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I highly recommend using a Google Voice number for recruiters for just such a reason. I keep all my interviewing data isolated from my private data.

dvtrn 5y ago
I have a nice collection of "throwaway" phone numbers for all kinds of reasons, while one of them is dedicated to job hunting, I don't think merely having it would have stopped this agency from sharing my CV across to whomever they shared it with, or stopped whatever leak occurred for said email address to end up in so many collections of leaked data. That was the reason: to understand where my data was leaking from, not to duck recruiter calls.
- dustyharddrive 5y ago
devoutsalsa 5y ago
These days I just never answer the actual phone for anyone. I don’t even bother to look who is calling.
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  Yeah, me too. I have my 3 best friends and my mom whitelisted; everyone else can leave a message or SMS.
- jjwiseman 5y ago
  A scenario I hadn't thought about, that you might want to be aware of: I had to call 911 recently. I talked to the dispatcher, and hung up. A few minutes later they called me back to give me instructions. The call showed up as a regular Los Angeles 323 area code number. In fact, it was flagged by my phone as spam. It made me wonder whether reverse 911[1] calls, which are used to warn about hazmat situations, fire evacuations, and other public safety issues, show up similarly. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_9-1-1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_9-1-1
  - tjoff 5y ago
    Additionally, if a neighbor is having an emergency they (emergency services) might call you to see if you are home and able to help.
    - dkersten 5y ago
      I don’t know anyone that isn’t my parents age that has a landline anymore so this scenario already wouldn’t work with my friends, family or neighbours. My phone isn’t directly tied to my address in any way that might be useful for emergency services.
      - tjoff 5y ago
        Depends on where you live. In Sweden your cell phone is typically tied to yourself and yourself to your primary place of stay.
        dkersten 5y ago
        Sure, that's why I said that mine isn't. I know that's not the case for everyone, but it is for me and many people I know, at least. Its obviously not the case for everyone, many people will have a phone tied to an address, but many people also don't. My phone is tied to me, but whether or not the provider has an address depends on if I have a bill phone or not (many people here do not). I also wonder EU countries, including Sweden, would actually allow telecom providers to share that information with other parties such as emergency services or whether that would be against data protection laws. Besides, prior to the pandemic, there was also a high likelihood that I wouldn't be at home, if you called me on a random day at a random time, so even if my phone were tied to my address, it wouldn't be a good idea for emergency services to rely on that.
      - devilbunny 5y ago
        A true landline, very few people. But setting up a cheap VOIP line is not very expensive on a month-to-month basis, and it's useful to have a phone number that you can give to any person or business that can't bother you at work. We have poor cell service at my house, so the VOIP line is my preference for most calls at home.
- kyawzazaw 5y ago
  Why not? Do you get too many scam calls or robo calls?
  - vollmond 5y ago
    99% of the phone calls I get from unknown numbers are some combination of scam/robo/or just immediate hang up. The only exceptions tend to be businesses responding to my initial contact (eg, trying to get a plumber out to my house), in which case I will answer unknown numbers for a day or two until we connect. Otherwise nope. This is a US mobile number that I've ported from carrier to carrier since the mid-00s. Haven't been particularly careful about where I use the number, which is probably how it got this bad.
    - jrockway 5y ago
      I think they're just enumerating the entire address space, rather than buying your phone number from somewhere. But I guess I have no evidence to prove this; I have given my phone number to companies, and I get a ton of spam calls.
      - sdenton4 5y ago
        My partner and I have adjacent phone numbers (x and x+1). /Occasionally/ we get sequential spam calls, where my phone goes off immediately after she hangs up. But not super often. Though one can shuffle before calling everything, just as easily.
        refurb 5y ago
        It’s like a war games dialer 40 years later.
      - dvtrn 5y ago
        I think they're just enumerating the entire address space Even when you consider most calls now for SIP/VoIP platforms (which is where a lot of these scammers get their DID/phone numbers from) are charging fractions of a cent for outbound calls, enumerating and then dialing entire NPA spaces gets prohibitively expensive after even five minutes of dialing waiting for someone to pick up, even for the most dedicated of scam call centers. Doesn't mean they aren't dialing randomly to see who picks up, just I doubt they're dialing entire phone number spaces wholesale. What can be observed going on is these scammers quite literally trade lists of leaked phone numbers and email addresses and they actively keep track of who responds, and who falls for their scam before sharing the list with others. Jim Browning (a popular youtube scambaiter and infosec pro) has videos where you can watch it happening with your own eyes.
- daphneokeefe 5y ago
  When I set up a contact, I change the ringtone for them. Then, I ignore calls from non-contacts, which are currently dominated by offers of help with my non-existent student loans (it used to be the warranty on my 20 year old car).
- habibur 5y ago
  I have set my phone to silently reject all calls from numbers that aren't in my address book. Two years, worked fine for me.

dvtrn 5y ago

I have a nice collection of "throwaway" phone numbers for all kinds of reasons, while one of them is dedicated to job hunting, I don't think merely having it would have stopped this agency from sharing my CV across to whomever they shared it with, or stopped whatever leak occurred for said email address to end up in so many collections of leaked data. That was the reason: to understand where my data was leaking from, not to duck recruiter calls.

dustyharddrive 5y ago

devoutsalsa 5y ago

These days I just never answer the actual phone for anyone. I don’t even bother to look who is calling.

stjohnswarts 5y ago
Yeah, me too. I have my 3 best friends and my mom whitelisted; everyone else can leave a message or SMS.
jjwiseman 5y ago
A scenario I hadn't thought about, that you might want to be aware of: I had to call 911 recently. I talked to the dispatcher, and hung up. A few minutes later they called me back to give me instructions. The call showed up as a regular Los Angeles 323 area code number. In fact, it was flagged by my phone as spam. It made me wonder whether reverse 911[1] calls, which are used to warn about hazmat situations, fire evacuations, and other public safety issues, show up similarly. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_9-1-1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_9-1-1
- tjoff 5y ago
  Additionally, if a neighbor is having an emergency they (emergency services) might call you to see if you are home and able to help.
  - dkersten 5y ago
    I don’t know anyone that isn’t my parents age that has a landline anymore so this scenario already wouldn’t work with my friends, family or neighbours. My phone isn’t directly tied to my address in any way that might be useful for emergency services.
    - tjoff 5y ago
      Depends on where you live. In Sweden your cell phone is typically tied to yourself and yourself to your primary place of stay.
      - dkersten 5y ago
        Sure, that's why I said that mine isn't. I know that's not the case for everyone, but it is for me and many people I know, at least. Its obviously not the case for everyone, many people will have a phone tied to an address, but many people also don't. My phone is tied to me, but whether or not the provider has an address depends on if I have a bill phone or not (many people here do not). I also wonder EU countries, including Sweden, would actually allow telecom providers to share that information with other parties such as emergency services or whether that would be against data protection laws. Besides, prior to the pandemic, there was also a high likelihood that I wouldn't be at home, if you called me on a random day at a random time, so even if my phone were tied to my address, it wouldn't be a good idea for emergency services to rely on that.
    - devilbunny 5y ago
      A true landline, very few people. But setting up a cheap VOIP line is not very expensive on a month-to-month basis, and it's useful to have a phone number that you can give to any person or business that can't bother you at work. We have poor cell service at my house, so the VOIP line is my preference for most calls at home.
kyawzazaw 5y ago
Why not? Do you get too many scam calls or robo calls?
- vollmond 5y ago
  99% of the phone calls I get from unknown numbers are some combination of scam/robo/or just immediate hang up. The only exceptions tend to be businesses responding to my initial contact (eg, trying to get a plumber out to my house), in which case I will answer unknown numbers for a day or two until we connect. Otherwise nope. This is a US mobile number that I've ported from carrier to carrier since the mid-00s. Haven't been particularly careful about where I use the number, which is probably how it got this bad.
  - jrockway 5y ago
    I think they're just enumerating the entire address space, rather than buying your phone number from somewhere. But I guess I have no evidence to prove this; I have given my phone number to companies, and I get a ton of spam calls.
    - sdenton4 5y ago
      My partner and I have adjacent phone numbers (x and x+1). /Occasionally/ we get sequential spam calls, where my phone goes off immediately after she hangs up. But not super often. Though one can shuffle before calling everything, just as easily.
      - refurb 5y ago
        It’s like a war games dialer 40 years later.
    - dvtrn 5y ago
      I think they're just enumerating the entire address space Even when you consider most calls now for SIP/VoIP platforms (which is where a lot of these scammers get their DID/phone numbers from) are charging fractions of a cent for outbound calls, enumerating and then dialing entire NPA spaces gets prohibitively expensive after even five minutes of dialing waiting for someone to pick up, even for the most dedicated of scam call centers. Doesn't mean they aren't dialing randomly to see who picks up, just I doubt they're dialing entire phone number spaces wholesale. What can be observed going on is these scammers quite literally trade lists of leaked phone numbers and email addresses and they actively keep track of who responds, and who falls for their scam before sharing the list with others. Jim Browning (a popular youtube scambaiter and infosec pro) has videos where you can watch it happening with your own eyes.
daphneokeefe 5y ago
When I set up a contact, I change the ringtone for them. Then, I ignore calls from non-contacts, which are currently dominated by offers of help with my non-existent student loans (it used to be the warranty on my 20 year old car).
habibur 5y ago
I have set my phone to silently reject all calls from numbers that aren't in my address book. Two years, worked fine for me.