Spam phone calls.

[Dave Gray]

I don't know what it is but in about the last year and really heavily in the last 6 months, I've just been inundated with garbage calls to my cellphone.

Spam either through Indian telemarketing or robocalls.  The most common ones are car warranty, solar panels.  But also scams like a robotic voice telling me that my Amazon account has been hacked.  Some recent ones are 'if you are a loved ones suffered damage from a specific medicine'. 

Are you guys seeing this?

What the hell can I do?  I'm on all of the Do Not Call lists.  All of the numbers are cloaked or cloned -- they're showing up as local numbers, but I know they're not. 

It sucks.  This is my personal device and I hate having garbage ads and scammers thrown at me every day.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

If I have the time and inclination, I will get a live person on the line as I go out to the garage I will talk softly and repeatedly ask them to talk louder....

Then comes the airhorn. 

[Tenshot13]

Solar energy and car warranty calls every day, at least 4 times a day.

[ArtieChokePhin]

Too bad we don't have land lines anymore.  Back when I had a land line, I had a special cordless phone that detected robo/computer calls that would disconnect the call and send a signal back to the computer that would wipe my information out of their database.  It was called the Telezapper. 

It's still telemarketing, regardless of how it's done.

[EDGECRUSHER]

One at a time I block them. It helps but you still get them almost every other day.

They are more prominent now because they work regularly on the elderly. It's sad to say but true. I know at least 3 people who believed these calls and went down to their banks to close accounts and other nonsense and they were all in their 60's and 70s and they weren't dumb either.

[Dolphster]

Too bad we don't have land lines anymore.  Back when I had a land line, I had a special cordless phone that detected robo/computer calls that would disconnect the call and send a signal back to the computer that would wipe my information out of their database.  It was called the Telezapper. 

It's still telemarketing, regardless of how it's done.

I'd give my left nut for that kind of technology for my cell phone. (we don't even have a landline anymore)   I never pick up the phone unless I recognize the name, but just listening to it ring is annoying.  I love it when I get sales calls on my work phone.  When I tell them they just called the Dept. of Homeland Security, they either immediately hang up or stammer out an apology.  But I very rarely get a call from the same company twice on my work phone.  

[Pappy13]

Change your phone to send any phone call that is not in your contacts list straight to voice mail. I did this about a year ago and I've never been happier. I do miss a call from time to time from someone, but I get the voicemail so it's not a big deal. And no your voicemail will not fill up. No one actually leaves a voice mail.

[Dolphster]

Change your phone to send any phone call that is not in your contacts list straight to voice mail. I did this about a year ago and I've never been happier. I do miss a call from time to time from someone, but I get the voicemail so it's not a big deal. And no your voicemail will not fill up. No one actually leaves a voice mail.

Yeah, on my personal phone when I remember I will go in and block the number which does help.  But so many of the sales call spoof numbers or whatever so that your phone doesn't recognize the number when the same company calls again. 

[Pappy13]

Yeah, on my personal phone when I remember I will go in and block the number which does help.  But so many of the sales call spoof numbers or whatever so that your phone doesn't recognize the number when the same company calls again. 

No, I don't mean block the number. There is a way on iPhones at least to send any phone call from someone not in your contacts list straight to voice mail. I don't have a single phone number blocked.

[Dolphster]

No, I don't mean block the number. There is a way on iPhones at least to send any phone call from someone not in your contacts list straight to voice mail. I don't have a single phone number blocked.

Ah, sorry, my bad.  I misunderstood. 

[Dave Gray]

Conspiracy theory time, but I think the government could crack down on this but they don't want to.

A lot of legitimate business is done through the phone and it would hurt the overall economy to cast a wide net on this annoyance, so they don't do it.

[CF DolFan]

No, I don't mean block the number. There is a way on iPhones at least to send any phone call from someone not in your contacts list straight to voice mail. I don't have a single phone number blocked.

I do that too. I probably get 8 calls a day and unless they leave a message or I check missed calls I don't even realize it.

[Dave Gray]

I do that too. I probably get 8 calls a day and unless they leave a message or I check missed calls I don't even realize it.

I hate to do that.  I know that would be a solution but I'm afraid that my kids are going to call from another phone or I'm going to miss a call from someone who needs help.

[Pappy13]

I hate to do that.  I know that would be a solution but I'm afraid that my kids are going to call from another phone or I'm going to miss a call from someone who needs help.

Do you keep your phone with you pretty much all the time? Do you get some kind of notification when someone leaves a voicemail like it dings or something? If so, then you'll know it when someone leaves a message but that's the beauty of this, NO SPAMMER is gonna leave a message. I get a few voice mails that I probably otherwise might have answered, but then it's always for a legit reason and I try to stay on top of my voice mails. Try it for a day or 2 and see what you think. It changed my life.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Do you keep your phone with you pretty much all the time? Do you get some kind of notification when someone leaves a voicemail like it dings or something? If so, then you'll know it when someone leaves a message but that's the beauty of this, NO SPAMMER is gonna leave a message. I get a few voice mails that I probably otherwise might have answered, but then it's always for a legit reason and I try to stay on top of my voice mails. Try it for a day or 2 and see what you think. It changed my life.

Also, tell new people you give your number to that you don’t answer the phone unless you recognize the number so make sure you leave a message if it goes to vm, don’t just keep calling trying to reach me live and/or text me before you call. 

I don’t do what Pappy does (but I probably should) but if I get call from someone not in my contacts about 90% of the time I ignore the call and send it to vm.