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Help Call blockers

sleedeane

sleedeane

Android Expert
I'm all of a sudden getting calls from all over the U.S. from people wanting me to go to school, which I'm not interested in.
In the play store, I'm going down the list reading the descriptions of all the blockers, and none of them list "block all calls from area codes different from my own area code".
It's there a reason why they can't block all calls except those from area code 573?
I don't know if the FCC passed a law in the last day or two allowing this kind of harassment or what's going on, but I'm at my wits end, ready to change my number. I'm talking like 20 calls a day from all over the US.
Any advice?
Thank you.
 
If it won't block certain calls -

Record a minute of silence on the phone and shove it in ringtones. Assign said ringtone to the pests. You will still have to clean out VM if they leave any.

My phone has a native blocker, but I still have a "spammer contact" that has the silent ringtone and I can keep adding categories like cell, mobile, work, fax. It's been taking some fanciful ones.

When I had the BB years ago - I did the same. But with the BB keyboard and the way you could separate calls - all the spammers had the most obscene names I could think of.
 
Did you recently put your phone number down for something, like a contest, special offers, etc. and it was passed onto third-party advertisers, or it could have been in some leaked database, like Ashley Madison.
 
There are also sites where you can look up numbers for free. 800 Notes is one, Who Calls Me is another. Long list of spam reports. Quite a few complaints start with "I'm on the DNC" STOP IT!! Most legit local businesses do abide by it. We haven't been pestered with realtors and the local paper for years.
 
mikedt said:
Did you recently put your phone number down for something, like a contest, special offers, etc. and it was passed onto third-party advertisers, or it could have been in some leaked database, like Ashley Madison.
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Yes I did. I was checking out sites where you can get paid for taking surveys. I knew better at the time, thought I was being careful though.
 
sleedeane said:
Yes I did. I was checking out sites where you can get paid for taking surveys. I knew better at the time, thought I was being careful though.
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This is where Google Voice comes in handy. It's a separate number, give it out instead of your 'real' number to shady sites/places and use the spam tool to filter incoming calls. You can put all incoming GV calls on 'do not disturb' and they will go right to voicemail, then you can mark them as spam. There's also a 'known spam numbers' filter, not really sure how well that works but you can enable that too.

Of course this isn't going to help you right now, but it's a great tool for future use. GV does so much and you can configure it do lots of things!
 
I was having a terrible time with the telemarketers. My default call blocker wouldn't ring but neither would it hang up. It allowed them to record to Voicemail. I now use Extreme Call Blocker which has an option to hang up with no voicemail. Works great and the telemarketers are stopped cold. My favorite app!!
Also, the gov. do-not-call lists do not work. The telemarketers know how to get around them.
 
JimmieCD said:
I was having a terrible time with the telemarketers. My default call blocker wouldn't ring but neither would it hang up. It allowed them to record to Voicemail. I now use Extreme Call Blocker which has an option to hang up with no voicemail. Works great and the telemarketers are stopped cold. My favorite app!!
Also, the gov. do-not-call lists do not work. The telemarketers know how to get around them.
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I turned off my VM for the same reason. I have family, friends, and business with separate ringtones for each group. If I hear an unknown ring, I check it. If it's local, I might call back. If it isn't, it gets looked up on a spammer list and blocked.
I never liked VM anyway, even on the landline. You heard the stupid spiel every time someone called.

If it is a spammer, they usually hang up after 4 rings. I've had a couple that used up the whole MID file of the "unknown" ring tone. I figure by ignoring the call, I'm not letting the spammer know it's a live number. No VM - they get the recording that the line doesn't have one or there is no answer since I refused to. If the number is "live" it gets known and traded around.

The only thing I think that will stop some of the problem - make number spoofing a no-no or develop software that will not mask the true number. Some of the worst telemarketers are off shore and impossible to catch. Card Services has been caught and fined. They were offline for about 6 months and then started right up again. It could be done - if you call an 800 number, your true number shows up even if you have it set to private.
 
EarlyMon said:
https://www.donotcall.gov/

https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/do-not-call-list

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0133-cell-phones-and-do-not-call-registry
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Those are great options (which I use myself) and I think a lot of people actually forgot about them or just were not aware of them.

I live in an area code that gets spammed a lot (S. Florida). I get a lot of unwanted or spoofed calls. I've been using Truecaller https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.truecaller and it helps with repeat offenders and those numbers that are well known spammers...just in case someone is looking for an additional option,
 
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