News: 1603367060

Given that so many of these spam calls appear to originate from Asia using rapidly changing spoofed numbers I don't see have it can help. The identifiable local culprits are only a very small part of a far wider issue where it appears to be all to easy to game the system.

I've never had any calls from Asia. In fact I don't really get nuisance calls on my mobile. Perhaps it's a problem in specific countries?

I did get nuisance calls on my fixed line but that stopped once I registered as not wanting them.

It's a problem in specific countries with lax laws, and for specific users in countries with better laws.

In the latter ones, especially for those who let some companies to know their mobile phone numbers and allowed them to be resold - not reading careful the privacy polices and accepting blindly them.

Not that I like sending my calls to someone else to check if that is a spam call....

Unless there are some tells in the inbound call setup message headers, I'm not sure what they can do beyond the already implemented number blocking (Hiya is active on my S7, presumably I won't get this upgrade). All the "calling about the accident you had" (a) use the same recording and (b) have caller numbers set to landlines from all over the place. They all get blocked on my phone, and reported, but the cost to change the number to whoever is doing this is obviously trivial and probably more effort than my blocking it.

The sooner telco's make it impossible to spoof caller info the better - or just block all peer networks that generate sufficient quantities of spoofs

"... probably more effort than my blocking it."

I'm blocking them with you man. I've honestly reported over 300 numbers, and for a single person, that's not shabby (and it's helping). You do have to wonder though, being that every number blocked was blocked by a human... and if Hiya ever sells their DB to spammers... :-/

> I've honestly reported over 300 numbers, and for a single person, that's not shabby

I'm married, so only a few dozen so far. It might help that my number pre-dates the TPS and it went on their list toot-sweet (possibly before they started admitting mobile numbers officially), so perhaps not as passed around as others as I don't get all that many of these calls.

Exactly. Until there is a solution for number spoofing, none of these solutions are solutions at all.

I spent last monday playing dumb with a multitude of scammers trying to convince me my internet was about to be disconnected due to "hackers" (my favourite moment was when I asked whether I should plug my internet back in because the plug had fallen out) - the calls were relentless on monday although seem to have stopped now.

But every call came from a different, presumably randomly generated, UK number. If crowdsourced number blocking grows in popularity, eventually the chances are some legitimate numbers will start getting blocked and people will have a hard time why their phone seems not to be working although there is still a dial tone.

It can't possibly by that hard for telephone service providers to eliminate number spoofing.

First rule of politics: Never actually solve a problem - a crisis should never be wasted and attack those that do. If we were able to receive the same caller ID information that the 911 services get, we would be able to block it. The phone companies are making too much money to let this get fixed. This can only be stopped by the likes of the readers of the REG. We can choose if we are willing to allow them to use our route thru our networks. And we can deny them rack space in our data centers. I did and it felt awfully dam good.

The operator provided calling thingy on my S9 already does this using crowdsourced data, so I can automatically block numbers reported as malicious, the entirety of certain countries, and all calls that withhold their number.

I currently let them go to voicemail (as doctors and banks are notorious for blocking their numbers) but I could disable that too, if desired.

It's hardly fair to say doctors are "notorious" when it's a requirement for them. Same as they shouldn't leave voicemail; you might not be the one who reads the number or message and it's medical data.

Doctors and other medical people are the last group who should be with-holding their number.

And anyone reaching a voicemail should leave a message not just automatically take your number off their list as several companies have told me they do.

My GP is capable of phoning from an identifiable number so others can and should, otherwise how does BTCallGuard know to let the call through?

The reverse is true when you try to call doctors - the call blocker is called a receptionist.

This was enabled on my work Galaxy A21 yesterday.

As I never use it for calls, instead using the work 3cx App I'm not sure if I'll get to test it

And I'm still on Android 10

I was just thinking the same thing. It's already on my S20 FE and that's an Android 10 device too.

Yes, even my low-end Galaxy A40 has the service available, but I haven't the need to enable it.

If I can filter all my calls on factors such as 1. International Origin (I don't have any living relatives abrod so I don't need to accept such calls); 2. VOIP calls (send me a text message announcing you intend to make one & the number from which I should temporarily allow, otherwise no thanks); 3. any number on the Caller ID that doesn't match the Biller ID (a business that uses a PBX to make sure all the outgoing calls appear from the same inbound toll free number is one thing, but pretending to be my own number, a number from my area code, or something obvious like all zeros is an instant drop); or 4. any number I've previously blocked... if the inbound matches any of those conditions then either shunt it directly to voice mail & don't bother to ring, or drop it entirely & don't waste my time.

If the robocall gets through & a telemarketer is allowed to annoy me, don't be surprised when I fuck with their head hard enough to make their skull explode.

Telemarketers: can't live with 'em, aren't allowed to run 'em over with a steamroller.

Yes but if you did run them over with a steamroller, then you'd just encourage the next spam cold call about that "accident"...

If it could divert spam calls to a convincing but foul-mouthed AI bot, then they might be on to something.

I want one that goes with my default "And what are you wearing today....."

@drand

Have you not met [1]Its Lenny

YouTube and Reddit both have lots of recordings from it - [2]Lenny recordings

Just be prepared to loose quite a bit of time as its funny.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_(bot)

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSoOrlh5i1k

istr Truecaller had some rather unpleasant ts & cs?

Samsung phones already have spam and scam block tech from Hiya. Right now I have it switched off but the caller ID and spam protection switch is on, so I get alerted to spam but it's not outright blocked unless I throw the switch on.

This is a Galaxy S10+ with Android 10 (One UI 2.5)

I'd like to be able to charge the company that they are [cough][cough] supposed to come from for the call ando for the time out of my life that I'm not going to get back.

Then... just perhaps

The likes of

Amazon (I get more of these than the rest put together)

Microsoft

BT (WTF? It is their network that the calls are coming over.)

Mastercard/Visa

HMRC

Might {ok, who am I kidding eh) just perhaps make efforts to stop the spammers from dirtying their name. OR perhaps they simply don't give a damm?

If I've got time I play along and give them outrageous accident details and fake information for as long as I can until they finally realise they are being played. If I haven't got the time I just give them extreme verbal abuse regarding their sexual habits. Either way, they always hang up before I do.

Absolutely - string them on for as long as possible - while they are wasting time with you they are not bothering your Aunt Matilda etc. It's a public service and can be quite fun. I have said this before but my favourites are "Code in please..." and "Please hold the line while I trace the call".

I remember having an issue with unwanted automated calls for someone else from Santander finance dept, they were along the lines of "Mr Joe Bloggs there is an outstanding debt on your loan please press 1 to speak to customer services, or press 2 if you are not Mr Joe Bloggs". I tried pressing 2 and get the message of 'Please get Mr Joe Bloggs to call us on 0XXXXXXXXXXXX' then disconnects.

So the next time they called I pressed 1 to speak to customer services and ended up in a queue and after 5 minutes I just gave up.

So In the end I blocked the number, but they were like a hydra growing new heads after one had been chopped off in that they kept coming back from new unblocked numbers, eventually I blocked over 25 of their numbers and at that point they must have ran out of unblocked numbers to call from as I never received another call from them again.

Thankfully now apart from the occasional call about accident claims, which I actually enjoy receiving as I wind them up with the most ridiculous accidents you can imagine until they hang up on me. I don't get any unwanted calls.

I get very few spam calls for my mobile but a lot for my home phone number. As I am working from home still i notice these calls more!

One thing i seem to get a lot of is the phone ringing and silence at the other end. After a few seconds it hangs up.

My thinking is that these are automated calls and because I fail to speak the system calling me just hangs up.

Anyway I now just block any call like this. After all, if they really needed to contact me someone would have spoken. (Or written)

I got the firm at the other end of the phone to give me their website and company name last time I got one of those "hello? I heard you were in an accident" calls.

I reported them to the ICO. I haven't heard back.