Who benefits from telemarketing calls?
 

Everyone I know hates receiving telemarketing calls. So, why doesn't the Government stop them? Just require phone providers to configure their system to show real and accurate caller ID information for all incoming calls. No private or fake numbers allowed. This is a simple, no brainer solution to the problem. So, what am I missing? Why doesn't it get fixed?

If telemarketing and robocalls didn't work, companies wouldn't hire people to make the calls or programs. We may vote but it is the corporations who pay for campaigns. So, as much as we hate them, I think we're stuck.

You/we can fix it
 

Have you put your numbers on the do not call list?
Many of us have but how many of us file a report when you get an unwanted call?

To make these calls, each person to keep the job needs to make a certain number of calls and have a certain success rate. Nasty-perhaps but so is a call as you sit down to diner etc. Rather than hanging up quickly you want to keep them on the phone as long as possible.

Your conversation can be-I'm very interested in your free trip to........ Just one minute I'm in the middle of making my mom's tomato sauce. Please hold on I just need to stir it.
You come back and allow them to start the pitch again.
You then ask them to hold, you just need to check the salt. Ask them if they think it needs more salt. I once got to Basel.

They do not often call me-go figure.

Yes, I am on the do not call list, which is a joke. You cannot report someone if you don't know who called or what their number is. That's why my caller ID solution would solve the problem. So, why hasn't it been solved?

You do realize that "common sense" and "government" are mutually incompatible?

The scumbags who are harassing us benefit.

Spectrum phone has a new feature. If a number calling our house has been reported as an abusing number, the voice announces "SPAM Don't Answer" How good is that. It even shows up on my TV screen.

By the way, AT&T mobile has a similar feature that automatically blocks numbers if the have been reported as spam. The number won't even ring on your phone.


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How does that work, DB? i.e., does one have to report the call as spam, and how is that done?

We have AT&T mobile and Magic Jack VOIP. We never get a telemarketing call on Magic Jack, but occasionally on our mobile, the same number will call for a couple weeks (we don't answer), then stop, then another number will call. I'd love to be able to report these numbers. I thought they were spoof numbers, though, in that "they" would simply switch to another caller ID number.

This will not work for telemarketers who use private numbers, spoofed numbers, or keep changing numbers. That is the problem the Government regulators can fix by simply requiring phone providers, like Verizon, to adjust their equipment to prohibit any changes to the basic caller ID system. So, if you have a number assigned by a phone provider, your name and number will always show up on the caller ID system. No hiding behind fake names and numbers. You should have a right to know who is calling you.

The Spectrum system does not require any reporting, but it does let a bunch of calls through.

The AT&T system is much more sophisticated. You download an app called Call Protect. The app is updated frequently with new numbers to block. Once a number has been reported enough the app automatically blocks that number. Your phone will not even ring if that number should call you.

Call Protect also allows an individual to block any call that comes for 30 days. If you think a call is spam you can report it and your report is added to the number's profile. The app is free.


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Thanks, DB. I will be giving that a go.

" Government regulators can fix by simply requiring phone providers, like Verizon, to adjust their equipment to prohibit any changes to the basic caller ID system." You grossly oversimplify the process. I do not think it's the governments job to fix privately owned companies problems. It is the problem of AT&T, Verizon, etc. They should fix the problem and would if they were fined for each and every bad call that might be an incentive. The gov't would ensure that these companies do not charge the legit users for solving the issue.

What I don't understand is the fact that the FCC recently entertained the allowance of Robo calls to go directly to your voicemail. The reason they said it would benefit the public was the fact they would not have to answer their phone and they could retrieve it later on from voicemail. Somebody's getting something, for allowing this procedure to continue. I have written my Congressman numerous times and received no answer.. I'm just guessing that would less regulation now will never get rid of the Robo calls.

These callers keep changing their numbers so that blocking doesn't work well. Now they are using the same area codes as the number they are calling to further entice you to answer. I have done several reverse searches and they appear to be legitimate numbers of people who are probably not aware their number is being used.

Phone providers are privately owned companies, but they are heavily regulated by the FCC because they use the public airways. It seems to me that it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to make sure phone providers are acting responsibly. Phone providers should not be permitted to allow their customers to conceal their identity when using the public airways to make unsolicited phone calls to people who don't want them. I don't know anyone who wants to receive telemarketing calls. They only benefit the telemarketers and the phone providers who sell them the service, and everyone else suffers.

Interesting Article from KrebsOnSecurity.



KrebsOnSecurity: Got Robocalled? Don’t Get Mad; Get Busy.