WWTBAM Bored

It has been apparent for some time that telemarketers buy numbers for all the local exchanges, so it looks like a local number when they call my cell phone.

I get called from a time share deal tied to Marriott about every other day or so with a local number showing as the caller. I usually hang up early, but the last time (well, second to last) I punched in the number that said to remove me from their list.

Then today came, I got a call that showed it was from Li'l Spock's phone. However, it was my friends with the timeshare-WTF just happened?!!!!

I verified that a call from Li'l Spock did not come in at the same time as their call on another number. They were using his number in some way.

Same here for months. I blame Joseph Smith...

Nothing will draw a curious look quite like checking the caller ID to find out that you are apparently calling yourself. If it's not a portal to an alternate universe, it should be illegal...

lb13

I've gotten those types of calls where the caller ID lists MY phone as the source! Creepy.

What I wonder is: Who actually listens, much less makes a purchase from a robocaller?

BTW - I like the really perky robo-gal who pretends to drop her headset when the call first connects. The first time I will admit it fooled me for about 20 seconds or so. By the time I got the 25th repeat version of the drop headset open, it seemed pretty stupid. I have to take these calls on my cell though as I never know what new clients could be calling me. But I hang up within seconds. We don't even answer our land-line phone anymore unless we recognize the name on the caller ID.

Spock wrote:It has been apparent for some time that telemarketers buy numbers for all the local exchanges, so it looks like a local number when they call my cell phone.

The legitimate ones do. The illegal ones, like this one, spoof the number. They can pick any number at all as the "from" number.

I have a smartwatch with its own phone number but it's synced with my phone. Today it rang on its number. It was a "free" cruise scam. Its number has a 303 area code, my phone is a 520. The incoming call was from 303.

I use TruCaller on my cellular devices which easily allows me to see the caller ID as well as block any number that calls.

It IS illegal. There's just yet no way to stop it, except for all of us to stop answering calls from our own exchanges. But it has to be all of us, which will never happen.

I happen to be researching the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) now so I'm a bit familiar with the regulations.

You all don't indicate whether these calls are coming to your landline or your cell phone, but these calls are regulated.

Any phone call or text to a cellphone that either is pre-recorded or is made through an autodialer and that contains marketing or advertising requires prior written approval. That approval includes a specific consent to receiving these types of calls. Calls to landllines through autodialers are legal, but prerecorded calls to landlines also require express written consent.

There's lawyers who specialize in these cases (damages can range from $500-1500 per call with class action settlements in the millions), so if you keep a record, they may be able to track it back to the company doing it.

just to share the misery, I get those calls also

silverscreenselect wrote:I happen to be researching the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) now so I'm a bit familiar with the regulations.

You all don't indicate whether these calls are coming to your landline or your cell phone, but these calls are regulated.

Any phone call or text to a cellphone that either is pre-recorded or is made through an autodialer and that contains marketing or advertising requires prior written approval. That approval includes a specific consent to receiving these types of calls. Calls to landllines through autodialers are legal, but prerecorded calls to landlines also require express written consent.

There's lawyers who specialize in these cases (damages can range from $500-1500 per call with class action settlements in the millions), so if you keep a record, they may be able to track it back to the company doing it.

Because they spoof the caller ID it's almost impossible to track them down.

I really "like" the "you asked about our back-brace/because you've been on one of our cruises" ones. And the people who keep calling reading from scripts that say "you are as hard to tie down as a barrel of monkeys!" & so forth deserve a special place in hell.

Needless to say, I have not asked about a back-brace nor been on their cruise.

silverscreenselect wrote:I happen to be researching the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) now so I'm a bit familiar with the regulations.

You all don't indicate whether these calls are coming to your landline or your cell phone, but these calls are regulated.

Any phone call or text to a cellphone that either is pre-recorded or is made through an autodialer and that contains marketing or advertising requires prior written approval. That approval includes a specific consent to receiving these types of calls. Calls to landllines through autodialers are legal, but prerecorded calls to landlines also require express written consent.

There's lawyers who specialize in these cases (damages can range from $500-1500 per call with class action settlements in the millions), so if you keep a record, they may be able to track it back to the company doing it.

That's nice to say but realistically, what can be done about it? I get robocalls to both the landline and cell. Overall, I'd say that I get robocalls from 8 to 12 different sources (it's gotten to the point that I don't listen long enough to find out what they are shilling anymore). But - Here's the thing that makes tracking them down and getting damages so hard - The calls always come from a different number. Always. As in, the incoming numbers are never repeated. On top of that, they are spoofing the numbers so they are not real anyway. I mean, how do you prosecute then when the only information you have is that the record shows that they called from my own phone number?

I wish something could be done. Without exaggeration, I'd say that 90% of our land line incoming calls are trash robocalls.

And we've done the do not call list thing but that does nothing.

jaybee wrote:

silverscreenselect wrote:I happen to be researching the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) now so I'm a bit familiar with the regulations.

You all don't indicate whether these calls are coming to your landline or your cell phone, but these calls are regulated.

Any phone call or text to a cellphone that either is pre-recorded or is made through an autodialer and that contains marketing or advertising requires prior written approval. That approval includes a specific consent to receiving these types of calls. Calls to landllines through autodialers are legal, but prerecorded calls to landlines also require express written consent.

There's lawyers who specialize in these cases (damages can range from $500-1500 per call with class action settlements in the millions), so if you keep a record, they may be able to track it back to the company doing it.

That's nice to say but realistically, what can be done about it? I get robocalls to both the landline and cell. Overall, I'd say that I get robocalls from 8 to 12 different sources (it's gotten to the point that I don't listen long enough to find out what they are shilling anymore). But - Here's the thing that makes tracking them down and getting damages so hard - The calls always come from a different number. Always. As in, the incoming numbers are never repeated. On top of that, they are spoofing the numbers so they are not real anyway. I mean, how do you prosecute then when the only information you have is that the record shows that they called from my own phone number?

I wish something could be done. Without exaggeration, I'd say that 90% of our land line incoming calls are trash robocalls.

And we've done the do not call list thing but that does nothing.

Ironically, I'm looking at this problem from the other point of view, trying to make sure that all of our marketing practices stay within the law. We don't do robocalls, but we do have text message lists to send out promotional texts.

Just don't hire Bridget from credit card services!

I yelled into the phone, "How did you get that number to show up on the caller ID?" They hung up on me.

Yesterday I got a call on my business cell phone from what was displayed as a local number. It was a robocall but had voice recognition. It claimed that they were calling because I had stayed at one of their hotels. Um, nope.

I had nothing better to do at the time so I let it connect me to a real person. They said they were Grand Celebration Cruises. I thanked the woman and told here I'd be reporting her. She said, "Good luck," and hung up.

I called the number back a got some guy on his cell phone.

I would think that the only way to fight this is to have some form of highly publicized list of businesses that use this form of attack marketing. But unless you have everyone in the world on the watch for this they will still continue to operate.

Hoping that the all-new section of Hell reserved for spamming marketers will open soon.

jaybee wrote:I would think that the only way to fight this is to have some form of highly publicized list of businesses that use this form of attack marketing. But unless you have everyone in the world on the watch for this they will still continue to operate.

Hoping that the all-new section of Hell reserved for spamming marketers will open soon.

The feds have the power to shut them down. It took them years to shut down the "card services" couple though. Even after they were busted and fined they started right back up again. Only a prison term put and end to it.

I had been getting the local exchange calls recently (I don't answer any number I don't have in my contacts) but yesterday I got my own number for the first time. I did a double-take at first thinking, hey, I know that number......wait, that's mine!

I blame this thread.