for SWMBO, etc. Since I set this up I have had zero (zero as in "0"), none, not one, a complete absence of, etc. etc. etc. spam calls. This includes businesses, charities, and even political calls. Not one call from a "Hillary supporter" during the entire campaign.

Not necessarily specific to this provider, but it works for me.

Can you share more about what this costs? I'm curious.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
The current problem is call number spoofing. Bastages!

With call number spoofing, you might as well have the number either changed or disconnected. Eventually you will fill up the number of blocked calls that your provider will allow. I believe some of these marketers even use a rolling random generator to spoof the number. Particularly Sam Singh from Microsoft Windows.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
I've actually got a better way. I use voip.ms, a low-cost SIP provider, and they have a "digital receptionist" feature.

We have similar, through CallCentric.

I have at my disposal a number of telespammer/telescammer handling features. One is specifying how I want calls they classify as high/medium/low likelihood of being a telespammer. "High" and "medium" get a "Press 1 to complete your call" response. "Low" goes right through and rings.

"Anonymous" callers (no caller i.d. at all) get a "disconnected" message.

This stuff has cut telespammer/scammer calls down from 3-5/day to one or two per week.

When a telespammer/scammer does get through, I go to the call log and report it as spam.

I haven't seen the need to activate the "digital receptionist," and probably will not.

$20/month for two lines, unlimited incoming minutes, 1000 outbound minutes to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, and cheap international rates.

Less than half what one number was costing us on "at&t" POTS, where we had no long-distance service at all and no blocking features. Call quality is indistinguishable from when we were on "at&t" POTS.