6 ms·

I've heard that robocalls are illegal in Germany. It would be difficult to pass a law banning them in the United States because the people writing the laws are

I've heard that robocalls are illegal in Germany. It would be difficult to pass a law banning them in the United States because the people writing the laws are themselves heavy users of robocalls as a part of their election campaigns.

petepete 8y ago
They are illegal in the UK too, but the law doesn't stop calls coming in from abroad or from marketing companies routing through throwaway UK SIP providers. I'd just like to see phone companies made to have a free option where customers can turn off all calls from unidentifiable/withheld numbers. That would be easy to implement and stop a lot of the problem.
- giancarlostoro 8y ago
  I never answer a call if the number is not saved on my phone. If it's truly important leave a voicemail, I will get back to you if I have to.
  - petepete 8y ago
    I was referring to landlines but yes, on mobile, I agree entirely. The more recent Android dialer correctly identifies spam most times.
    - giancarlostoro 8y ago
      We ditched our land line about 10 years ago so I totally forgot about that. Although I remember having one of those phones that had the digital address book on it, maybe you have a different model. Also I have T-Mobile and it tells me when a caller is "likely a scammer" and they even let me outright block those callers.
  - pcmaffey 8y ago
    Yeah I recently permanently set my phone to Do Not Disturb, which blocks all calls from people not in my favorites. It’s been great
    - 0xfeba 8y ago
      Yep pretty much the same here. I just leave it on vibrate. I have been getting more and more spam calls though, I should try DnD. I think ringtones are distracting and totally unnecessary, with a few exceptions. My phone is either in my pocket, or on my desk nearby to where I'll see it ring. I don't understand people who leave it on loud at work (or worse, leave it on loud then leave the phone at their desk). It's really inconsiderate. They are probably oblivious though, without someone mentioning it to them.
hackermailman 8y ago
In Canada political campaigns will rent from allied political parties in the US their robocall army to escape domestic laws. A favorite trick now is to relentlessly phone at annoying hours and impersonate the rival "Stay on the line for an important message from (insert rival politician)" in hopes they anger you enough to not vote for said rival.

petepete 8y ago

They are illegal in the UK too, but the law doesn't stop calls coming in from abroad or from marketing companies routing through throwaway UK SIP providers. I'd just like to see phone companies made to have a free option where customers can turn off all calls from unidentifiable/withheld numbers. That would be easy to implement and stop a lot of the problem.

giancarlostoro 8y ago
I never answer a call if the number is not saved on my phone. If it's truly important leave a voicemail, I will get back to you if I have to.
- petepete 8y ago
  I was referring to landlines but yes, on mobile, I agree entirely. The more recent Android dialer correctly identifies spam most times.
  - giancarlostoro 8y ago
    We ditched our land line about 10 years ago so I totally forgot about that. Although I remember having one of those phones that had the digital address book on it, maybe you have a different model. Also I have T-Mobile and it tells me when a caller is "likely a scammer" and they even let me outright block those callers.
- pcmaffey 8y ago
  Yeah I recently permanently set my phone to Do Not Disturb, which blocks all calls from people not in my favorites. It’s been great
  - 0xfeba 8y ago
    Yep pretty much the same here. I just leave it on vibrate. I have been getting more and more spam calls though, I should try DnD. I think ringtones are distracting and totally unnecessary, with a few exceptions. My phone is either in my pocket, or on my desk nearby to where I'll see it ring. I don't understand people who leave it on loud at work (or worse, leave it on loud then leave the phone at their desk). It's really inconsiderate. They are probably oblivious though, without someone mentioning it to them.

hackermailman 8y ago

In Canada political campaigns will rent from allied political parties in the US their robocall army to escape domestic laws. A favorite trick now is to relentlessly phone at annoying hours and impersonate the rival "Stay on the line for an important message from (insert rival politician)" in hopes they anger you enough to not vote for said rival.