Unsolicited Robo-Calls

Hoss

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The FCC changed its rules not too long ago to allow the carriers to be more aggressive at detecting and shutting the scammers down. They have the tools, but it doesn't seem like any of them have decided to use them yet. Probably afraid of the backlash when they inevitably shut down legitimate calls.

It looks like that bill would just fuck things up. Instead it needs to give them some protections.
 

Haus

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I have noticed that on my Android Pixel XL I'm now getting a lot more "Suspected Spam" notifications on inbound calls, it also changes them to an orange color. That's an auto-ignore for me now.

For me it's always the ones spoofing the first three digits of your number (like my cel number is 214-727-XXXX and I get a lot of calls FROM 214-727-YYYY where YYYY is four random numbers.)

Usually calls about
  • "your credit card account" (Never mentioning what card or through which bank)
  • "A fraudulent purchase on your debit card" (Never mentioning what bank...)
  • "A fraudulent transaction will force us to CANCEL YOUR SPECIAL SECURITY CARD"
  • The ALWAYS present "Extended Car Warranty", about a car I haven't owned for 2 years....
The award winner, which I actually engaged with and trolled was one saying I was being audited by the IRS. Of course if I gave them the numbers for a wire transfer they could immediately dismiss the audit. Otherwise they were sending "agents" to my location to arrest me and take me to IRS jail in Washington DC. Since I took the call while I was in my car going to a lunch meeting I gave them the restaurant address and told them if they hurried I would also buy the agents some BBQ since it was a great place for that.
 

Hoss

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For me it's always the ones spoofing the first three digits of your number

Same here. I like to fuck with them. Last week I got a call that met that description so i picked up and said "It's done and there's blood everywhere. But that's your problem now" and hung up. A minute later I got another call from the same number and I was like, is this fo real? So I picked it up and said "Are you serious?" Then she said my name. Turned out it was my doctor's office but they were calling from a different office because the one I went to had closed down. The woman was freaking the fuck out. She was ready to call 911. A good laugh was had by all. Eventually. I had to talk nice to her for a few minutes until she calmed down.

Anyway, the spam notifications you get must be built into your phone or an app you're running. I never get anything like that on my blackberry.
 
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Armadon

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I get 3 to 4 a day about buying my house. It's always like hey this is so and so and we were driving in your neighborhood last week and want to buy your house. Fuck these people.
 

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
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132,641
I have noticed that on my Android Pixel XL I'm now getting a lot more "Suspected Spam" notifications on inbound calls, it also changes them to an orange color. That's an auto-ignore for me now.

For me it's always the ones spoofing the first three digits of your number (like my cel number is 214-727-XXXX and I get a lot of calls FROM 214-727-YYYY where YYYY is four random numbers.)

Usually calls about
  • "your credit card account" (Never mentioning what card or through which bank)
  • "A fraudulent purchase on your debit card" (Never mentioning what bank...)
  • "A fraudulent transaction will force us to CANCEL YOUR SPECIAL SECURITY CARD"
  • The ALWAYS present "Extended Car Warranty", about a car I haven't owned for 2 years....
The award winner, which I actually engaged with and trolled was one saying I was being audited by the IRS. Of course if I gave them the numbers for a wire transfer they could immediately dismiss the audit. Otherwise they were sending "agents" to my location to arrest me and take me to IRS jail in Washington DC. Since I took the call while I was in my car going to a lunch meeting I gave them the restaurant address and told them if they hurried I would also buy the agents some BBQ since it was a great place for that.
and indians, it's always fucking indians

"my friend, you need warranty, now!"
 

Hoss

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I keep getting calls wanting to buy some house in another city. I swear to flying spaghetti monster I'm about to sell a motherfucking house. I've gotten offers from 2 of them and they were like half the value on zillow. So I read them the riot act over wasting my time with lowball offers. Yesterday I almost told one to meet me at the house in an hour, but I was in the middle of a workout and just hung up instead.
 

Big Phoenix

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Mine are always;

Marriott vacation
Student loan repayment program
Indians wanting to help me lower my cc interest rate
National Association of dental

I fuck with every single person I can.

The Marriott people I always ask if I can do human sacrifices like in the movie apocalypto. One time I really pissed some dude off and he said he was going to rape my wife with his friends and kill my kids.

Student loan people I give them the info they want to hear and after about 5 or so minutes I tell them I remember I don't have any loans.

The Indians I give fake info, make them wait on the phone while I "look" for my cc, ask to speak to their supervisor.

The bizarre thing is how hit and miss their dialers are. Easily half the time it doesn't route to a live agent or they fuck up the transfer and hang up on me.
 
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Hoss

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The bizarre thing is how hit and miss their dialers are. Easily half the time it doesn't route to a live agent or they fuck up the transfer and hang up on me.

That's what I can't figure out. Sometimes I like to try and figure out what the scam is. How the fuck are they getting money from me if they won't even talk? I thought maybe it was a variation on the one ring callback scam, but these numbers are in my own area code, so there's no way they can be toll or international numbers, is there?
 

Frenzied Wombat

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Mine are typically, in order:

1) About 10 different orgs claiming to be Dallas Police and Fire
2) Refinance my debt
3) Lower my credit card rates
4) Medical open enrollment
5) "Your computer has been hacked" from a phony MS Support


Only ones I don't immediately hang up on are the "your computer has been hacked". Pretending to be the most retarded end-user on the planet while the "tech" tried to describe how to access the registry is loads of fun. The key is to frustrate them so much they hang up on you. "I forgot, did you say right click or left click? Oops I think I double clicked and now I have this window on top of the other window, and I don't know how to move it."
 
  • 1Worf
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Cybsled

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I just let it go to voicemail, because they almost never leave a voicemail.
 
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xzi

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I always get ones claiming they're the IRS and sending the FBI after me if I don't contact them back, then I get ones about a warrant for my arrest from the royal canadian court which I don't even think is a thing and also I don't live in Canada.

I used to get them about 10 times a day minimum but it's seemed to have cut back recently
 

Siddar

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I'm getting your Social Security number has been hacked message in a male robotic voice. Yea sure like I'm really going to trust the voice of 4chan when it comes to spam. Then I get random Chinese messages that I believe are designed to bait a call back.

Both are designed to target certain types of people the old with the social security claim and those that will always call back with the Chinese messages.
 

xzi

Mouthbreather
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oh yeah I just started getting chinese ones too!

I just assume they're yelling about hong kong or something
 

Tarisk

Pathetic Reaction Bot
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I had one with a flat out broken spoof number. Wish they all did that. Just came in as number 916. Even tried calling it back out of sheer curiosity and nothing, obviously. But i just had to know.
 

a_skeleton_05

<Banned>
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I just let it go to voicemail, because they almost never leave a voicemail.

I get ones that take the voice message as someone actually speaking and it triggers their recorded message, resulting in recordings of their automated message halfway through. I have to take the time to delete these as my voicemail has a limited capacity. It's really fucking frustrating.
 
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a c i d.f l y

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My favorite call went like this...

Rings, looks legit on TrueCaller, I answer.
Guy starts talking, almost sounds prerecorded.
I say, "Hey."
...he keeps going. I say hey again, a little bit louder.
...he keeps going. This repeated about 3 or 4 more times.
Finally I yelled, "HEY! SHUT THE FUCK UP."
Dead silence.
Guy manages an, "Ummm..."
"Stop fucking calling me."
"...ok."
I hang up. Haven't gotten a call from them again.

I get a few wrong number calls a month, sometimes it's a Hispanic person, or a random Asian sounding person. Had one person texting me freaking out about their electric being turned off, that was fun, I should have played with them. "Who do you think this is?" "Eric," or something. They apologized. Curious if they figured their shit out.

I also use TrueCaller to block my cunt sister from using other people's phones to try and get in touch with me. No, I'm not going to give you any money, fuck off.
 
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Siddar

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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I had one with a flat out broken spoof number. Wish they all did that. Just came in as number 916. Even tried calling it back out of sheer curiosity and nothing, obviously. But i just had to know.

That's what they wanted, then they hit your phone bill with charges like you dialed a phone sex hot line.

Never call back a spammer!
 

Qhue

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Another tactic like that is if you have an Android phone hit the button for Google Screening.

Screening is awesome for this, plus it filters out known scammers so they don't even get that far.

As a side perk it's super fun to use on whatever good friend you know that will be most triggered by being subjected to it
 
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