Dealing with the constant flow of scam calls - an experiment

[q9]

I'm back at the family home for a little bit, and the home phone gets a barrage of non-stop scam calls. One day I got sick of it and unplugged the phone, for a day. The next day, zero calls. It took about a week before they started coming again. We let answering machine grab everything, and in that time zero legitimate calls.

This week it got bad again. So I did the same thing. Unplugged the phone. It has been quite again for the last couple of days.

I hypothesise that any interaction - answering the phone, and even it ringing, marks the number as active by whatever system the scammers use, and it keeps the phone number in rotation. Making it so the phone doesn't ring, ie unplugging it, drops the number out of the system, at least for a time.

So time for a broader study. If it is a problem for you, then try it, and let us know the results.

[BobL]

I'm back at the family home for a little bit, and the home phone gets a barrage of non-stop scam calls. One day I got sick of it and unplugged the phone, for a day. The next day, zero calls. It took about a week before they started coming again. We let answering machine grab everything, and in that time zero legitimate calls.

This week it got bad again. So I did the same thing. Unplugged the phone. It has been quite again for the last couple of days.

I hypothesise that any interaction - answering the phone, and even it ringing, marks the number as active by whatever system the scammers use, and it keeps the phone number in rotation. Making it so the phone doesn't ring, ie unplugging it, drops the number out of the system, at least for a time.

Back when we still had a land line we used to do this and it worked for about a week each time.

Talking about scammers, I had a robot call from a mobile to my mobile the other day that introduced themselves in English as "This is the Chinese Embassy" and then proceeded to prattle on in Chinese until I hung up about 10 seconds later. Normally I dont pick up unknown numbers but as I was expecting a call back from a mate I just assumed it was hm and didn't look closely at the number.

anyone know what these are about?

[q9]

Ok, so your experience seems similar to mine. Be interesting if some others try this and chime in.

I had some similar message left on message bank. Recorded message with a bunch of Chinese following some English announcement. I'm not bothered really as my phone is permanently on mute, but the house phone issue drives us mental.

[forrestmount]

Interesting observation. I have not had a land line for around 10 years now. But I did get to landline numbers as part of my broadband plan. Perhaps I should plug phones into these lines with the ringer turned down to consume the scammers time.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[AlexS]

Back when we still had a land line we used to do this and it worked for about a week each time.

Talking about scammers, I had a robot call from a mobile to my mobile the other day that introduced themselves in English as "This is the Chinese Embassy" and then proceeded to prattle on in Chinese until I hung up about 10 seconds later. Normally I dont pick up unknown numbers but as I was expecting a call back from a mate I just assumed it was hm and didn't look closely at the number.

anyone know what these are about?

Like most scams, they are just dialling random numbers, or numbers from a list they have bought. Because there are now quite a few Chinese in Australia, there's a good chance they will get some who reply. If so, the scams may be the same ones that they try on everyone else, or they may purport to be from the Chinese Embassy demanding money for a variety of reasons (e.g. relative in China in gaol or trouble) or they may be blackmail attempts.

[havabeer69]

100% get rid of the land line, not to many reason now days to even have one when your mobile can do it all and more for cheaper.


also be aware that data hacks and sites will glady sell your phone number (and email address etc) to be able to spam call you.

[crowie]

Our number of calls dropped significantly after registering on the government do not call registry..

Do Not Call Register (https://www.donotcall.gov.au/)

[Chris Parks]

100% get rid of the land line, not to many reason now days to even have one when your mobile can do it all and more for cheaper.


also be aware that data hacks and sites will glady sell your phone number (and email address etc) to be able to spam call you.

My landline costs me zero unless I make calls overseas and then it is 2c/minute. My mobile is used if I am mobile and either have a problem, something happens etc. so you could say I am of the opposite view. I rarely get scam calls on either but we had to change Mrs. P's mobile number and since then they have stopped but it has only been 6 months since the change. I simply don't see why I need to carry a mobile around and if someone wants me they can leave a message. Mobiles serve certain people such as tradies very well but I don't get the idea of I must be in touch with the rest of the world 24 hours a day.

[havabeer69]

My landline costs me zero unless I make calls overseas and then it is 2c/minute. My mobile is used if I am mobile and either have a problem, something happens etc. so you could say I am of the opposite view. I rarely get scam calls on either but we had to change Mrs. P's mobile number and since then they have stopped but it has only been 6 months since the change. I simply don't see why I need to carry a mobile around and if someone wants me they can leave a message. Mobiles serve certain people such as tradies very well but I don't get the idea of I must be in touch with the rest of the world 24 hours a day.


if it cost's you zero thats fine, but your mobile also has an answering machine service built in.

also having a mobile and carrying it are two separate things. I just don't want to see people paying for a landline when really its totally redundant now.

[q9]

Getting rid of the land line is not really an option here. There are times that it has been the best way to talk with my parents when there are network/connection issues with our app of choice. If nothing else it is reliable.

I have a local skype number so they can call me using the landline, for free, where-ever I am. And that too has been reliable.

[Chris Parks]

if it cost's you zero thats fine, but your mobile also has an answering machine service built in.

also having a mobile and carrying it are two separate things. I just don't want to see people paying for a landline when really its totally redundant now.

Why is it totally redundant? it might be for you but there are a lot of people out there that haven't got on the mobile hype wagon and don't pay a lot of money to buy and use mobiles. I have used a mobile extensively for business and employment reasons but as soon as that ended so I did my use of a mobile, it lives in the car and I rarely use it or even see it.

[havabeer69]

Why is it totally redundant? it might be for you but there are a lot of people out there that haven't got on the mobile hype wagon and don't pay a lot of money to buy and use mobiles. I have used a mobile extensively for business and employment reasons but as soon as that ended so I did my use of a mobile, it lives in the car and I rarely use it or even see it.

lol, must be the typical millennial in me pushing mobiles on everyone.

really though, you have your specific reasons for NOT using them, but you choosing not to doesn't mean its the wrong fit for most people.... but there is nothing a land does that a mobile doesn't, and you've already said a big one, safety. In an emergency you're getting your mobile out. I'm talking purely of the phone and SMS aspect here, not the fact you can use the internet on most modern ones. genuine questing where do you store all your phone numbers?

the only two big downsides for a mobile is:
initial cost of buying the thing
battery life



I actually I take it back there is ONE thing that a land line is better at, and thats slamming it down at the end of an irate phone call. its something lost on mobile phones

[Bob38S]

We must be on the scammer’s naughty list.

Depending on my time available or if I’m feeling like it, I pick and let them start to speak, (just in case it is a real call), I then interrupt, tell them they are mongrel scammers and invoke the “Snake Island” reply to the Russian warship, “Go F Yourself!”

Have had the odd one still on the line after the Snake Island reply and I then add that the conversation has been recorded. They always then terminate the call.

We tend not to get repeated calls. We are “lucky” if we only get the odd call now ~ “you beauty!”

Just as an aside, we don’t swear a lot here at home but these people are the exception.

I do recall a number of years ago an article in the paper saying that some companies employing cold callers were having trouble keeping staff because the Australians were so rude and abusive on the phone.

[AlexS]

I do recall a number of years ago an article in the paper saying that some companies employing cold callers were having trouble keeping staff because the Australians were so rude and abusive on the phone.

Oh, we're such naughty, naughty boys.:D

Knew one bloke, now sadly deceased who was a retired IT type. He used to pretend he was an old Polish gent who didn't really understand, and see how long he could tie them up for. Their greed overcomes any sense that they may be being tricked.
His highlight was tricking a scammer into downloading a virus that locked up their system. He convinced them that they should download a 'screenshot' of his computer. They had the hide to accuse him of being dishonest!

[Bob38S]

That’s gold, unfortunately beyond my skills.

[Glider]

I must have received 100 calls from people with sub-continental accents calling from (03) 8... numbers wanting to offer cheap, or cheaper electricity. These days I just hit the green button and then the red one. Will they ever stop?!

I also receive at least three calls per week which are clearly scams. EBay, ANZ Bank, Telstra, the ATO; you name it. Some robocalls and some live. My standard answer is "your mother would be ashamed of you".

mick

[havabeer69]

I always thought answering was one of the worst things to do, as the callers "log" it as an active number because they've heard it pick up. they then on sell these details knowing there is a chance you'll pick up and hopefully take the bait.

[q9]

I always thought answering was one of the worst things to do, as the callers "log" it as an active number because they've heard it pick up. they then on sell these details knowing there is a chance you'll pick up and hopefully take the bait.

Yep, that's my hypothesis. So far, the number of calls we're getting has plummeted. I unplugged the phone for 3 days at one point, and that seemed to have the greatest impact.

[BMKal]

I always thought answering was one of the worst things to do, as the callers "log" it as an active number because they've heard it pick up. they then on sell these details knowing there is a chance you'll pick up and hopefully take the bait.

Not sure that it is just "picking up" that triggers their system and confirms that yours is a "live" number. I have found that you actually have to speak for their system to be triggered - if you simply pick up and say nothing, you don't get that "click" where the connection is activated on their end and the call simply hangs up.

Our house phone is located right next to me on my desk. If I am not at my desk, the phone is simply not answered when it rings (the wife won't answer it at all). If I am at my desk and the phone rings, I simply press the button to accept a call but listen and say nothing. If it is a scam call, their "system" will hang up after a few seconds of silence at your end. If it is a genuine caller, they will speak to you. I have found that by doing this, the number of these scam calls to my landline phone has greatly reduced.

Unfortunately though, I am getting an increasing number of unwanted calls on my mobile - mostly from what appear to be Australian eastern states numbers, trying to sell me a better deal for my electricity supply (we only have one supplier in WA so there is no choice here). These callers generally find me to be one of those "rude" Australians referred to in a post above.

Another consideration to why I answer calls on my mobile and not on the landline - my eyesight is not what it used to be and without my reading glasses on, I simply cannot see the number that is calling me. When at my desk, I have my reading glasses on and can see the numbers on the phone. When out in the shed or elsewhere, I usually don't have my reading glasses on when the mobile rings and I can't see the numbers. If the caller is listed in my "contacts" - the phone will tell me who is calling. If not, then it's anybody's guess.

[powderpost]

On an afternoon after lunch and during my nana nap, the phone rang and woke me up. An Indian voice greeted me and that pressed the wrong switch. I responded by asking the caller, "Do you like fruit?", the answer was, "Yes I do". My answer to that was, "Then go buy some raspberries and shove them right up your a@@@ (fundamental orifice), and promptly hung up. 30 seconds the phone rang again and the same caller hurriedly offered his phone number. It turned out that he had made a considerable purchase from me at the markets five years previously and wanted to place another substantial order. During subsequent phone conversations he said, "Those jolly Indians are a jolly nuisance aren't they?" He is now on my list of friends.

I will add that that was most definitely a one off, and I have returned to being "one of those rude Australians".

Jim

[Mobyturns]

Another consideration to why I answer calls on my mobile and not on the landline - my eyesight is not what it used to be and without my reading glasses on, I simply cannot see the number that is calling me. When at my desk, I have my reading glasses on and can see the numbers on the phone. When out in the shed or elsewhere, I usually don't have my reading glasses on when the mobile rings and I can't see the numbers. If the caller is listed in my "contacts" - the phone will tell me who is calling. If not, then it's anybody's guess.

CLI / CND is no guarantee that is the originating number, as the displayed number can easily be spoofed these days.

[smidsy]

I got a call from a telemarketer once, an asian call centre for an Aussie company.
I was in the middle of something, they killed my train of thought and I gave them a spray.
In the next half hour I got four calls all telling me what I had told them - fair comeuppance some would say, I say if you're going to make those calls you have to expect abuse.
I tracked down the Melbourne office of the company they were representing and got a real person on the phone - I gave her a brief outline of my work history to let her know I have the ability to fully carry out any threats I make regarding complaints, ombudsmen and negative social media campaigns.
The calls stopped.

[AlexS]

Smidsy, I did a similar thing once. Back in the day pre-Do Not Call register, we were getting a lot of unsolicited calls from real estate agents, so I tended to rip them a new one. Had a call fro an agent, so I launched into my tirade, only for her to interrupt me to say that they were checking out a reference for previous tenants of a house I'd rented out. Had to apologise profusely.

[Mobyturns]

Smidsy, I did a similar thing once. Back in the day pre-Do Not Call register, we were getting a lot of unsolicited calls from real estate agents, so I tended to rip them a new one. Had a call fro an agent, so I launched into my tirade, only for her to interrupt me to say that they were checking out a reference for previous tenants of a house I'd rented out. Had to apologise profusely.


RE agents are still touting for business even though it is clearly a breach of the regulations - at least in QLD. We are seeing a proliferation of RE adverts where the lawn has been doctored in a photo manipulation program. Misleading? Definitely imho. Plus, we still regularly get letters, flyer drops or "in-person" visits "just to let you know we sold number xx for $XXX." Treading a fine line!!!

One RE agency was a shocker here a few years ago and kept persisting even though we made it very clear that our property is most unlikely to reach the market for decades! Despite a number of phone calls, they kept at it. So, a formal complaint started another round of communications from the RE agency principal about how "you misunderstand how the RE industry works, we aren't all bad." Really! Got the FON treatment unless you want it to become even more formal.

"A real estate agent must not solicit clients or customers through advertisements or other communications the agent knows are false or misleading."

[Bob38S]

So, because you supposedly misunderstand how the RE industry works you need/should put up with his imposition on your privacy?

I congratulate you on your restraint in your reply.

He obviously has some misguided idea that the public is there for his convenience in some sort of slave/master relationship.

[Mobyturns]

So, because you supposedly misunderstand how the RE industry works you need/should put up with his imposition on your privacy?

I congratulate you on your restraint in your reply.

He obviously has some misguided idea that the public is there for his convenience in some sort of slave/master relationship.

The letters we quite specific in their claims "we have a client interested in purchasing your property."

My response by phone to the agent making the representation was "produce evidence that you do have a real client so you have by COB today to produce an offer, if no offer is forthcoming, I will raise a complaint." That is when the RE agency principal made the statement "you misunderstand how the RE industry works, we aren't all bad."

[Greybeer]

My favorite response was after talking to scammer robo callers or other unwanted callers was to say I had someone at the door and put the phone down go back to what I was doing. Works with land line and mobile
Regards GB

[powderpost]

When the mood allows, I would interrupt the caller and ask about the health of their mother, siblings, and children. Anything to slow down the time spent by the caller. The best one was, "How are your mothers ducks", worked well especially with Indian callers.

Jim

[Jasethebeginner]

I don't get many scammers thankfully, but if I have the time I like to try and keep them on the line for as long as possible. I figure the longer they are talking to me (and getting nothing) they are not calling someone who might fall for it.

Otherwise it's just hang up.

Jase

[AlexS]

SWMBO had a scam message today, supposedly from Australia Post, saying her passport would be delivered today at a particular time, and providing a link to click to track it.
Could have fallen for it, as we applied to renew our passports recently, but hers has already arrived and why would Australia past have her mobile number.

They're out there, and they'll try anything to steal your data and money. Never click a link in a message.