Automated Call-Block

[George K]

Last January, I finally got rid of our landline and purchased an Ooma. The Ooma is a VOIP device that you purchase (about $150) and then, you pay no phone bills, ever. You have to pay local taxes (in my area about $9 a month, and if you want it to talk to Nomorobo, it's about another $10.

The Nomorobo function is ... okay. I still was getting about 3-4 span calls a day.

Then, I discovered an unused feature of my landline phone - automated call blocking.

If the phone number is an unrecognized number (not stored in the phones database), the caller is greeted with a message. "Please press, or say, '1" to proceed with this call. Otherwise your call will be disconnected."

So far, it's worked pretty well. I received 3 calls today (looking at the Ooma call log) and my VOIP phone never rang.

Why didn't I find this earlier????

[Jolly]

My landline is the same number as an internal phone number at the local VA. That internal number is routinely given out as the call number for VA Community Care. I used to get ten or fifteen calls a day. I complained to my congress critter and both senators. All sent a letter to the VA Administration. My wife is on first name basis with the local VA administrator. But that number still gets erroneously put out there, by our AFSCME protected VA employees.

Things got better and then back to status quo.

I no longer answer calls where I do not recognize the number. The wife also has a voice mail that gives out the correct number. It has eventually slowed down...

[Mik]

Yeah, I’d just change the number, as difficult as that is. But I never answer calls if I don’t know who it is. In my case it’s almost always recruiters.

[Jolly]

Dammit, I've had that number 41 years, long before the VA put that phone system in.

If the SNAFU generates hordes of pissed off veterans ready to burn down the local VA, so be it.

[Mik]

Ah feel yo pain.

[George K]

Yup, I've had the same number since 1980.

An aside...

Back in the day, we had a resident whose last name was "Kanter." He wasn't very good, and we called him "Can't do." I was on call with this guy one night and after things quieted down, I told him that I was going to go home, and he should call me if anything acted up.

I told him my phone number. You have to understand that, back in those days, the entire Chicago area was one area code, unlike the half-dozen it is now.

Forgot to mention that this resident was some kind of chess champion in his home town/school/whatever.

So, I told him my number.

"Don't you want to write it down?"

"Nah, I'lll remember it."

"What?"

"Well all i have to do is remember two digits of your phone number. If I take the first two numbers of your phone number add and square them, the result is the 4th and 5th numbers of your phone number. If I take the 2nd and 3rd numbers of you phone number, add them, the result is the 6th and 7th numbers of your phone number."

Yeah...

He was smart.

But as a teacher of mine said, "You can be the smartest guy in the world, know all the literature, quote the science...but if you can't put the tube in, you're no damn good."

[jon-nyc]

I had an Ooma when we moved to Westchester. After my MIL died (the only non spammer who called us there, because we didn’t want to give her our cell phone numbers), we disconnected it.

[George K]

Mrs. George and I have cell phones, but she still likes the convenience of a landline. If the phone rings, and her cell is in another room, it's a PITA.

My Ooma is connected to 5 remote phones.

Works great, and for $19 a month, you really can't beat it - after spending the $$ for the purchase.

We also had one at the Cheddarshack.

[George K]

Daisy, the AI granny wasting scammers’ time

O2 has created human-like AI ‘Granny’ to answer calls in real time from fraudsters, keeping them on the phone and away from customers for as long as possible
Trained using cutting-edge technology and real scambaiter content, lifelike ‘Daisy’ is indistinguishable from a real person, fooling scammers into thinking they’ve found a perfect target when really, she’s beating them at their own horrible game
Former Love Islander and scam victim, Amy Hart, is working with ‘Daisy’ and has made a shocking new video to expose fraudsters’ crooked tactics and help O2 customers swerve the scammers
With Daisy revealing how you’re not always speaking to the person you think you are, O2 is urging customers to remain vigilant, leave ‘scambaiting’ to the AI experts and report suspected fraudulent calls and texts for free to 7726

[taiwan_girl]

That is awesome.

I have done the rabbit hole of people who do this. Lots of fun.

A long time ago, I used to look at a website called 419eater dot com.

Great stories about how they "scammed" scammers, getitng them to send wooden carvings, etc.