Die Robocall Die!

[Swerd]

You should read the May 2019 issue of Consumer Reports on Robocalls and what what FTC has done. Seven large, very large callers were prosecuted, very large fines, loss or cruise ships but hard to collect when it is off shore, bankrupt, etc. And, how long to find these crooks.
Yes, very frustrating but I report them all top the FTC complaint line.

I don't believe I read the CR article, but I am familiar with that sad story. It all comes down to who in Washington got elected and what they pay attention to.

 

[Ponzio]

Wowza!

This is new.

I got a call today on my land line, who I thought was my wife, based on the caller ID, instead the call was from a faux Microsoft engineer warning me that I had gremlins on my PC.

Un ... you know what ... believable.

 

[Phase 2]

Only got two today,

 

[lovinthehd]

From today's news https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2019/04/company-made-nearly-2-million-unlawful-pre-recorded-robocalls-to-promote-weight-loss-products-jury-finds.html

 

[mtrycrafts]

Wowza!

This is new.
I got a call today on my land line, who I thought was my wife, based on the caller ID, instead the call was from a faux Microsoft engineer warning me that I had gremlins on my PC.
Un ... you know what ... believable.

Microsoft engineer calls are not new but to spoof a family member's phone number is. I don't have ID on my landline so I don't know if it was spoofed to a family member.
I also tell the caller I have apple computer or that they are frauds.

 

[mtrycrafts]

From today's news https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2019/04/company-made-nearly-2-million-unlawful-pre-recorded-robocalls-to-promote-weight-loss-products-jury-finds.html

$900 million and could be 3x. But will it ever be collected? A small fraction even.

 

[lovinthehd]

$900 million and could be 3x. But will it ever be collected? A small fraction even.

True enough altho the little I saw makes them US based (so reachable) and might have some assets (382 employees) to glom onto.

 

[mtrycrafts]

True enough altho the little I saw makes them US based (so reachable) and might have some assets (382 employees) to glom onto.

Yes, if the court will allow them to go after the independent promoters. It seems the home office had 9 employees?
One of the employees was a fraud investigator. What? Seems not a good one.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes, if the court will allow them to go after the independent promoters. It seems the home office had 9 employees?
One of the employees was a fraud investigator. What? Seems not a good one.

You dug deeper it seems . Won't stop these guys from doing it again either.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

I've received this silly, robotic, female voice threat a couple of times, always in fractured English: "The IRS has lawsuit against you. You can loose wages and benefits. Immediately call (bogus phone number) or IRS will garnish"

 

[mtrycrafts]

You dug deeper it seems . Won't stop these guys from doing it again either.

No, of course not.
Got two calls about Apple unusual activity, then a bit later, account closed.
Hopefully the calls about Apple will stop now.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I've received this silly, robotic, female voice threat a couple of times, always in fractured English: "The IRS has lawsuit against you. You can loose wages and benefits. Immediately call (bogus phone number) or IRS will garnish"

Yes. What a silly gambit on their part as they never call. They support the US mail system

 

[Beave]

I've received this silly, robotic, female voice threat a couple of times, always in fractured English: "The IRS has lawsuit against you. You can loose wages and benefits. Immediately call (bogus phone number) or IRS will garnish"

It's actually legit. The IRS is trying to get money from you.

It's just that in this case, IRS stands for India Ripoff Scumbags.

 

[Phase 2]

Got 5 calls yesterday..

 

[panteragstk]

Gotta love our first world problems right??

In all seriousness though, why is this allowed? This is a really stupid problem to have.

 

[Ponzio]

Well I finally got around to signing up with Nomorobo today for my landline. Things got really off the handle the last 2 weeks (avg. 10 to 18 calls a day).

Verizon's cell phone blocker (Android) seems to be working overall. It's only blocked/misidentified one legitimate caller from a medical facility.

Let us pray!

 

[Swerd]

an update…

Since April, I've been using AT&T Call Protect, the free version, not the $4/month version. I've been diligently reporting and blocking spammers, scammers, & telemarketers. At first, I was getting about 5 calls each day. Lately (mid July 2019) I've noticed that the unwanted calls has significantly dropped, to about 3 calls per week. The rest aren't blocked, but are identified as unwanted – AT&T Flagged. That's real progress. I hope it lasts.

The FCC has finally authorized cell phone service providers to atuomaticaly block spam calls, but didn't require them to do it for free. AT&T Call Protect will begin that sometime this fall. I don't know what they will charge.

In May, I dropped my landline phone. I replaced my old slower modem, which had VOIP, with a much faster modem. Modems cost much less without VOIP, so I dropped it. I haven't missed it at all.

 

[Phase 2]

Got 5 today..about to get rid of my cell phone. Didn't need one back in the day, plus I'll save over 600 bucks a year.

 

[davidscott]

Got a new phone, a new carrier, and a new number about a month ago. Haven't had one since. But I don't want to have to do this every year.

 

[DigitalDawn]

Why hasn't the FCC authorized land-line providers to stop Robocalls? We get between 8-10 robocalls on our AT&T landline phones every day.