Is this primarily an American issue or do other countries suffer the same volume of robocalls? I am, mostly, in the UK but spent a few years in Australia and encountered some robo calls, mainly in...
Is this primarily an American issue or do other countries suffer the same volume of robocalls?
I am, mostly, in the UK but spent a few years in Australia and encountered some robo calls, mainly in non English, but not large volumes.
As an American who mived abroad, it's definitely a much bigger problem in the US. I've gotten nore calls on my temporary US number during a single vacation than I've ever gotten in 5 years on my...
As an American who mived abroad, it's definitely a much bigger problem in the US. I've gotten nore calls on my temporary US number during a single vacation than I've ever gotten in 5 years on my non-US number. Scam calls definitely do still exist but outside the US the volume goes way down, and it goes down even further outside the Anglosphere.
Americans are wealthier on average, making them more desirable targets. Also, over 95% of scam calls come from India, so it's unsurprising the Anglosphere is more targeted.
Americans are wealthier on average, making them more desirable targets. Also, over 95% of scam calls come from India, so it's unsurprising the Anglosphere is more targeted.
Oh yeah it all makes sense in the grand scheme of things. Even the few scam calls I've gotten on my German number have been in English! (And pretending to be Interpol lmao, absolutely silly that one.)
Oh yeah it all makes sense in the grand scheme of things. Even the few scam calls I've gotten on my German number have been in English! (And pretending to be Interpol lmao, absolutely silly that one.)
I get quite a few robocalls in Australia. Some days I get 3-4, other days I get none, but I think it shakes out to something like one per day altogether. I'm not sure how representative this is or...
I get quite a few robocalls in Australia. Some days I get 3-4, other days I get none, but I think it shakes out to something like one per day altogether. I'm not sure how representative this is or how it compares to the US these days.
Virtually all of the calls I receive are pre-recorded and seem to be designed to go to voice mail. They usually open with a short sentence in broken English (something like "package for delivery for you in post office" or "taxes not paid now, ATO will arrest you"), and then continue on at length in Chinese. As far as I can tell, the intended victims are Chinese immigrants who have limited English skills and are not too familiar with how Australian bureaucracy operates. (The post office, tax office, etc., never contact me by direct phone call like this.)
I think the tax office actually does call people sometimes when they are doing an audit or have found something incorrect. Usually where it becomes obvious is when the tax debt needs to be paid in...
I think the tax office actually does call people sometimes when they are doing an audit or have found something incorrect. Usually where it becomes obvious is when the tax debt needs to be paid in apple gift cards.
Oh, interesting. The tax office has only ever contacted me through myGov. I have never been audited, but I were, I would have assumed they would still contact me that way first.
Oh, interesting. The tax office has only ever contacted me through myGov. I have never been audited, but I were, I would have assumed they would still contact me that way first.
I'm in Australia and the quantity of robocalls, scam calls and phishing SMS messages here seems to have stepped up pretty drastically in the last 3 years or so. I guess I don't have a good...
I'm in Australia and the quantity of robocalls, scam calls and phishing SMS messages here seems to have stepped up pretty drastically in the last 3 years or so.
I guess I don't have a good benchmark for how bad it is in the US to compare against though.
It also depends on whether you pick up when they start calling you. On my work phone, I have to pick up, so I get at least 10 calls a day from spammers/scammers. On my personal cell phone, I get...
It also depends on whether you pick up when they start calling you. On my work phone, I have to pick up, so I get at least 10 calls a day from spammers/scammers. On my personal cell phone, I get maybe one or two a week. This is in the US.
I have been getting an uptick in emails every day for scams. I tend to report, block, move to junk and delete from my junk folder, but they don't stop.
I live in Sweden. I've never received a robocall, nor have I ever heard of anyone else receiving one. That doesn't mean they don't exist, but I have to come to the conclusion they're very rare.
I live in Sweden. I've never received a robocall, nor have I ever heard of anyone else receiving one. That doesn't mean they don't exist, but I have to come to the conclusion they're very rare.
I assume after having a quick look through article, it refers to both landline and mobile calls? (the latter is starting to really give me a the shits - so many missed calls/voicemails are...
I assume after having a quick look through article, it refers to both landline and mobile calls? (the latter is starting to really give me a the shits - so many missed calls/voicemails are robocalls. 20 in one day... several days a week). Maybe companies should be banned from using/selling their customer base data in the first instance might help.
This is the big step. Companies should be fined to oblivion for selling customer data. They should be fined to oblivion for not securing customer data either and leaving it vulnerable to bad actors.
This is the big step. Companies should be fined to oblivion for selling customer data. They should be fined to oblivion for not securing customer data either and leaving it vulnerable to bad actors.
Whenever I get a solicitation call, robo or otherwise, I do my best Solid Snake impression, tell them this is a secure channel and demand to know how they got my frequency. More often than not...
Whenever I get a solicitation call, robo or otherwise, I do my best Solid Snake impression, tell them this is a secure channel and demand to know how they got my frequency. More often than not they get scared and hang up.
Google's Screen Call feature has helped me get off robo call lists. As soon as they hear Google answered and is recording, they hang up. I get very few spam calls anymore.
Google's Screen Call feature has helped me get off robo call lists. As soon as they hear Google answered and is recording, they hang up. I get very few spam calls anymore.
Quick scam idea: I have scam employee one robo call scam employee two, who loses $50000 to employee one. I file for compensation from telecom company. At least this will be used as a lobbyist...
Quick scam idea: I have scam employee one robo call scam employee two, who loses $50000 to employee one. I file for compensation from telecom company. At least this will be used as a lobbyist excuse to not shoulder costs of robocalls.
The telecoms would never willingly do anything and they will fight tooth and nail to continue to do nothing. Which is exactly why we need to push them to do more, do better, and shoulder more responsibility.
The biggest tool against robocalling is actually illegal. Madison River Telephone Company blocked calls using CID spoofing in the early 2000s, and in one of the first Net Neutrality cases the FCC...
The biggest tool against robocalling is actually illegal.
Madison River Telephone Company blocked calls using CID spoofing in the early 2000s, and in one of the first Net Neutrality cases the FCC stepped in on behalf of Vonage.
The problem is there are legitimate uses for CID spoofing. For instance I can use VOIP on my phone to call using my work mumber. When I worked at a call center, all outgoing calls were assigned the same number because incoming calls needed to go to the switchboard and not my desk.
Good reasons why it's not practical to outlaw spoofing, but practical regulation would help. Anyone who wants to spoof should have to get a license from the FCC. Hefty fines for spoofing without a...
Good reasons why it's not practical to outlaw spoofing, but practical regulation would help.
Anyone who wants to spoof should have to get a license from the FCC. Hefty fines for spoofing without a license and license revoked if it's used for any illegitimate purpose.
I'd personally push for a telecommunications framework that requires spoofed numbers to be authorized in some way by the end user that is paying for them. You can spoof numbers but you can't pick...
I'd personally push for a telecommunications framework that requires spoofed numbers to be authorized in some way by the end user that is paying for them. You can spoof numbers but you can't pick any number you don't have permission to use. Definitely need those hefty fines for misuse either way.
The problem is that people who spoof without a license are hard to trace. They could use a system where all spoofing has to go through a central FCC-administered clearinghouse en route, but I...
The problem is that people who spoof without a license are hard to trace. They could use a system where all spoofing has to go through a central FCC-administered clearinghouse en route, but I don't love the idea of routing even more calls through government servers.
Is this primarily an American issue or do other countries suffer the same volume of robocalls?
I am, mostly, in the UK but spent a few years in Australia and encountered some robo calls, mainly in non English, but not large volumes.
As an American who mived abroad, it's definitely a much bigger problem in the US. I've gotten nore calls on my temporary US number during a single vacation than I've ever gotten in 5 years on my non-US number. Scam calls definitely do still exist but outside the US the volume goes way down, and it goes down even further outside the Anglosphere.
Americans are wealthier on average, making them more desirable targets. Also, over 95% of scam calls come from India, so it's unsurprising the Anglosphere is more targeted.
Oh yeah it all makes sense in the grand scheme of things. Even the few scam calls I've gotten on my German number have been in English! (And pretending to be Interpol lmao, absolutely silly that one.)
I get quite a few robocalls in Australia. Some days I get 3-4, other days I get none, but I think it shakes out to something like one per day altogether. I'm not sure how representative this is or how it compares to the US these days.
Virtually all of the calls I receive are pre-recorded and seem to be designed to go to voice mail. They usually open with a short sentence in broken English (something like "package for delivery for you in post office" or "taxes not paid now, ATO will arrest you"), and then continue on at length in Chinese. As far as I can tell, the intended victims are Chinese immigrants who have limited English skills and are not too familiar with how Australian bureaucracy operates. (The post office, tax office, etc., never contact me by direct phone call like this.)
I think the tax office actually does call people sometimes when they are doing an audit or have found something incorrect. Usually where it becomes obvious is when the tax debt needs to be paid in apple gift cards.
Oh, interesting. The tax office has only ever contacted me through myGov. I have never been audited, but I were, I would have assumed they would still contact me that way first.
I'm in Australia and the quantity of robocalls, scam calls and phishing SMS messages here seems to have stepped up pretty drastically in the last 3 years or so.
I guess I don't have a good benchmark for how bad it is in the US to compare against though.
It also depends on whether you pick up when they start calling you. On my work phone, I have to pick up, so I get at least 10 calls a day from spammers/scammers. On my personal cell phone, I get maybe one or two a week. This is in the US.
I have been getting an uptick in emails every day for scams. I tend to report, block, move to junk and delete from my junk folder, but they don't stop.
I live in Sweden. I've never received a robocall, nor have I ever heard of anyone else receiving one. That doesn't mean they don't exist, but I have to come to the conclusion they're very rare.
I assume after having a quick look through article, it refers to both landline and mobile calls? (the latter is starting to really give me a the shits - so many missed calls/voicemails are robocalls. 20 in one day... several days a week). Maybe companies should be banned from using/selling their customer base data in the first instance might help.
This is the big step. Companies should be fined to oblivion for selling customer data. They should be fined to oblivion for not securing customer data either and leaving it vulnerable to bad actors.
Whenever I get a solicitation call, robo or otherwise, I do my best Solid Snake impression, tell them this is a secure channel and demand to know how they got my frequency. More often than not they get scared and hang up.
"Who the hell is this? I told the general I wasn't taking any calls during hog-squeezing time."
Google's Screen Call feature has helped me get off robo call lists. As soon as they hear Google answered and is recording, they hang up. I get very few spam calls anymore.
Pretty crazy that darn near half of those calls have a call back number
Quick scam idea: I have scam employee one robo call scam employee two, who loses $50000 to employee one. I file for compensation from telecom company. At least this will be used as a lobbyist excuse to not shoulder costs of robocalls.
The telecoms would never willingly do anything and they will fight tooth and nail to continue to do nothing. Which is exactly why we need to push them to do more, do better, and shoulder more responsibility.
The biggest tool against robocalling is actually illegal.
Madison River Telephone Company blocked calls using CID spoofing in the early 2000s, and in one of the first Net Neutrality cases the FCC stepped in on behalf of Vonage.
The problem is there are legitimate uses for CID spoofing. For instance I can use VOIP on my phone to call using my work mumber. When I worked at a call center, all outgoing calls were assigned the same number because incoming calls needed to go to the switchboard and not my desk.
Good reasons why it's not practical to outlaw spoofing, but practical regulation would help.
Anyone who wants to spoof should have to get a license from the FCC. Hefty fines for spoofing without a license and license revoked if it's used for any illegitimate purpose.
I'd personally push for a telecommunications framework that requires spoofed numbers to be authorized in some way by the end user that is paying for them. You can spoof numbers but you can't pick any number you don't have permission to use. Definitely need those hefty fines for misuse either way.
The problem is that people who spoof without a license are hard to trace. They could use a system where all spoofing has to go through a central FCC-administered clearinghouse en route, but I don't love the idea of routing even more calls through government servers.