Question about unknown phone calls

[Alpo]

I will get an email from somebody. Spam. And down at the bottom of it it says that if I no longer wish to receive mail from them I can click HERE to unsubscribe.

I have been told that doing this is a bad idea. That what it does is it lets the spammer know that this is a good email address, and he then sells it to other spammers. The more better solution is to just send it to your spam box, and from then on email coming from that address will automatically go to your spam folder.

Spam telephone calls. I only answer calls that come from somebody in my contact list. If it doesn't kick up a name, I ignore it. It rings five times I think, and then goes to voicemail or hangs up or something.

It's annoying, listening to it ring. I know they have the option of pushing ignore, which sends it straight to voicemail and it is no longer ringing.

But if I do this, does this tell the phone spammer on the other end that I have an actual legitimate phone number with a person, and they will sell that number to other phones spammers?

Would I be causing myself more aggravation by clicking ignore?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cliff Hanger #3720LR]

On e-mail you are correct.

Any response to the e-mail such as clicking on unsubscribe makes your e-mail a valid address to be sold and sold and sold.

 

Your phone on the other hand already validates the number by sending it to voice mail.

You can turn of the forwarding to voice mail which does not validate your number.

 

You can choose to ignore and block the number.

However this will put you on the sell list and other spammers will call from different numbers and you have to ignore them and block them each time.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

Every now and then, I'll answer it. I let the computer do it's thing, push the appropriate buttons to get a human, and when they answer with:

"Hello, what is the make and year of your car?" or whatever, I hit them with:

(Best Indian accent) "Hello, this is Bob from Microsoft. Our technicians have detected a problem with your com-put-er!". 

They just hang up, and everybody within earshot laughs.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

On the IPhone they have a block caller function.  I don't answer and when they hang up I press block caller.  If they call again the phone won't ring.  I had/have the same question you have.  I am getting more and more emails and text messages that say to opt out click here.  I don't because I think you are right this just confirms it is a valid number or email address and they sell it to more spammers.

[Rye Miles #13621]

6 hours ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

On the IPhone they have a block caller function.  I don't answer and when they hang up I press block caller.  If they call again the phone won't ring.  I had/have the same question you have.  I am getting more and more emails and text messages that say to opt out click here.  I don't because I think you are right this just confirms it is a valid number or email address and they sell it to more spammers.

I will block them also, IPhones are great!!

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

If I'm bored, I mess with them.  Talking gibberish usually frustrates the heck out of them.

 

Otherwise, I hang up and block them.

[DeaconKC]

8 hours ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

Every now and then, I'll answer it. I let the computer do it's thing, push the appropriate buttons to get a human, and when they answer with:

"Hello, what is the make and year of your car?" or whatever, I hit them with:

(Best Indian accent) "Hello, this is Bob from Microsoft. Our technicians have detected a problem with your com-put-er!". 

They just hang up, and everybody within earshot laughs.

I am SO stealing this idea! Thank you!

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

I tried talking gibberish to a couple and really PO'd them.

Ones from India, calling on a tie line, I'll often ask "Narinder! Is that you? Is your Mother still working on Kamathipura street or did she move on to Sonagchi in Kolkata?" *

I had a couple get very upset.

* Kamathipura is in the Red Light district in Mumbai while Sonagchi is the one in Kolkata.

 

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

The worse I do is answer the phone with "Lee County ( the county that the phone number traces back to) Coroner's Office, how may I direct your call?" delivered in a bored business like tone.  Almost like I say it a thousand times a day. 

 

That's usually good for at least one gasp and hang up a week.

 

My Dad just starts speaking to them in Vietnamese.  Not conversational Vietnamese, just any odd phrases or words that he remembers thrown together at random.  He changes the inflection of his voice every once in a while when they stop talking and he starts replying, too.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Blocking the number is just about useless; their computers just generate another phony number.  Blocked or not blocked, they will NOT call back using that same number.

 

Seems to me that a couple years ago there was some announcement that Congress was working on the problem; I guess the project got back-burnered in favor of things SO much more important to the "reigning party."  

[Amigo]

Hell, if Congress figure out how to block spam calls, how are they going to figure out how to keep the Chinese, North Koreans and Russians out of key industrial, financial and military networks???

[Still hand Bill]

On an iPhone you can simply block all calls from a number you have not called or are not in your contact list.   Won’t even ring.  A little more of a hassle for getting return calls from the doctor, but saves the phone ringing a lot for spam calls.   Once you call a number it remembers it and will allow it to ring through.  Really like it.  

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

14 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Blocking the number is just about useless; their computers just generate another phony number.  Blocked or not blocked, they will NOT call back using that same number.

 

Seems to me that a couple years ago there was some announcement that Congress was working on the problem; I guess the project got back-burnered in favor of things SO much more important to the "reigning party."  

I've got calls from the same number several times.  

 

[Amigo]

I can get the same call regarding such and such warranty from three different area codes within several hours of each other. I know this because I get the same truncated voice mail on my phone. I honestly don't answer any number anymore that I don't recognize. I would guess I get somewhere around 3-5 spam calls for every genuine call. With my rotating shift work, I do make use of the Do Not Disturb feature on my iPhone--only those on my Favorites list will ring through when that is engaged...I do want my wife or family members to be able to reach me in the event of an emergency. 

[Dubious Don #56333]

I normally use the hangup/deadline method. I let the phone ring once, answer, put it on mute. 50/50 chance their auto system thinks it's a data line and deletes the number. Doesn't work for all of their scam systems or live operators. On occasion I've used  the coroner office ploy, the police ploy, the homicide detective ploy LOL. Once I got a "name unavailable" from a 202 area code (DC) with a full number (scam calls often omit area codes and just use seven numbers which are fake of course. Some aren't smart enough to do a good fake LOL) So I answer and ask if this was the president because if it is, I gotta complaint....and I wasn't nice and I used rough language LOL. When I was done with my little tirade the guy on the other end, without missing a beat called me by name and said no, this isn't the president I'm Larry from Congressman so and so's office returning your call LOL. Yeah, he was legit and understood. Took it in stride and we shared a laugh.

[bgavin]

On 9/8/2021 at 9:07 AM, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

I hit them with:  (Best Indian accent)...

I'm in the computer business, and have played this on hardware tech support script monkeys.

I got on the line with a heavy Indian accented female who called herself "Debby".
I put on my very best Indian accent, and told her my name was Rakesh.
Her: "Oh,  I am not of certain your name is Rakesh"
Me: "Oh, thank for the taking of my call, and I apologize for calling.  I am not of the being certain your name is Debby."
And she hung up.

No great loss....
It is a waste of my time speaking with a script monkey.

OP, look into "NoMoRobo".
It is free for land lines, and blessed by Comcast/Xfinity if you have their service, as do I.
Cell users pay a very small fee.
You hear 1 ring as it intercept the incoming robot call, then it disconnects them.