Robo Calls From Telemarketers

We call them robo calls, as in a robot calling. There is equipment that allows telemarketers to dial a set of numbers sequentially. So if our telephone number starts with 555-xxxx they will dial 555-0001, then 555-0002 and so on until they finally get to you. When you answer, the system sees that and connects the call to a guy waiting on the other side. That is why oftentimes you pick up the phone and say “Hello” and have to wait a couple seconds before the person on the other side replies. Oftentimes he has an accent. Sometimes he ells you he is from Microsoft and you have a computer virus. You don’t have a virus, you have a telephone number that answered.

So how can you stop there calls?

The government set up a DO NOT CALL LIST where you can register your phone number to not be called by telemarketers. However that only works if the telemarketer is a real company that follows the law. Otherwise if they are scammers, they ignore the list. In fact, that list is actually a great way to get LIVE phone numbers that they know someone is answering.

Recently there is a newer caller-Id system being designed to help combat this problem, especially for callers outside the U.S. using a caller-Id of a U.S. company (or the IRS or whomever).

Some of you have traditional telephone or cellphone service that allows a limited number of telephone numbers you can block. That helps if the caller uses a common number. Other services like the Voip service I use allows a tremendous amount of numbers I can block for free.

For cellphones there are applications that will block numbers or hang up on numbers that are known spammers o telemarketers.

MY Voip service is one of the “carriers” that works with a system called NOMOROBO. Here is how their system works.

Because calls to a toll free number are billed to the receiver, the telephone number shown to the person called is a correct one. Caller ID is usually sent between the first and second ring of the phone call.

Some phone companies allow what can be thought of as a simultaneous ring or ring group. This allows an inbound call to be sent to 2 or more different numbers at the same time. The first telephone to answer the call gets the call and the other telephone cannot access the call. So you set their service up and when your phone rings, their toll free number does too. Their system looks at the caller id sent just after the first ring and they quickly look up that number in a database. If the number is in the database, their system essentially picks up the phone and hangs up. Their side of the call is done and yours has stopped ringing. The caller hears a CLICK. All you heard was perhaps 1 ring and then nothing, so you never even got a chance to get to the phone.

For some phone services NOMOROBO is free. For some (and cellphones) the cost is a few dollars a month.

NoMoRoBo.Com. It might be worth your time if your carrier is supported.