Spam Phone Calls

[BillBrown]

@merickson

My other thought is how much does a company make from robo-calls or spam calls? Is the profit from one transaction that great that it will pay for the 100s of call that get hung up on? Apparently it is.

They make plenty. You would be amazed at how many people fall for the IRS and Social Security and Microsoft security scams. As long as there is a population of gullible fools the scammers will find ways to continue.

[FlameHeart]

I don’t get that many, but I do get some. They have increased in number since I applied for student loans…I feel your pain. I just don’t answer the phone anymore, let it roll to VM, and call them back if they are a legitimate person that isn’t a spammer.

[merickson]

@BillBrown

@merickson

My other thought is how much does a company make from robo-calls or spam calls? Is the profit from one transaction that great that it will pay for the 100s of call that get hung up on? Apparently it is.

They make plenty. You would be amazed at how many people fall for the IRS and Social Security and Microsoft security scams. As long as there is a population of gullible fools the scammers will find ways to continue.

I see a difference between scam callers and robo marketing calls. “Buy your perscription from us” companies that will send you your medicine vs. the “this is Microsoft security, your computer is…” scam calls.

Both are evil and their whether their perpetrators spend an eternity in Hell is a guide to whether God is just.

[Munimula1]

@Janet_Miller

Can’t count the number of spam calls I get. Lately two types show up on my voice mail:

Many in Chinese,

Others, from western states, claiming to be from Social Security Administration. Did some research on these calls & will post a link in a bit.

Yes! I get a lady yelling at me in Chinese on my cell phone. Weird.

[Samm]

@merickson

Blocking a number doesn’t work, because the callers can make your phone think its coming from a different number. (

They can even make it look like the call originates from your phone.

[gooddad409]

@janer

This week, a news site posted an editorial piece about spam - the writer said he’d received 43 spam calls in a week, and broke them down (medical devices, car warranty, credit card interest reduction, etc) And all I could think was that 43 in a week didn’t seem so bad. Yesterday, I got 22. Today, so far, 5 before noon. Most of the comments reported that 43 in a week was nothing.
So - what’s the solution? The Do Not Call list is pretty useless. A few people said they had something called NoMoRoBo that wasn’t very effective. And then there are the spoofed calls that come in from local “real people” numbers. So annoying.

I get tons of those calls. It is to the point that if i don’t recognise the call i don’t answer.

[Samm]

My sentiments exactly. And if it is an important legitimate call they will leave a message.

[Casper_the_ghost]

Whenever I get the calls from the IRS I always call back and ask for sex until they disconnect their number. As for spoofing a number I got one with my own number calling me!!

Last year some lady woke me up and said that I called her, I told that wasn’t possible as I was sleeping all day and no one has access to my phone, and someone must be spoofing my number. When she kept talking about it, I just hung up on her

[Toll_Collector]

Do these guys leave messages? I don’t answer any calls from numbers I don’t recognize.

[Demon]

Lol oh yes they do. I’ve been warned I could go to jail for IRS problems, and I get messages about car warranties. But I don’t answer calls I don’t recognize either. Leave a message or your number gets blocked.

[Janet_Miller]

Yes they do. Like Demon I’ve been threatened with jail on my voice mail.

I’ve had to block these numbers. My husband, a naturalized citizen, has gotten those voice mails too. The actual Social Security Administration does not threaten arrest or deportation.

[Samm]

That’s a new one on me. I get up to dozen unidentified calls a day and never has one left a message.

[BillBrown]

@Samm

That’s a new one on me. I get up to dozen unidentified calls a day and never has one left a message.

Robo calls will leave a message sometimes.

[DMK]

@STODR

best way to avoid it is to not give your phone number to every Tom Dick and Harry out there. Stop signing up for every loyalty program ect. Those phone lists are sold. I used a 4 dollar app and rarely get spam calls.

Yup, I give out a fake phone number to everyone outside of family and work contacts, doctor.

I don’t answer my phone unless I recognize the number and if for some reason it is a spam call, I block the caller.

[FloridaYankee]

@Janet_Miller

Yes they do. Like Demon I’ve been threatened with jail on my voice mail.

I’ve had to block these numbers. My husband, a naturalized citizen, has gotten those voice mails too. The actual Social Security Administration does not threaten arrest or deportation.

I used to get one of those that left a voicemail saying the local cops would take me into custody if I didn’t call them back. It actually said cops, not police. It was hilarious.

[FlameHeart]

I don’t know why the IRS thing is still going…everyone knows the IRS communicates in writing.

[FlameHeart]

I’m starting to get 1-2 robo voice mails a day. Somehow I don’t think that legislation would fix it as a lot of these calls and messages originate outside the U.S. I got one in Vietnamese a week ago.

[FlameHeart]

Ha! Yes! Make them uncomfortable.

[Demon]

Most don’t, but every once in a while I get a message.

[Demon]

I’ve gotten messages in Chinese, and a couple of WhatsApp texts in Spanish.