5 ms·
One solution, not practical for most folks but works well for me: live in a different area code than phone number. (My cell number is in the area code I grew up
by cfallin 8y ago
One solution, not practical for most folks but works well for me: live in a different area code than phone number. (My cell number is in the area code I grew up in.)
It seems most spam calls either fake a source number that's in my phone's area code, or use a completely random source. Almost any inbound call I actually expect without an address-book entry would come from my (new) local area code, so I can pick up a call if (in current area code) OR (in address book). So in essence, my current area code is a 3-digit passcode.
Perhaps a nice trick if one is allocating a new VoIP number -- at the cost of looking like a non-local when giving it out, you can effectively screen for actual local calls...
- bonobo_34 8y agoI get a lot of robocalls from spoofed numbers that have my area code and even the first 3 digits of my phone number in common. I guess the thought is that people are more likely to pick up if the number looks familiar? For me, it's just an indication of a robo call that I won't pick up.
- jngreenlee 8y agoI think they get an exit virtual POP in that AC to avoid extra charges, start at XXX-0001, XXX-0002, etc. It lowers cost and looks more relevant.
- JdeBP 8y ago* It's not really a POP. * The fact that many geographic numbers are in fact non-geographic means that the idea of being "in" an area has long since gone out of the window. * It's not done to avoid extra charges. Call cost is determined by routing and tarrif, not caller ID. It's done pretty much for the reason that bonobo_34 supposed.
- gph 8y ago>I guess the though is that people are more likely to pick up if the number looks familiar? For me, it's just an indication of a robo call that I won't pick up. That's probably good for the robo-callers. Just like with horrible spelling/grammar errors in spam emails, they don't mind if the smart folks can figure out their pattern. They are after the suckers born every minute.
- reaperducer 8y agoIt's called "neighborhood" spamming. You're supposed to think it's a neighbor calling.
- Scoundreller 8y agoOr worse, someone from your own organization (because you own the number block) and you’re on-call for a critical system...
- JdeBP 8y agoNo. In telecommunications jargon it is called "local presence".
- jngreenlee 8y agoDitto, same technique I use. My business phone uses (512) and my personal uses (469). I don't live or work in either one. I also use Google Voice on the personal one, with spam calls blocked (another good layer to have...these go directly to voicemail), and another randomly selected area code for the physical SIM (Straight Talk, 10GB $50/month). When a call comes in from those ACs (the one corresponding to the phone), I reject it. Very easy!
- SlowRobotAhead 8y agoYea, any time I see an 808, I know it's almost certainly spam as only one real person I know has that area code. BUT.... I've had the opposite effect where they spoof to where I physically was regardless of my phone number. I recently contacted a phishing prevention company for a quote. They knew where I was physically located, and called me using a spam number of my local-actual code. I told them flat out that was a bad idea and to not do that. Nothing made me lose initial trust more than a legit company using spoofing tactics. It was the company that bought Wombat Anti-Phishing. They even told me they didn't do it to "prove a point" but rather just they get people to "pick up the phone more often".
- Scoundreller 8y agoThere’s a recent Reply All podcast on that topic. The “feature” started innocuously enough.
- SlowRobotAhead 8y agoHaven't heard that podcast. Is it good?
- Scoundreller 8y ago$350m from Spotify good (well, for the whole podcast company, not just that one show).
- reaperducer 8y agoI don't hear anyone complaining right now about unsolicited texts Something that works for me is to have a phone number in a low-value area code. My Seattle and New York numbers get robocalls. My phone numbers in certain other parts of the country are left alone.
- knodi123 8y agoThis approach works so well that I installed a CallBlocker app which just pre-rejects any calls from my native area code out of hand. I check its logs every now and then, so far not a single false positive.
- ssimpson 8y agoI have the same issue. I'm in the PNW, but have a 210 number. I'm pretty sure most of the time they are just war dialing the prefixes to figure out who answers. The robocallers are also spoofing all numbers, as i get people calling me saying "why did you call me?!"
- dnsbty 8y agoA fellow San Antonian?