So basically robocalls can only exist because of second tier telcos who cater specifically to them. They have enough legitimate traffic to essentially launder spam. They charge robocallers more and know exactly what they're doing.<p>A lot of people deal with robocalls incorrectly by declining calls from unknown numbers. Don't do this.<p>The correct solution is to answer the call, say nothing and hang up after 3 seconds.<p>If it's a real call you'll hear background noise most of the time or the caller will say "hello?" Or they'll call back thinking something went wrong. Most robocallers are programmed to do nothing until they hear a voice.<p>But the critical part of all this is hanging up within 6 seconds. This is the one thing that hurts the telco knowingly supporting this. If a telco has too many such calls they essentially get punished as a bad actor, which is why they need legitimate traffic. I think robocallers and their telcos have wished up to this as I suspect they'll stop calling you if you do this.<p>When I started this I got 2-3 robocalls a week. Not a huge amount but annoying. Now I think it's been at least 2 months since I've gotten one. It could be that crackdowns on robocalls are yielding results but I'm not convinced.
IMHO, the way to stop robocalling is to go after the services that employ them. If they're asking people to buy something, follow the money and slap a fine on the seller instead of the robocalling service. Robo calling profits ought to dry up as vendors become wary of using them.
I've quit answering any unknown calls due to this out of control robocall spam. At first I felt tinges of anxiety thinking that I might miss an important call, but that passed very quickly. Now I figure that if it's really important the interested party will find another way to reach me (email, sms) and I feel zero anxiety. It's an interesting change in behavior. I'd almost be willing to use an app that restricted calls to my address book plus a whitelisted group of vetted companies.
Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of declining an "Unknown Number". Correctional complexes do not identify the number as only the inmate can call out and no call back number is provided.<p>However I have not received any spam from "Unknown Number" due to this herd immunity to unknown number spam, which I am grateful for.<p>Given my area codes are no longer where I live, I just assume numbers close to mine are accidents and don't bother answering them. Voicemail seems to validate this when a message is left.
I made the mistake of registering a .us domain and using my regular phone number, after six months I've started receiving the infamous robo IRS calls. The robot call is listed as being from 1-866-978-6618 and in the voicemail requests that I call back that same number. Online this number is listed as being used for the IRS scam in June 2017. How does a scammer set up an 800 phone number without having it traced back to them? Why is this number still operational after a week of scam calls?
I probably get about 5 spoofed Caller ID robocalls a day between my cell and my landline. I don't pick them up but they're still enough to jerk me out of whatever I'm doing.<p>I just wish there was an easier way to report them. At this point I've given up on the going online and filling out a form which basically requires me to have listened to the whole spiel to answer fully. I block the number but it's pretty pointless as they rotate at least the last four digits.
How about CAPTCHA for unknown calls - numbers not in your contact list will be required to answer something only a human is capable of answering before getting through to you.<p>Or another approach that Google does with Google Voice is to ask the caller to identify before the call goes through. Then the phone rings on your side and you hear the name of the caller before you decide to answer.
When I get a call from a spoofed number, can my carrier tell which carrier sent them the call? After I started getting a lot of these, I called T-Mobile, who proceeded to be completely unhelpful and offered to block it based on the caller ID number, acting as if that would somehow help.
Can someone explain what "neighborhood spoofing" technology is? Is it legal (beyond the fact that it lets you spoof and match the first few digits)? Can anyone do it? What's a legitimate use case for it?
The CallKit blocking list feature in iOS 10 helps with this, at least in the case where the caller is not spoofing a legitimate number.<p>I have a Miami area code and robocalls were a constant problem until I installed Nomorobo.
The first time I've received a robocall here in Russia I was really amazed at the impudence: it's bad enough when a live person calls you, but when you get a robocall? Immediate blacklisting of the number and the brand. And when I'll get another one, I'll probably go out of my way to report to some agency.<p>IMO this is nearly as bad as a stranger insulting you in the street: they're at least a live person taking your time.
How is it that we haven't solved this yet the same way we solved email and blog spam? Why can't I mark a number as spam on my phone and if "enough" people do that the number will be automatically blocked. This could just beer implemented by a single phoned manufacturer and already have a significant impact. Not mentioning of one of the big ones like Apple did it.
I got hit by this several times a week for over a year and then it suddenly stopped a month ago. I was always confused how they were allowed to spoof phone numbers with my area code and first 3 digits.
The best solution imo is to block any call from a number that is not on your contact list and direct all other people that need to reach you to email.
Your friends and family can still reach you and legit people who need to reach you can still reach you via email.
Email spam filters are much better at blocking unwanted traffic.<p>It's far from ideal, and people might give up and not try to pursue getting to you but the situation with robocalls has got so much out of hand that drastic measures are needed.