5 ms·

I bought my phone for my convenience, not anyone else's. It has a whitelist, and if a number isn't on it, it goes to voicemail. Which has a message instructing

I bought my phone for my convenience, not anyone else's. It has a whitelist, and if a number isn't on it, it goes to voicemail. Which has a message instructing callers to send me an email, as I don't check my voicemail. I've been running this arrangement for some years now, and it works beautifully.

sarciszewski 11y ago
Same. I actually use Call Control for this exact purpose. Email > Phone Calls any day of the week. Especially with strangers.
hwstar 11y ago
Bill collectors have been known to spoof caller ID with relatives' phone numbers. Yes, I know this is illegal, but it is still done. The best approach is audio captcha where you have to enter a random 3 digit code to get the phone to ring. This throws off most call centers because, the part which makes the phone ring is automated. Once the line is answered, an agent is connected to the line. If the collection agency does not use automated dialing, then DTMF passwords may be necessary. This is a pain for friends and family, but it can be a very effective filter.
- cortesoft 11y ago
  Yeah, my wife is going to love having to enter a random code every time she needs to call me.
- doodpants 11y ago
  A CAPTCHA is never the best approach to anything.
  - Natanael_L 11y ago
    Depends on how much you like taking calls. Having CAPTCHA in incoming calls would be very appreciated by a large number of introverts.
    - hwstar 11y ago
      Actually, it's very handy during voting season.
dredmorbius 11y ago
Pretty much precisely this. Though my crap phone doesn't have a whitelist feature (it _does_ offer number blocking). I'm headed toward likely having burner phones I use intermittently for convenience, and some digital service, preferably self-hosted, for other comms. If the telcos don't get a handle on phone spam, they're going to relegate themselves to utter irrelevance all the faster. Burner dumbphone (with whitelist if at all possible), tablet + VOIP + text-to-voice messaging, etc., _not_ on mainstream commercial OS.

sarciszewski 11y ago

Same. I actually use Call Control for this exact purpose. Email > Phone Calls any day of the week. Especially with strangers.

hwstar 11y ago

Bill collectors have been known to spoof caller ID with relatives' phone numbers. Yes, I know this is illegal, but it is still done. The best approach is audio captcha where you have to enter a random 3 digit code to get the phone to ring. This throws off most call centers because, the part which makes the phone ring is automated. Once the line is answered, an agent is connected to the line. If the collection agency does not use automated dialing, then DTMF passwords may be necessary. This is a pain for friends and family, but it can be a very effective filter.

cortesoft 11y ago
Yeah, my wife is going to love having to enter a random code every time she needs to call me.
doodpants 11y ago
A CAPTCHA is never the best approach to anything.
- Natanael_L 11y ago
  Depends on how much you like taking calls. Having CAPTCHA in incoming calls would be very appreciated by a large number of introverts.
  - hwstar 11y ago
    Actually, it's very handy during voting season.

dredmorbius 11y ago

Pretty much precisely this. Though my crap phone doesn't have a whitelist feature (it _does_ offer number blocking). I'm headed toward likely having burner phones I use intermittently for convenience, and some digital service, preferably self-hosted, for other comms. If the telcos don't get a handle on phone spam, they're going to relegate themselves to utter irrelevance all the faster. Burner dumbphone (with whitelist if at all possible), tablet + VOIP + text-to-voice messaging, etc., _not_ on mainstream commercial OS.