
Robocalls have triumphed over the Do Not Call list - nkurz
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_bills/2016/05/robocalls_have_triumphed_over_the_do_not_call_list_whose_fault_is_it.html
======
naner
For the past 3 years I've adapted to the point where I just don't answer
numbers I don't have in my address book (unless I'm expecting a call).  If I
don't know you and you don't leave a message than I likely won't hear from
you. 

Every once and awhile I get nervous that I'm missing something important but
the few times I have given in and answered an unknown call it is always
unimportant (car warranty companies, comcast, etc). 

~~~
chadaustin
I followed that rule religiously until my father's boss called saying he'd
collapsed on a business trip and nobody would answer their phones.  Now I just
put up with the junk calls. :/ 

(He ended up surviving ventricular fibrillation with no organ or brain damage
because they got an AED on him within a minute.) 

~~~
billmalarky
The solution in that scenario is to text message if possible.  People will read
texts from unknown numbers. 

~~~
icebraining
Isn't the solution to that to call the emergency number? 

~~~
DanBC
But once you've called the emergency number, and are in an Ambo on your way to
hospital, or are in the hospital, you want to let people know that you're not
dead in a ditch. 

Some hospitals are stricter about cell phones than others. 

------
hackbinary
In the UK/the rest of the world where everyone has to pay calls by the minute,
things maybe a a little different here than in the US of A, and Canadia. 

My approach is a little different than to hang-up as quickly as possible, as
this is a behaviour that the telephone solictors use to their advantange.  In
short, I try to soak a call for as long as possible.  The best tactic is to be
a little bit dumb, but fean interest in whatever the person is calling about. 
I generally find that getting them to explain each sentance they say about 3
times is about right, before moring on to the next sentance. 

Anyway, I answer all calls, and press the button to talk to a human, then try
to keep the human on the line for as long as possible. 

The cost centre for these automated calls is for a human to talk to me.  On at
least 4 occasions after being an affible fool for about 20 minutes, without
the sales person on the other end, they have said "okay, I get it, you don't
want us to call you, and we will put you on our 'do not call list'".  At which
time they promptly hang up in a huff. 

I my numbers, work, cottage/holiday home, mobile, work mobile, and work line
now only get about 1 call a month, of which I am more than happy to take, and
generally ends with the above result.  Previously I used to get 4 or so random
unknown calls a day. 

I also notice that after calling for a taxi, the number of unwanted calls goes
up. 

~~~
maxerickson
Straight asking to be put on the do not call list has the same result (for the
callers that maintain one). 

Just talk over their opening spiel.  15 seconds, no more calls from that
caller. 

~~~
dave2000
Most of the calls I get are people doing surveys, or lying about how I was in
an accident and could make money from a legal claim.  Neither pay any attention
to the UK TPS (no call list); the former because that type of call isn't
covered, and the latter because criminals don't tend to obey the law. 

I get a lot of calls from Indians.  Any solution has to take into account the
international nature of the annoyance.  I'm perfectly happy with a whitelist
system, or where anyone who has not called me before needs to sign up with my
phone company using verifiable credentials. 

~~~
hackbinary
Honestly, soak the calls for as long as possible.  Always press the button to
get connected to someone.  Don't answer any of the questions in the survey. 
Just generally try to waste as much time on the callers end.  The "surveys" are
not real surveys, but rather a way to try to get to opt in to a sales calls. 

I love trying get to the PPI callers to explain to me what bank accounts,
insurance, credit cards are, finally saying that I might have had a bank
account, or credit card, then try to get them to explain to me what the PPI
is.  I had a guy on the phone for about 40 minutes one day while I was waiting
for the ferry. 

The best thing you can do is get connected to a human as quickly as possible,
so you can soak the call. 

The other day I didn't really have time to take one of these calls, but I
pressed 3 to be connected to someone, and left the phone.  After about 5
minutes of being on hold, leaving the phone off the hook, I then heard someone
going hello for about 2 minutes. 

Another tactic I have is to claim some interest, but that I have to call them
back as I am changing phone numbers/jobs/houses, or that I don't have time in
the next few weeks, but when I find a moment I will call them back.  I refuse
to give a 'good time to call' because I am so busy, but when I have a moment I
will return the call.  This is an amusing tactic because most of the they claim
they can only make outgoing calls, and that I will have to give them a time.  I
generally suggest that them must have an incoming phone number for other
purposes, so surely they could give me that number.  Usually they decline, so
then finally I try to get the persons phone number on the other end of the
call.  They generally say that is their private number number, to which I say
that this my private number, so it really would be quite fair for me to
contact them on their 'personal' number. 

This seriously works, as I only get one call every month or two.  I have also
gotten a bit of a reputation at work for these types of calls and my co-
workers have not end of amusement that I engage with these callers in this
way. 

------
mancerayder
Robocalls used to happen to me weekly and now monthly or less after signing up
to the Do Not Call list. 

What currently tortures me several times a day is certainly some sort of legal
grey area, but mostly legal.  I have Indian IT recruiters calling me several
times a day for positions irrelevant to my job role and also in remote
locations (I am US-based and it's a very large country, the US, for leisurely
moving from the coasts to the Midwest).  Here's why I think there's something
fishy going on:

* They are 100% Indian, sometimes with limited English skills, suggesting that the US number they are calling from is just a reroute.  Conversations are strained and you can tell they read from a script. 

* The emails they send before they call contain a specific template that, even though they represent numerous different companies/agencies, the 'This is not spam' type disclaimer (starts with Please allow us to reiterate we chose to contact you because you had your profile online..) is IDENTICAL.  The other thing that is identical is the Unsubscribe link, which takes you to the same templated page, with yet another agency name filled in. 

* The positions always say, US citizens and green card holders only. 

My conclusion: H1B employers are utilizing phone and email spam via Indian
call centers to justify having advertised the positions in order to be able to
fulfill the legal requirement.  What better way than to contact someone in
Boston or New York for a low paying role in Lansing, MI or Dayton, OH or
whatnot. 

Am I the only one? 

~~~
toast0
> My conclusion: H1B employers are utilizing phone and email spam via Indian
> call centers to justify having advertised the positions in order to be able
> to fulfill the legal requirement. 

The legal requirement is usually fulfilled by ploacing an ad in the classified
section of the local newspaper (preferably print only), asking candidates to
submit their resume via the mail with a reference number. 

~~~
mancerayder
So what's your theory as to why this Indian Call Center Recruitment Situation
(tm) is so prevalent?  One big agency, Mitchell Martin, just got on board. 
Surely they would know that contacting a NYC or SF resident for a job NOT in
NYC or SF but in a small town in Rhode Island, Ohio, Texas, etc.  is truly a
needle in a haystack?  Someone is paying someone else money to get people to
talk on the phone with people who live in the former places, to chat about
positions in the latter places. 

Either the world has gone mad, or there's a business reason for the above
discrepancy given how extremely widespread (I say, daily and via numerous
agencies) it is. 

~~~
toast0
No idea, I don't think cold calling people about a job meets any advertising
requirement (which on further looking actually looks like it's related to
sponsoring a green card application, not an H1B). 

Perhaps, they're phishing for more information to target scams?  I've heard the
IRS scams are more effective against immigrants, for example.  The caller may
not realize that's the purpose for the call. 

Could also just be annoy 1000 people, get one positive response, and that's
good enough? 

------
tptacek
Someone pointed me to NoMoRobo, which is a free service that intercepts
landline calls and screens them.  You configure your phone to forward calls to
it, and it hangs up the phone on robocalls. 

It works pretty great.  You get a single first ring, which I thought would be
annoying, but every time I get a single ring and then nothing I actually feel
a sense of elation. 

------
ryanmarsh
This is why the telephone is "broken".  My 9 year old daughter gets random
calls all the time.  My parents get scam calls all the time.  Why does it make
sense for permissionless access into my personal life? 

Think about it.  Someone can disrupt any moment of your life for any reason
just by making a phone call.  If your phone blinks, vibrates, or rings you are
distracted.  That's like an app you didn't install sending you push
notifications.  Taking this further... since you don't know anything about the
app you have to judge on a case by case basis whether or not to engage
further.  Except in this case all you get as context is 10 digits.  If you
choose to engage further you hear someone's voice.  Then you have to decide
whether to remain civil and give the other person the benefit of the doubt or
just hang up.  It's all very gross. 

~~~
wtbob
It'd be pretty cool if numbers were unguessable: then they'd become
cryptographic capabilities in which anyone who knows your number could contact
you and pass your number on to others, but no-one who doesn't know it could
figure it out. 

Granted, it'd take awhile to get used to numbers like
YheXuVtGf/sxxXFYxZD7bY5nI2Tf/ylNrgBf9b5IA5Q, but if it's combined with a
petname system (where I just see names like 'Bill' and 'Bill's wife's sister
Susan') then I think it could work. 

~~~
TeMPOraL
Nah, this is the direction I'd hate for it to go.  I don't think isolating
people in bubbles of their direct social networks is good for society.  Being
able to get called by someone you don't have in your phonebook is a _feature_
, not a bug. 

Now I would very much appreciate if calling meant sending _a lot more_
metadata.  Like full name/surname and organization to which the number is
registered.  And then make phones capable of creating filters based on that
data.  Oh, and companies faking the metadata should be open to lawsuits. 

~~~
ryanmarsh
I'm sure we could figure out a way to intelligently establish identity and
reputation before my phone interrupts me. 

------
martian
Why aren't these kinds of calls straight up illegal in the first place? 
Telecom companies who hand out numbers to spammers should get fined like
crazy, and the burden of proof goes on them for dealing with the people they
give US phone numbers to. 

But for now, I use the iPhone's Do Not Disturb option and allow calls only
from contacts.  I used to get harassed daily by shit companies selling me
stuff, and I'd report them to the FTC, and it was a huge annoyance.  Now I have
to see the missed call from an unknown number, but at least my phone doesn't
ring. 

~~~
paulddraper
> Why aren't these kinds of calls straight up illegal in the first place? 

Free speech. 

You may not agree, but that is at least the reason. 

~~~
bduerst
Nope - Freedom of speech isn't a blank check for communication. 

It only protects from government censorship, and even then, situations deemed
harmful (such as death threats against individuals) are exempt. 

~~~
woodman
It is a lot more complicated than that unfortunately:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_v._United_States_Post_Of...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_v._United_States_Post_Office_Department)

The consideration of a "captive audience" is relevant to the topic under
discussion, prior restraint (in general) as well. 

~~~
bduerst
That's not complicated at all.  That's people censoring what they receive, not
the government. 

~~~
woodman
"people" aren't "censoring", they don't have the power to do so.  In this
specific case the state acts at the behest of those who fill out a USPS Form
1500.  It is complicated when you consider what is actually happening, the
rationale behind it, and the convoluted exceptions.  To say otherwise would be
like saying that the internet is uncomplicated, as it is simply a series of
tubes. 

~~~
bduerst
>In this specific case the state acts at the behest of those who fill out a
USPS Form 1500. 

That is "people" "censoring".  This really isn't as complex or difficult as
you're trying to make it be. 

~~~
woodman
I'll give it one more shot.  You are a child at the store and you ask your
mommy for a lollipop, she hands you one and pays the cashier... who bought the
lollipop? 

~~~
bduerst
Hahah, nothing in what you just said adds up to censorship.  Since the direct
marketers are paying for it, I guess they're the mother?  Is the government the
lollipop?  Is censorship the grocery store? 

 _Ahem_ \- "You have a duck in a pond with a frog, and an elderly couple is
throwing bread... Who threw the bread?"  Lol. 

~~~
woodman
While trying to understand what attribution means to you I accidentally tested
your skills in reading comprehension. 

~~~
bduerst
But who threw the bread, woodman?  You still haven't passed your reading
comprehension test. 

This is very important for the discussion of human-selected censorship. 

------
makecheck
A couple things that would be really useful:

1\. A “Google This Number” button when an unknown call comes in, or something
that pulls the equivalent “is this a scam?”  information that I always seek
out. 

2\. Rather than only having the option to Accept or Decline, I want a
“silently wait until they hang up” option.  I don’t want them to _know_ I am
declining their call (as that sends information that I exist and am a valid
person); I want them to sit there and wait for me to pick up.  Really what I
want is for the phone to return my display to me; I don’t want my entire
screen covered with the incoming-call message. 

~~~
TeMPOraL
> _2\. Rather than only having the option to Accept or Decline, I want a
> “silently wait until they hang up” option._ 

I think every Android phone I ever had featured this option (and probably
every phone before that too).  On Android phones I used, you have to press one
of the volume buttons - it silences the incoming call without declining it. 

I use that feature very often, not just on telemarketers. 

------
Dylan16807
Spammers may be able to call from outside the US, but they're not getting US
numbers by using magic.  The government is perfectly capable of making and
using rules against whoever is attaching robocalls to these numbers. 

~~~
sukilot
The caller ID numbers are fake.  There is no security against inputting a fake
caller ID. 

~~~
Dylan16807
If that's the only thing they're doing, then it's downright _trivial_ to fix. 

------
gruez
On the internet, ISPs who host spammers have their IP ranges blocked or have
their peering relationships terminated.  I presume that the telephone system
works on peering relationships as well.  The solution to this should be simple. 
Block VOIP providers who harbor robocallers and do not provide timely abuse
handling. 

~~~
zyxley
> ISPs who host spammers

That would be _all of them_. 

No ISP wants to support spammers, but without Jetsons robots to individually
vet every single customer, having to deal with some is inevitable. 

------
jim_lawless
Many years ago, I had a land-line service that allowed my phone to ring only
if the number was available via Caller ID and was on a white-list of numbers. 

Any other caller would hear a message prompting for a touch-tone code to ring
our phone. (  Critical people knew this code in case they called from a phone
outside of the white-list ).  If the caller couldn't enter the touch-tone, they
went right to voice mail. 

The phone wouldn't ring, but the voice-mail indicator would show if they had
taken the time to leave a message. 

------
djKianoosh
Is it possible to go sans cell phone? 

I ditched the land line about 17 years ago.  I'm now wondering, in an age where
land lines and email is obsolete, a cell phone number is also obsolete because
of so many other available forms of communication. 

With just a google voice (or similar) number it might be possible.  I just need
a connected device that I can use to receive those 2-factor access codes, but
other than that I am down to ditch my cell phone at this point. 

~~~
dredmorbius
I've pretty much gone this route, though with a few caveats. 

I've got a tablet, WiFi only.  It's possible for _that_ to be used for various
messaging and email, where necessary (though email is also badly polluted, and
a sufficient surveillance / profiling / security risk I've all but abandoned
it as well).  A 4GL hotspot extends the tablet onto wireless services when
needed. 

There's voice chat systems.  I've used Google's, which is good, though I
usually remain logged out of _that_ , simply because I hugely dislike _any_
distractions. 

I'm leaning to the idea that Google, Skype, and Apple iChat simply bite the
bullet and interconnect.  At this point they could take down the existing POTS
and Mobile service in another few years. 

I've a fallback phone message service through an organisation I've been
associated with for some time.  Absolutely crucial messages can come through
that, though I don't make it easy. 

The result is an exceptionally high level of nondistraction. 

~~~
trothamel
Offhand, do you know what you'd do in the case where someone would call 911? 
(Or whatever the local equivalent is?) 

That's one of the benefits of the POTS and Cell networks that the various IP-
only services have yet to provide.  I'm just curious as to if you do without,
or have a deactivated cell phone or something like that that you use instead. 

~~~
dredmorbius
A no-service phone can still make 9-1-1 calls in the US, it's a legal
requirement.  Many other nations have similar requirements. 

Free-riding off the target-rich environment of available phones is another
option. 

I've made precisely one true emergency request call in my life, and that was
when employed in a safety-supporting role.  I've used emergency phone services
on other occasions, but in those cases, the situation was either not life-
threatening, others had reported the event, or the involved party was already
clearly dead. 

And if I need a burner (trip/travel), I can pick one up / refill an otherwise
unused phone for a few euros. 

------
duncanawoods
They have pretty much killed voice calls for me.  I won't answer unknown
numbers and I will not break a conversation or walk across a room to answer a
telephone.  Such a shame.  Spam, DDOS, robocalls, phishing and malware are
crimes I really want pursued with vigour. 

~~~
Swizec
Isn't the new etiquette to send a text first, then if both people have time,
you dial the phone?  Most things can be resolved asynchronously anyway. 

~~~
TeMPOraL
It's getting there.  I try and teach everyone that too, in a direct way - I
just don't pick up phone calls when I don't feel like it.  Want something from
me really fast?  Text me.  I want to know whether or not the thing is important
enough to warrant dropping whatever I'm doing right now.  And frankly, most of
the time _it isn 't_.  Some people simply think their random bullshit is the
most important thing in the world, and everyone should treat it as priority. 

------
bshep
For my home phone I use asterisk + blacklist module + Its Lenny!  which wastes
the telemarketers time and really frustrates them. 

Wheneve a telemarketer comes through i punch ##66# abd that adds them to the
blacklist ( in case they call back ) and sends them to the lenny script. 

~~~
lozf
Any chance you could share (or point us towards) the Lenny audio and scripts. 
The only resources I can find seem to be outdated and unavailable. 

~~~
bshep
I have a github page with the lenny code I use ( its for FreePBX ) but can be
easily adapted. 

[https://github.com/bshep/freepbx-Its_Lenny](https://github.com/bshep/freepbx-
Its_Lenny)

Edited to add:

\- The nerdvittles links did not work for me last time I tried, I got the
sounds from the repo I forked

\- The original repo was missing one sound which I found somewhere else ( dont
have the source anymore )

\- The module is unsigned due to ridiculous terms for module signing for
FreePBX so if you use it you will get a scary warning, if you decide to sign
it please let me know ;-)

~~~
lozf
Awesome, thanks. 

------
coreyoconnor
There are a few apps mentioned for helping with this problem.  In my experience
Should I Answer?  is the best by far. 

* [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mistergrou...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mistergroup.muzutozvednout)

None of the apps solve the random VoIP callers.  I would be perfectly happy
with an app that outright blocked many VoIP providers. 

~~~
7952
Yes should I Answer is great.  It seems obvious as a solution once you start
using it. 

------
dredmorbius
There are some crucial lessons here, many underappreciated. 

 _Communications providers are the problem._  Just as the USPS supports junk
mail (it pays the bills), phone carriers support telemarketing (likewise). 
It's a case of perverse incentives and impunity, and the way to fix the
problem is to hurt the carriers themselves. 

 _Lowering prices often makes a thing worse._ " Cost" means "what you've got to
give up for something", and it can be inverted to "how badly do you want to
accomplish some X?"  In a large number of cases, mostly involving _network
technologies_ \-- transport, communications, data, commercial and trade
networks -- reducing costs means that those who provide little overall social
benefit seek to use a service.  Highway congestion, Usenet and email spam,
social network trolling, telemarketers and robocalls, hazardous or unsafe
products or materials transported or transacted. _ Unless you can impose very
effective regulation or restriction mechanisms, those uses will dominate the
system._ 

 _Phones are ripe for disruption._  Both POTS _and_ cellular networks.  I've
_not_ carried a phone for months now, in part made possible due to specific
circumstances, but it's _wonderful_.  There's one use-case I miss: on-the-go
access to transit information.  The lack of access, filtering, blocking, voice-
to-speech, and similar features on traditional services is inexcusable.  The
complicity of major carriers in global warrantless surveillance and data
collection is another huge trust-buster. 

We've had VOIP technologies for over two decades, and several large providers:
Skype, Apple's iChat, Google's Hangouts (still a lousy name), and others.  The
biggest problem is that these don't interconnect.  If they did, and bridged to
legacy voice comms, they could take out the voice comms market in a few years. 
I suspect customers would flock to them with the offer of control over
interruptions alone. 

 _Coordinated campaigns against providers are powerful._  A coordinated set of
efforts to drop vendor service on account of phone spam might elicit a faster
response from providers. 

The combined effect of the last two elements also makes phone providers
subject to the evaporative cooling effect.  This is the inverse of network
effects, and is why social networks often collapse so rapidly: defection by
valued members and customers leaves lower-quality prospects and more noise on
the channel, leading to ever more defections.  Eventually it's just spammers
and those who must retain service for regulatory or statuatory reasons who
remain, and the system dies. 

------
whyenot
My "super senior" mother gets at least five robocalls a day on her land line. 
It's getting totally out of control, and I worry that someone will take
advantage of her.  I really wish someone would come up with something like a
spam email black list for phone numbers ...or any technical solution to this
problem that is _simple and accessible_ to seniors. 

~~~
Pxtl
I want to get my 8-year-old son a phone and I see the same problem.  My dream
would be that I could put a password on calls to him - that is, if somebody
phones him not on a whitelist, they get a request for a PIN.  If they can't do
it, it gives them my number. 

------
matt_wulfeck
I get calls regularly from a number that shares the same area code and first 3
digits of my number.  For example, if my number was (579) 832-6671 the calls
would constantly come from different numbers in the (579) 832-xxxx range. 

What options do I have?  Numbers are not like IP blocks with cidrs registered
somewhere.  Who do I even complain to? 

~~~
martian
You can complain to the FTC.  I haven't had much luck with it actually stopping
the calls but it's better than nothing and gives the government something to
work with. 

[https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/](https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/)

~~~
duskwuff
What do you even tell them, though?  The Caller ID number is fake, and it's
difficult to get any information from the caller. ( I've tried; they hang up if
you ask them to identify themselves.) 

------
bogomipz
No surprise though is it?  I've definitely noticed an uptick in these recently. 
They seem to come from local numbers that are a permutation of my actual
number. 

I think far worse than this though is that my regular mailbox regularly gets
filled up with junk mail that the US post offices delivers on behalf of it
largest demographic - direct marketing(junk mailers) - almost none of it is
actually addressed to me it always "our neighbor" or "resident", there is
nothing you can do about this either, I have opted out from every possible
consumer list.  There is no way to tell the post office you would like opt out. 
This is the business they are in these days.  It seems odd that there is
federal agency generating this kind of waste and nuisance. 

------
tshtf
Am I the only one who enjoys these calls? 

I have these frequently and I enjoy nothing more than attempting to keep them
on as long as possible. 

One new trend not mentioned in this article is the "soundboard" telemarketer,
where the telemarketer is hired from a low-wage country, but can respond to
you by pre-recorded responses.  Here's a good way to deal with these people:

[https://soundcloud.com/user-630893114-106605627/speaking-
to-...](https://soundcloud.com/user-630893114-106605627/speaking-to-a-stupid-
autodialer)

~~~
sukilot
That's great!  Lenny vs Sales Soundboard.  Our computerized agents battling it
out autonomously. 

------
yalogin
Why are the cellphone companies not responsible for these calls?  I am paying
to receive these calls, in coming calls are not free.  Isn't there a class
action lawsuit here? 

------
Calvin02
This is an area where Apple could really improve iOS and add API support to
enable apps to screen calls, like what Android already has. 

Telecom companies don't have any incentive to fix this. 

~~~
martian
Do Not Disturb mode is surprisingly great at this. 

~~~
dj-wonk
I'd like to see Apple and other mobile phone companies to actively build
functionality to screen calls that works all the time -- whether or not I have
enabled "Do Not Disturb".  I _never_ want (nor need) a telemarketer call. 

------
Kluny
My phone (LG G3) finally has a built in block list that works.  Any time I get
a call from a number I don't recognize, I first Google the number to see if
it's legit - like my mechanic, or a company that I recently bought something
from, or someone offering me a job interview.  If it's not, it goes straight on
the block list.  I would be very happy to open-source my block list and get
access to everyone elses's blocked numbers as well. 

------
brianmcconnell
If you are plagued by robo calls, especially from Julie your local google
specialist, I highly recommend the Jolly Roger Telephone Company as a
countermeasure. 

~~~
ekoontz
I agree - I pay $2/month to Jolly Roger and since then my robocalls have
dropped to nothing.  I actually miss getting them because it's so fun to hear
Jolly Roger frustrate them. 

------
Fjolsvith
My wife gets numerous calls and I deflect them in a devious way.  After she
answers and discovers it's an unwanted caller, she gives me the phone.  I
demand to know who is calling and why, and then tell them they have called my
8 year old daughter's phone, and if they won't stop harassing her I will call
the FBI.  Gets her number removed from their call list every time. 

------
Artlav
Is it really that bad in the USA? 

Over here in Russia it's the SMS of all sorts, can't remember ever getting
called like that. 

But there the difference ends - the "no advertisements" lists tend not to work
too, and asking a friend at the cellphone company to put your number into the
hardware works too well - the messages with the bank codes stop getting
through. 

There is no middle ground, and the only salvation is to turn off the SMS
sound. 

------
Spoom
I use VoIP.ms for my landline, and I've just set up a their free IVR to block
telemarketers very easily: It plays a recording telling the caller to dial 1
to ring our phones.  Very effective, since bots won't parse it. 

(I've considered going mobile only, but the costs for VoIP.ms are miniscule
enough that it doesn't really register anymore.) 

------
Finnucane
Like others, I will often let a call go if I don't recognize the number. 
Robots tend not to leave messages.  Also, if yo do answer, robots wait for you
to say hello before starting the recording.  If you wait a couple of seconds, a
human on the other end will say 'hello?'  but a robot won't. 

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robotcookies
Doesn't work because it was left to the telecoms to enforce and they lose
money by enforcing it. 

------
peternicky
Like others here, I receive many many spam calls despite being registered on
the Do not call registry.  My approach lately has been to let calls go to
voicemail and now I notice that I can predict with good success if number is a
scam, based on the area code. 

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z3t4
Just answer and say you will call the police because you are on the "Do Not
Call list".  Or just say you are not interested, not interested, not
interested, good buy.  They will not put you off the list until they have got
an answer. 

------
umut
You can try Truecaller (www.truecaller.com).  This is one of the essential
problems we are addressing and it works quite well for +200 million users
worldwide..

~~~
plushpuffin
I tried Truecaller.  I'm not sure if it automatically updated itself
occasionally, but I found myself having to manually click the button to
download the new list of blocked numbers. 

I got tired of that and replaced it with Mr. Number, which seems to keep
itself updated and allows me to ratchet up the blocking all the way to
"everyone not on my contact list."  That's not ideal, because I might miss
calls from my credit card company, bank, etc, but the 2-3 scam calls I was
getting every day were driving me crazy. 

------
fulldecent
My company makes phone calls to past customers when their subscription
expires.  Switching to text message + phone call increased response rates
10-fold. 

------
Pxtl
I wish there was a way to whitelist known contacts only on my phone, and shunt
all unsolicited phone from strangers to a passcode-controlled answer bot. 

------
awqrre
Give an unused phone number to companies (like a Google voice #) and always
block caller ID when you call them. 

------
stephengoodwin
This is why I started giving businesses and retailers my Google Voice number,
instead of my personal number. 

------
jkot
Captcha test?  You reached John, please press 4 to continue phone call. 

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stewartbutler
nomorobo + nonstandard sip port + voip.ms has weporked pretty well here. 

~~~
phjesusthatguy3
How does the nonstandard sip port help?  I'm in the middle of a large-to-me
Asterisk install, and I'd like to know if there's something I'm missing. 

~~~
stewartbutler
If you use a standard sip port without filtering you will get a load of
autocalls from people just portscanning and calling open IP addresses,
probably looking to gain access to unsecured pbx boxes.  I just have a single
sip phone, no pbx, so they come across as calls.  Nonstandard port fixes that. 
Probably not the most secure solution though, intended to be temporary.