That's how it was before about 1980. Every call outside the local area cost money, and every international call cost a lot more. As a result, spam landline call

That's how it was before about 1980. Every call outside the local area cost money, and every international call cost a lot more. As a result, spam landline calls were rare and international spam calls were nonexistent. Keep in mind this was the era before CallerID so you never knew what number was calling you in advance. You answered every call on blind faith. And strangely enough most calls were worth taking, because all calls cost money. Spam happens when it costs the spammer nothing.