Robo calls on land-lines
 

This might not be the right place to chat about this but here goes anyway. We still have a land-line in our home for many reasons. We have "caller I.D." on it and good thing too, because we get A LOT of robo-calls and we do screen EVERY call that comes in. IF it's a legitimate person---someone we know or a professional we're expecting we'll pick up OR we'll return the call if a message is left. Some days the phone doesn't ring or seldom does. Other days, like this morning, multiple calls come in. This morning was a 1st for us, though I'd heard about it. This is when the number that shows up is from "you"---it's your name and number. We've received MULTIPLE calls from this today plus a couple of others. I've checked on blocking but the services for land-lines aren't up to date for that so nomorerobo won't work. We don't give our cells out (except to VERY select people) and we do get a few robo's but there again, we screen and just block/delete any numbers that we're sure aren't truly someone we'd ever speak with. I may just unplug our land-line for the rest of the day but hate to do that "in case of an emergency". You never know if someone you know and/or love is trying to reach you. Now I'm done with my rant but my gosh, this is getting VERY irritating! Those people need to get a real job instead of preying on the un-suspecting.

We too, keep a land line because we want to. Your post is interesting to us because last week we went through two days of the same thing. he and me calling ourselves from our own phone line .............. bizarre to say the least. However, we have Century Link and they do have a block for these types of calls, cost $9.00 per month. Worth every penny. They put the block on and since then we have not called ourselves.

We, also, keep our cell for family and very special friends, but I am beginning to get porno now and now I have to find out how to block that. What a pain in the back side!

never got robo calls on landline but get them constantly on cell phone

Shame you can’t have telephone with out all the BS calls. No call list is worthless. You block one call and they just rotate to the other hundreds of blocks of numbers they have (don’t believe me google the number and see how many connected) Plus they sell you’re number to other sleazy robots numbers and it’s never ending. IMO last few years it’s gotten worst with all the spyware from anything you do online not only does if effect you’re computer, but it you give you’re number out when you order something some how it’s get sold to robo perp’s. I don’t even get up any more unless I recognize the number. I also think it it’s important they leave message. I miss lot of calls from groups to play in cause I don’t recognize the number. I guess if they need player bad enough they leave message.

$9 Dollars a month to prevent something that the company who provides the service should be blocking for their loyal, valued customer for free? If you take the bad phone number and Google it sometimes the number is one of a block full of similar numbers that have already been identified. We are getting calls at all hours of the day from international numbers. It is a pain.

Remote possibility but is it possible that the phone companies use this as a profitable sideline? Verizon wants $2.99 per line to stop the calls on Cell Phones. Just terrible.

Many people who think they have a landline, really don't have one. They have an Internet-based, cable phone line that uses a modem, and may or may not be connected to the interior phone wiring in the house. This type of phone service needs house power or a battery to operate, and is usually sold by cable TV providers. A real landline uses a copper wire that has it's own power source, and does not require house power. I think most people in The Villages, who have a home phone, have the modem based type.

Believe me, $9 a month was a no brainer .... we were calling ourselves every 10 minutes from early morning until late in the day.

Is anyone getting the medical equipment calls? They come in from every conceivable number ..... not our own yet, but close to.

We have had a MagicJack and now a MagicJack Plus for many years. Very few relatives have this number. We do not get sales calls, or robocalls. It never rings, and we can use it for unlimited long distance. It works for us.

Oh.my.....so many of us have this happening. Well I shouldn't be surprised when I see the reminder in our newspaper about the scams.

THAT said though...have you noticed when you do a google-search that you'll see similar ads from what you did searches on. I do a bit of internet shopping and especially in that. THEN when you actually purchase something and you get to method of payment the info is already there---even if it's your 1st time shopping in that site. Creepy to say the least.

We do NOT have ANY privacy anymore. We don't happen to have a "Smart T.V." yet but I've heard how those can track things as well. "Big Brother" listening???? It's so Orwellian isn't it???

I just feel bad about you and everyone else who is bothered by this garbage and that is exactly what it is.

How many time does a person have to stop and go for the phone and its just one of these bothersome clowns. They will get around to calling on your own number in time, we experience that also. I'm glad you posted this because even though the volume of phony phone calls has decreased we are not alone in our frustration. When they, the Phone Companies figure this out there will just another thing to be a pain in the neck.

I googled MagicJack and the reviews weren't so good on it. Glad you're happy with it though. Have you had to use their customer service...that alone would keep me (us) from signing up!!!

Yesterday, I got 3 calls from ME to ME, since I was sitting right there I did not answer since I did not want to talk to myself...the conversation would probably not have made any sense anyway...:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

We know exactly how you felt. We beat you some...think we had about 4 calls (one right after another with a bit of time between each) our number calling us. It was weird to see it there. I googled robo-calls and it was said NOT to pick up any calls otherwise they'll keep bugging us. It seems to go in cycles. We'll get a couple at suppertime and rarely in the evening. We get them in the a.m. then again around lunch-time. Then later afternoons.

If you don't have a MagicJack, what do you know about their customer service?

Didn't you read my post? I said most of the reviews weren't impressed with their customer service. I look at reviews to make up my mind if I should purchase a product or service.

I switched my land line over to Ooma Telo and ported by number over from Century Link. Unit cost under $100. All you pay is the tax. For our area it’s $4.85 a month. They offer a premiere service for $9.99 a month that I have. One of the features is custom call blocking. Only the numbers you add will ring your phone. All others go to voice mail and you never know they called unless they leave a message. Example a doctors office calls and will leave a message. Robo-calls or telemarketing call no message. In the event you get a voice mail you will instantly get a text informing you. I have been using this service since January with no issues.

Once I registered my home and cell phone on the "government no call list" I now get 2-5 calls a day. I guess the government sold the numbers?

I have an Android cell phone. I have been looking at an app called Call Blocker and Number Blacklist. It almost sounds too good to be true. Is anyone using this free app, if not could you suggest a blocking app please.

They get more and more sophisticated
 

I heard a radio story the other day that if you talk to them they can capture your voice and use it for companies that use voice ID.

Far as calling yourself with your number showing, I think the psychologists probably have a name for that.

We add all contacts to our directory so when a call comes in their name appears on the phone. We kept our former telephone numbers when we moved to The Villages. If we get calls from that area code we don't answer as most all are robo calls. If we get calls from area code 352, or other area codes, not associated with our area code, we answer and the calls are usually legit.

If you are using Verizon, Verizon has a free basic spam blocker. You get more control (add you own blocks and other features) for $3 a month.

Verizon has a free basic spam call blocker and a pay for version with more features, if you are using Verizon.

We were at Best Buy yesterday and noticed that AT&T is selling a phone system that features Smart Call Blocking. When someone calls your number, the system prompts the caller to press the # key before the call goes through. Since a robocall can't do that, they are automatically blocked. The system in Best Buy was about $90 for an answering system with 3 handsets but they are on Amazon for less then $70.

For android phones, I recommend a free app called Should I Answer. Very effective and good customer support.

Thank you for your reply, but I don' have Verizon, used to, but not now. Will call my provider and see what they have.

I am a retired ATT employee and switched to Ooma several years ago and the last year the Robocalls became more frequent.
I found the AT&T smart call blocker phone at Best Buy works perfect and have not had a single Robo call.

YET...this thread was about land-lines and NOT cell-phones. We have both and I do know about blocking on cells.

The AT&T Smart Call Blocker is for landlines and VOIP (modem based landlines)

We have a land line from Century Link and connected thru copper. We used to get a lot of Unknown Name or Not Provided calls. It got so bad that we changed our number. That was good for a while, but it slowly built back up to an annoying number of calls. The robo callers and scam callers fake the number that shows on the caller ID, so the Do Not Call list is totally useless. Some of the calls only ring 3 or 4 times and if you answer, there is no one there, just silence. I've read that there are companies that do that so they can sell a list of numbers where someone actually answered. They even go a step farther by calling the same target several different times during the day. Then they can improve their list of numbers where someone will answer by showing the best time to get them is between the hours of xx and yy. So I was a smart-a$$ and answered one of those calls where no one was there and just laid the receiver down for about 20 to 30 minutes. I figured since I didn't hang up, they couldn't call anyone else for that 20 to 30 minutes. And the worst thing you can do to an unsolicited caller is waste their time. The robo caller figured me out and just setup my number to be called a LOT more often. He probably thought, I'll teach that SOB a lesson! So... I just made my problem worse.

But I came up with a solution, but not everyone will be able to do this. I have a wireless printer/copier/fax. I silenced the ringers on all of the extensions except the one on my desk where I spend a lot of time. I then set my printer/fax to auto-answer after 3 rings. I tried 2 rings initially, but I couldn't always pick up the phone in that amount of time if needed. So now when the phone rings, I look at the caller ID and if it is someone/business/etc that I know, then I pick up the phone. Otherwise, I let the fax answer it. These robo callers are smart and I believe their software recognizes a fax and removes it from there call list because they don't want to waste that time. Our nuisance calls have dropped from 10/day down to 1 or 2, and I've only been doing this for less than a week. Of course, we've notified our family, close friends, and important professionals that they should call us on our cell phones. And yes, we've missed some calls we should have answered, but if it was really important, they'll call again. I plan this to be permanent and will put things back at some point.

Your thoughts?

I just ordered the AT&T smart call blocking phones, thanks for the tip!!

Many doctor offices, etc, use a recording for you to confirm your appointments. You would miss those calls with a smart phone, as it could not enter #.

The smart call blocking has a 'safe caller' list, so these numbers could be placed on that so you would get the message, but you have a good point, I may have them call the cell phone.

You can also add names to the safe list like the name of your bank, doctor, etc in case they use a different number for notifications.

I have to thank whoever pointed out that Nomorobo could be used on a landline. I set it up and the number of robocalls have dropped from an average of 18 per day, to an average of only 4 per day now. Major difference.

Can you let us know what land line service you use? In the past, Nomorobo was not available with CenturyLink land line. Thanks.

It's actually Xfinity VOIP. But it's a physical phone plugged into the phone jack on the wall. Also this is at my home in the north. In the Villages, we have no landline or VOIP, just our AT&T cellular service for our smartphones.

Magic Jack
 

We've had MagicJack Plus for about 13 years. $20 a year if you pay 5 years in advance. We've been pleased with it. Kept our area code & number from our last residence, but it could be changed to a local area code if you choose to do so.

It has the same feature described by an ATT customer "When someone calls your number, the system prompts the caller to press the # key before the call goes through. Since a robocall can't do that, they are automatically blocked." You have to opt in for this from the MagicJack menu and found that about on one occasion we had to update it. No more robo calls since opting for this feature.

We can call forward the home line to our cell phones, receive text messages with the Magic Jack app.

We have four phones with the main unit plugged into the answering device that wirelessly connects the other three instruments. I've found your can also connect the line into your existing wired phone jack and plug your main unit or a wired phone to all the other phone jacks in your home.

We ignore calls from unfamiliar numbers and block repeats. Today we had three calls FROM our name and number TO our name and number. I submitted a complaint form on-line to the FCC, not that it'll do any good - but you never know. You can google how to do it if you're interested. Spoofing has become a national problem and apparently the FCC and PUC's don't have the resources or teeth to do anything about it.

What is a "block repeat"?