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My temporary solution to robo calling problem: If I don't recognize number calling or number is blocked, I don't answer.
 
I'm using the VOIP service Ooma for landline service and they have integrated Nomorobo so you don't even get that first ring. It has really cut down on the robocalls quite a bit.

I am migrating my landlines to Vonage because they also support Nomorobo. Funny part is the salespeople at Vonage don't even know they support Nomorobo!
 
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... Maybe if the U.S. government put a tax on each call, it would drive the most sketchy of them out of business.

Nevermind the US gov putting a tax on each call... the gov will just encourage the behaviour to raise more tax revenue...

too bad there isn't a way for ME to tax anyone who calls me with a small fee, say 25 cents. If it's a legit call, i'll waive the fee, if it's phone spam I get credited 25 cents.

If you put a price to each piece of phone spam, companies will think twice before they setup war dialers.

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It's gotten so bad now that I think the only solution is a whitelist. There's no point blacklisting spoofed numbers, you'll never get a call from that particular number again. Do not call lists are completely useless. Legislation is useless, because most of them come from overseas. Nuclear weapons seem like overkill, but less and less as time goes on...

Blocking is far from 100% effective, but it isn't quite as futile as you suggest. A good many of these spoofed CIDs remain active for years and it's very common to get several call from the same number over the course of a few days if not minutes. Google the suspect number if you have any doubt, and if it has been reported to one of the telemarking sites, block it right away and you don't get the repeats. A pain in the neck but still worth the effort.
 
I kid you not, I just had this happen (see screenshot) while reading this article, and had two other non-anonymous robo calls from two area codes earlier this morning. It is rapidly getting worse!
 

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I only came to this thread to see comments about Wall -E :D To stay on topic though, automated phone calls are really annoying and so it's a positive step to see intentions to reduce/counteract the problem.
 
The biggest problem I see, as these companies doing the ROBOCALLING are using NON-EXISTING NUMBERS and Different Numbers every time they call people. I am bothered by this one company on a weekly bases (Consumer Credit Card Relief), each time they robo call me, it's a different number and when you call the number back, I get "this number is not valid" recording. I have asked them repeatedly to stop calling me, but they still call me back. My number is on the FTC's DONOTCALL List and has been for years, yet I still get robo calls all the time. I have submitted complaint after complaint to the FTC, yet nothing changes, I still to this day, get robo called all the time. I have started adding there numbers to a contact in my iPhone and I have these numbers blocked, but they just use a different number to call me, so I am still bothered by them.

Another issue is, when you give your number away when buy a car, a home, credit card, etc, they share that number and from what I understand, is automatic consent to robo calls from them. I can't tell you how many times I get a call from a Car Warranty company about buying a warranty for my car. I have asked them repeatedly to take me off their list and also told them I have a warranty already. Still, a month will go by and they call.

The only fix I can see, is to NOT have a PHONE at all. Send me mail, It just go from the mailbox to the fire pit in my back yard, I don't even have to read it to know it's SPAM.

Never call back. Never ask to be removed from a call list, unless it's a legitimate company you know. Otherwise do not answer these calls at all or speak to them, unless you get your jollies from jerking their chains. Keep in mind you are dealing with criminals.
 
The real issue at hand is spoofed caller ID.

I once received a telemarketing call with my own phone number. Phone numbers cannot be trusted.

If the industry is sincere about fixing the problem, figure out a way to differentiate spoofed calls or replace phone numbers altogether with something more trustworthy.
 
Never call back. Never ask to be removed from a call list, unless it's a legitimate company you know. Otherwise do not answer these calls at all or speak to them, unless you get your jollies from jerking their chains. Keep in mind you are dealing with criminals.

I think it's like with spam email. If you answer the call or wait to speak to a live person and ask to be removed from their call list, you're just confirming that you'll answer the call or your number is active, and then they'll either ignore your stop calling request, forward (sell?) your number to the next person/company to robo call you, or both.

I did that in the beginning and robo calls started getting more frequent. It's best just to ignore the call.
 
LOL, knowing how ATT operates, they are probably the ones planting the robocalls. Now they will try and sell you a $5 a month app to "block" these calls. :D

Also, why use a picture of lovable Wally!? He's a Disney icon and one of my favorite Disney characters. :oops:
They can swiftly crack down on robo calls but they cant give us decent plans?
 
Start by giving me a way to filter 'no caller ID' calls, just a simple option that diverts the caller to a "This person has chosen not to receive cals from withheld numbers" message, or something along those lines. Or allow me to block no caller ID.

I just don't want to bother with people who don't want me to know who they are.

Try using YouMail.com as you can block those calls and others there and it's free!!! Great service
 
I use truecaller a crowd sourced listing of spam phone numbers. When a call comes in it flags if it is spam. I also share spam call numbers with the app.

That app is too creepy for me, it uploads all of my contacts information, like every single piece of information I have on their contacts entry. Crowdsourcing is definitely the way to go, but I'm probably too old to fully give in to the modern era of no privacy and just felt guilty at giving over someone elses information.
 
It has gotten so bad that we disconnect our land line (part of a cable bundle so it would cost more to eliminate it!) and tell family and friends to call on our cell phones. I have gotten as many as 8 robo calls in a day. Each one is reported to the Do Not Call website, but, of course, that is meaningless.
Same happened to us. Our Verizon land line developed a problem on their end though they claim it was the line to our house. But we moved and the problem persisted. We tried for ten years to get it fixed! Then one day it was fixed and the barrage of telemarketing calls was so horrible I disconnected all of our land line phones. We just use our cell phones now but slowly robo calls are starting to come across those, too. :mad:
 
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My temporary solution to robo calling problem: If I don't recognize number calling or number is blocked, I don't answer.

That's what I do, but it's still really annoying. If they don't leave a voicemail, or text, I block them. This year has been the worse yet. I don't know if I have my phone number out on the net somewhere, but I'm pretty cautious about giving out my number.

It would suck if I had to take a lot of business calls from unknown numbers. **** would be a nightmare. There's very reasons why I would get a call from an unknown number.
 
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If I can stop receiving timeshare calls, I'd be the happiest guy in the world. Even being able to filter out specific area codes is all I ask.

It got to the point where simply forwarding all incoming calls directly to voicemail is the only option I can stay sane. FaceTime Audio or WhatsApp calls only for me..
 
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What works best on my landline, simple answering machine, set to toll saver, generic message, No caller ID (bonus saves money), inform important callers about my setup, set volume to low, and Never answer the phone. Important calls leave a message, if I am home they get a quick call back. Robocalls do not like to leave a message (political exception), wastes their server time, and no benefit to them as most need a response. Therefore, they understand toll saver and will in most cases hang up in 4 rings just before answering machine picks up. If they leave a message, easy to hit delete button.

What helps on my cellphone, any call not in my contacts I Never answer, use a generic message, and block those numbers that do not leave a message. Reduces the amount of calls over time.

Not perfect, reduces the interruption from answering unwanted calls, and if a telemarketing and robo call systems detects a real person, just like unsubscribing from spam, generates more calls. It really does work, takes a few months, greatly reduces the annoyance and number of these calls. Maybe an option to consider.
 
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My solution is Google Voice. I can simply block the number, my phone doesn't ring as the caller doesn't go past Google.
 
My temporary solution to robo calling problem: If I don't recognize number calling or number is blocked, I don't answer.
I once received a robe call with my own phone number. So even a number you recognize may be robo calls.
 
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. . . . . The only fix I can see, is to NOT have a PHONE at all. Send me mail, It just go from the mailbox to the fire pit in my back yard, I don't even have to read it to know it's SPAM.

We dropped our land line around 2005. We just use cell phones and we never, never answer numbers not in our contacts. If it is important the caller will leave a message. Spammers know we won't call back and don't leave messages. Simple, no worries about blocking numbers that might be important. If someone whats to crack down on this, all they have to do is make it more expensive to robo-call. The problem is that high volume telco users get huge discounts. Just stop the discounts, then we all would benefit by not having to pay our part of infrastructure that no one wants.
 
Easy solution for the phone companies. Any client that makes 100 outbound calls in an hour is a spammer and should be cut off from services. I have never been able to figure out a legitimate business need to make that many outbound calls.
 
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