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I don’t think I’ve picked up a phone call in 2 years. Text me or email me no exceptions. So much spam I see increased on voicemails the past year. Clearly all s

I don’t think I’ve picked up a phone call in 2 years. Text me or email me no exceptions. So much spam I see increased on voicemails the past year. Clearly all scam.

gogopuppygogo 5y ago
You aren’t an elderly person who isn’t technical. I watch the scam baiters on YouTube and on occasion you hear a victim crying while the perps laugh. Truly bad people to be executing scams against some of the most vulnerable.
- ipython 5y ago
  This is exactly the point. I happen to have a landline which somehow is associated with a demographic profile of a senior citizen. I’ve had this number for over a decade now. The number of scam calls targeting seniors is staggering. Of the 200-300 spam robocalls I receive every month, about 50-80 are blocked by my cell phone (the landline rings to my cell) and I also subscribe to nomorobo on the landline, which I assume blocks even more. Still, that’s some 200 calls that make it through even with two levels of blocking. The scams are terrifying- serious sounding people on the line saying your social security number will be cancelled and you will be arrested unless you speak immediately to an officer; Medicare advantage scams; IRS and treasury scammers... and since my personal info is published by the phone company, many times the scammers have all my personal information as “proof”! It’s a sickening information asymmetry that can totally fool an unsuspecting older person who doesn’t entirely understand what’s going on. If you’re curious about what these scams look like and how vigilantes actively work to combat them, I’d recommend two videos to start: Jim browning at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvjjpzyiig4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvjjpzyiig4 and mark rober at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKW58MS12g https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKW58MS12g.
knodi123 5y ago
I guess you don't schedule a lot of medical appointments or work with contractors. I wish I could block all unknown numbers, but I'll miss the rescheduling call from the roofer who had to borrow his wife's cell because his fell out of his pocket, or I'll miss the "please confirm you're coming to your appointment tomorrow" and now I've lost a doctor's appointment I scheduled weeks in advance, etc.
- TylerE 5y ago
  It’s changing. Even the fairly small doctors office I use locally now texts instead of calling.
- GoblinSlayer 5y ago
  Just formalize communication procedure with them.
- jjeaff 5y ago
  The solution to this is to get a phone number from an area code that you don't live in. Almost all spam calls now spoof the number to give it the same area code as your phone. So I know any call coming from a local area code is probably legit. Most calls coming from the same area code as my number or from a random area code or even 800 number is usually spam.
  - vinay427 5y ago
    Also, this probably goes without saying but if you choose this route, find an area code in which you likely don't know anyone. I have an area code from a state in which I previously lived so I still don't know whether it's a spam call or an old contact.
  - jasode 5y ago
    >The solution to this is to get a phone number from an area code that you don't live in. Getting a new number is not a realistic "solution" for many people because they've had their old cellphone # for decades and it's already deeply entrenched with all their relatives, friends, doctors' emergency contact numbers, airlines notifications, bank fraud alerts vis SMS, etc, etc. E.g. Most of my friends & family have had the same wireless phone numbers for more than 20 years which they've deliberately kept even when changing carriers. People still want to keep their familiar number; they just want the spam robocalls to stop. Yes, buying a new area code # (which btw costs ~$40 admin charge with AT&T) ... and then expending a lot of effort to "propagate" the new number to all your contacts and website profiles is not impossible but it's a burden many don't want to tackle. Some celebrities manage spam by always having at least 2 different cell phones. So a high-profile Hollywood actor would have: (1) personal phone for spouse & kids & the agent that brings in the money. This number is a closely guarded secret and never shared with anyone or websites' account profiles. This phone's ringer can be set to "silence unknown callers not in the contact list". (2) separate "burner" phone for everybody else. The (2) business phone # is changed out monthly because it inevitably leaks out with all the people that have it. But (1) personal phone is only changed if it was leaked by a insider employee at AT&T or TMobile. But again, it's another unrealistic "solution" for most because regular people don't want to buy and carry around 2 separate phones. Yes, some phones can use dual SIMs but only the expensive models ... and it also requires paying extra for 2 numbers on the monthly bill. Hopefully, an eventual solution that combines: - more effective FCC crackdowns and penalties - SHAKEN/STIR anti-spoofing, - intelligent spam filters at the wireless carrier level, - better call management tools in iOS/Android ... would be a more sane approach than buying new phone numbers to escape the spam.

I don’t think I’ve picked up a phone call in 2 years. Text me or email me no exceptions. So much spam I see increased on voicemails the past year. Clearly all scam.

gogopuppygogo 5y ago

You aren’t an elderly person who isn’t technical. I watch the scam baiters on YouTube and on occasion you hear a victim crying while the perps laugh. Truly bad people to be executing scams against some of the most vulnerable.

ipython 5y ago
This is exactly the point. I happen to have a landline which somehow is associated with a demographic profile of a senior citizen. I’ve had this number for over a decade now. The number of scam calls targeting seniors is staggering. Of the 200-300 spam robocalls I receive every month, about 50-80 are blocked by my cell phone (the landline rings to my cell) and I also subscribe to nomorobo on the landline, which I assume blocks even more. Still, that’s some 200 calls that make it through even with two levels of blocking. The scams are terrifying- serious sounding people on the line saying your social security number will be cancelled and you will be arrested unless you speak immediately to an officer; Medicare advantage scams; IRS and treasury scammers... and since my personal info is published by the phone company, many times the scammers have all my personal information as “proof”! It’s a sickening information asymmetry that can totally fool an unsuspecting older person who doesn’t entirely understand what’s going on. If you’re curious about what these scams look like and how vigilantes actively work to combat them, I’d recommend two videos to start: Jim browning at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvjjpzyiig4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvjjpzyiig4 and mark rober at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKW58MS12g https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKW58MS12g.

knodi123 5y ago

I guess you don't schedule a lot of medical appointments or work with contractors. I wish I could block all unknown numbers, but I'll miss the rescheduling call from the roofer who had to borrow his wife's cell because his fell out of his pocket, or I'll miss the "please confirm you're coming to your appointment tomorrow" and now I've lost a doctor's appointment I scheduled weeks in advance, etc.

TylerE 5y ago
It’s changing. Even the fairly small doctors office I use locally now texts instead of calling.
GoblinSlayer 5y ago
Just formalize communication procedure with them.
jjeaff 5y ago
The solution to this is to get a phone number from an area code that you don't live in. Almost all spam calls now spoof the number to give it the same area code as your phone. So I know any call coming from a local area code is probably legit. Most calls coming from the same area code as my number or from a random area code or even 800 number is usually spam.
- vinay427 5y ago
  Also, this probably goes without saying but if you choose this route, find an area code in which you likely don't know anyone. I have an area code from a state in which I previously lived so I still don't know whether it's a spam call or an old contact.
- jasode 5y ago
  >The solution to this is to get a phone number from an area code that you don't live in. Getting a new number is not a realistic "solution" for many people because they've had their old cellphone # for decades and it's already deeply entrenched with all their relatives, friends, doctors' emergency contact numbers, airlines notifications, bank fraud alerts vis SMS, etc, etc. E.g. Most of my friends & family have had the same wireless phone numbers for more than 20 years which they've deliberately kept even when changing carriers. People still want to keep their familiar number; they just want the spam robocalls to stop. Yes, buying a new area code # (which btw costs ~$40 admin charge with AT&T) ... and then expending a lot of effort to "propagate" the new number to all your contacts and website profiles is not impossible but it's a burden many don't want to tackle. Some celebrities manage spam by always having at least 2 different cell phones. So a high-profile Hollywood actor would have: (1) personal phone for spouse & kids & the agent that brings in the money. This number is a closely guarded secret and never shared with anyone or websites' account profiles. This phone's ringer can be set to "silence unknown callers not in the contact list". (2) separate "burner" phone for everybody else. The (2) business phone # is changed out monthly because it inevitably leaks out with all the people that have it. But (1) personal phone is only changed if it was leaked by a insider employee at AT&T or TMobile. But again, it's another unrealistic "solution" for most because regular people don't want to buy and carry around 2 separate phones. Yes, some phones can use dual SIMs but only the expensive models ... and it also requires paying extra for 2 numbers on the monthly bill. Hopefully, an eventual solution that combines: - more effective FCC crackdowns and penalties - SHAKEN/STIR anti-spoofing, - intelligent spam filters at the wireless carrier level, - better call management tools in iOS/Android ... would be a more sane approach than buying new phone numbers to escape the spam.