4 ms·

FCC aggressively moves to block spam calls

8 points by CrankyBear 5y ago

zw123456 5y ago
The problem with STIR/SHAKEN in my view, is that it is only a matter of time for scammers to get around it, some are already doing it using banks of cell phones, but I am sure they will find a way. Sometimes, I think we look to history for a lesson. Back in the olden days, it used to cost 5 cents to make a call. There were no spam calls back then of course. But if we were to bring that back, but instead of the 5 cents going to the carrier, what if it went to the called party ? Then if a friend calls me and leaves a message, their account is debited 5 cents and mine is credited 5 cents. Then if I call them back, the reverse occurs and it cancels out basically. For most of us, over time, it costs nothing. But it would effectively put robocallers out of business, they are playing the odds and have to make millions of calls a day. And, if they did keep calling, well, great. I answer and hang up, thanks for the nickel. hehe.
- willcipriano 5y ago
  > banks of cell phones This will cut down on spam calls considerably. Right now callers spoof their phone number each phone call. Like this: Call 1: 555-1212 Call 2: 555-1213 Call 3: 555-1214 Under the new system adding the spam number to a blacklist will actually result in those calls being blocked as they will change far less frequently. It's not perfect but it will largely accomplish what you say here, as callers will have to buy new sim cards and swap them out in order to avoid blocklists.
- djyaz1200 5y ago
  In my view this a huge business opportunity and an actual use case for crypto.
commandlinefan 5y ago
At this point, I'm starting to think voice calls are a lost cause - most everybody I know doesn't even bother answering any more.
- 41209 5y ago
  When I call it's almost always a follow up to a text
- cronix 5y ago
  I get no less than 15 spam calls a day (and even more texts - "hey, we were looking at picking up another property in your area, would you entertain an offer to sell?"). I rarely look at my phone anymore when it rings and view it as a nuisance. I routinely miss calls from friends/family because I've basically been trained to ignore the squawking spam device since the ratio of spam/legit calls is so high. The one feature that would make my phone usable again is to have a simple option to only ring for numbers that are in my contacts - otherwise go straight to voicemail. I really, really want that. Why shouldn't I be able to decide who gets to interrupt me based on if I know them or not?
  - MaulingMonkey 5y ago
    It's a bit of a kludge, but I can accomplish this on my phone (Android) by enabling "Do not disturb", "Allow exceptions", "Phone calls + Messages", and setting "Calls and messages from" to "Contacts only". I'm under the impression that it's also possible to replace the dialer/call app with one that can detect "probable spam", and at least one such replacement can likely do custom ringtones or disable ringing for such spam.
  - slipheen 5y ago
    If you have an iPhone, you may find value in "Silence Unknown Callers" https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207099 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207099 > With iOS 13 and later, you can turn on Silence Unknown Callers to avoid getting calls from people you don’t know. This blocks phone numbers that you've never been in contact with and don’t have saved in your contacts list. If you’ve previously texted with someone using their phone number or if a person has shared their phone number with you in an email, a phone call from that number will go through.
joecool1029 5y ago
Not said or pointed out enough but the FCC has sorta been neutered by the US Supreme Court over the past year. TCPA law was greatly weakened and if you want to be a spamlord it's just pay to play now with CTIA regulating everything. So, sure this might slow down poor international spammers from some Randomistan/randomnesia but it's not going to slow down commercial/election spam and you as a phone subscriber now have very little legal recourse to combat domestic spammers.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
lithos 5y ago
They are not. There are vast swathes of exceptions like small companies, and foreign interchanges. Just going to be a bit effort to change providers.

8 points by CrankyBear 5y ago

The problem with STIR/SHAKEN in my view, is that it is only a matter of time for scammers to get around it, some are already doing it using banks of cell phones, but I am sure they will find a way. Sometimes, I think we look to history for a lesson. Back in the olden days, it used to cost 5 cents to make a call. There were no spam calls back then of course. But if we were to bring that back, but instead of the 5 cents going to the carrier, what if it went to the called party ? Then if a friend calls me and leaves a message, their account is debited 5 cents and mine is credited 5 cents. Then if I call them back, the reverse occurs and it cancels out basically. For most of us, over time, it costs nothing. But it would effectively put robocallers out of business, they are playing the odds and have to make millions of calls a day. And, if they did keep calling, well, great. I answer and hang up, thanks for the nickel. hehe.

willcipriano 5y ago
> banks of cell phones This will cut down on spam calls considerably. Right now callers spoof their phone number each phone call. Like this: Call 1: 555-1212 Call 2: 555-1213 Call 3: 555-1214 Under the new system adding the spam number to a blacklist will actually result in those calls being blocked as they will change far less frequently. It's not perfect but it will largely accomplish what you say here, as callers will have to buy new sim cards and swap them out in order to avoid blocklists.
djyaz1200 5y ago
In my view this a huge business opportunity and an actual use case for crypto.

commandlinefan 5y ago

At this point, I'm starting to think voice calls are a lost cause - most everybody I know doesn't even bother answering any more.

41209 5y ago
When I call it's almost always a follow up to a text
cronix 5y ago
I get no less than 15 spam calls a day (and even more texts - "hey, we were looking at picking up another property in your area, would you entertain an offer to sell?"). I rarely look at my phone anymore when it rings and view it as a nuisance. I routinely miss calls from friends/family because I've basically been trained to ignore the squawking spam device since the ratio of spam/legit calls is so high. The one feature that would make my phone usable again is to have a simple option to only ring for numbers that are in my contacts - otherwise go straight to voicemail. I really, really want that. Why shouldn't I be able to decide who gets to interrupt me based on if I know them or not?
- MaulingMonkey 5y ago
  It's a bit of a kludge, but I can accomplish this on my phone (Android) by enabling "Do not disturb", "Allow exceptions", "Phone calls + Messages", and setting "Calls and messages from" to "Contacts only". I'm under the impression that it's also possible to replace the dialer/call app with one that can detect "probable spam", and at least one such replacement can likely do custom ringtones or disable ringing for such spam.
- slipheen 5y ago
  If you have an iPhone, you may find value in "Silence Unknown Callers" https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207099 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207099 > With iOS 13 and later, you can turn on Silence Unknown Callers to avoid getting calls from people you don’t know. This blocks phone numbers that you've never been in contact with and don’t have saved in your contacts list. If you’ve previously texted with someone using their phone number or if a person has shared their phone number with you in an email, a phone call from that number will go through.

joecool1029 5y ago

Not said or pointed out enough but the FCC has sorta been neutered by the US Supreme Court over the past year. TCPA law was greatly weakened and if you want to be a spamlord it's just pay to play now with CTIA regulating everything. So, sure this might slow down poor international spammers from some Randomistan/randomnesia but it's not going to slow down commercial/election spam and you as a phone subscriber now have very little legal recourse to combat domestic spammers.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

lithos 5y ago

They are not. There are vast swathes of exceptions like small companies, and foreign interchanges. Just going to be a bit effort to change providers.