How “Silent Calls” Lead To Identity Theft - Comments Page 1

The FTC's suggestion to just hang up is a contradiction. If you answer the phone, then they know the number is active, the same as with an answering machine.

I was without an answer machine for awhile, and when they called I let the phone ring and they hung up. The robocalls stopped. Now with a new answer machine, which I need, the calls will start again. A classic Catch-22.

Nomorobo sounds good, but what keeps them in business if the service is free?

another great article. Thanks Bob. Mike

I haven't received such a call as you described. I worked in credit, collection and frauds for to many years to pull the wool over my eyes. I have received a couple of calls saying I need to call a specific phone number because it had to with money that I owed the IRS. If not, I'll be taken to court. I did submit that information to the "Do Not Call" website. They do anything to scam people out of their money. Our senior citizens are most at risk.

Nomorobo looks useful (although I assume it's for the USA only?). In the UK we have a very useful thing called Truecall - it's a little machine inserted between phone and line which intercepts all calls (unless/until you have starred the number making the call) and asks the caller to identify him/her/itself, before the phone even physically rings in your home. You can also update it through their weblink if you wish and you can also use the weblink to identify blocked numbers at your leisure later on, if you wish. This is our family's response to nuisance callers, whether they are telemarketers or phishers. Life is so much more peaceful now :-) I wonder whether the USA has such a product...

Get an answering machine. Most robo-calls can detect an answering machine and, when they do, they hang up. Even if they don't, you get to screen the message.
I actually got my first call from the IRS the other day. So, it is not prefect but it sure does save a lot of time answering those robo-calls.
Thanks for this article.

I've used Nomorobo for over a year, and it is the best thing that ever happened to my phone line. My only regret is that cellular providers are so slow to offer support for this most excellent service.

I haven't been subjected to a scam call in a long time. My phone rings once, and it stops ringing. I don't have to run for the phone, just in case it's a real call, and I don't have to deal with hang-ups, robocalls, political calls and scams. If Nomorobo ever decides to move to a pay model, I will happily go along. It's the most useful service I have.

I have turned to using my home phone number to recurve calls only. My cell does not. So I leave the answering machine to answer all calls and pick up only when I recognize the callers voice :)

Thank you, Bob. I'm in! hooray. Gonna make a contribution in thanks! Keep up the good work!

Last week, phone rang several times, with nobody there. Called the number and it wasn't answered. "Rachel from Cardholder Services"showed up as my number on Caller ID.

Your quite right about silent calls, I hang up and I do not press any buttons at all, to do so your on your way to danger or problems at least.

Another trick they are now pulling and I get at least two of these a week are the calls that come in saying they are Microsoft or some other company and my computer is calling their computer and make all kinds of trouble, we will guide you through what to do to have this fixed, it is a scam, so I play with them a bit. I do this with them,

Well sire or Madam, I do not have a computer, they hand up right away, but for me that is too soon, or I will way, Oh really, Oh my, this is terrible what do I do, they go silent for a second or two, then I lay it on them, I say, sir or madam, I am a computer technician and I build and repair computers and I have more software in my computer to tell me what is going on than you have obvious brains, get a real job and do not call here again, we are aware your a scam, they immediately hang on, but they keep trying.

But it is fun to turn the sticks on them and then they can worry :) hahahaaha I also notify the police as to where the call is coming from if it shows, now they are getting smart, the caller ID now says, Private caller, do not fall for it. NEVER ever give any private information to anyone, never, no legitimate company will ever ask you for Is, passwords or pin numbers, only scammers and thieves do that. they prey on the elderly of which I am at 68 but it does not work with me. I also tell them they are full of Sh*t and are more stupid than dirt, :)

Nomorobo is useless. A disclaimer reads: "Unfortunately, Nomorobo is not available on traditional analog landlines or wireless phones at this time."

And there are plenty of free blockers already for cell phones.

Even better than just hanging up, is not answering in the first place. We screen all our calls: if we don't recognize the caller ID, we don't pick up the phone. Legitimate callers will leave a message.

I use nomorobo. It works beautifully. If your phone service supports it, you should definitely set it up. nomorobo.com.

We have been getting a number of these Zombie calls recently. We just hang up. But there have been several follow-ups from spoof PPI Claims Departments offering a refund of insurance bought with a loan some years ago. The callers seem to know I had one of these loans, and the name of the bank. Again, we say 'no thanks' and hang up. Never give details! Can't see this particular scam dying out until after the final deadline for genuine PPI claims.

Or just don't answer any calls from numbers you don't recognize. I've heard that there is software that can hijack your line just by you answering the call. Is this true or just an urban legend?

If it's someone one know or otherwise legit, they'll leave you a message. My phone rings all day long and I never have any voicemails, so they can't access any of my info.

Hi, another good article! My question is what does Nomorobo get out of providing this service? One has to wonder...

With all the technology that is rampant now you would think that a simple button on my phone to disable the answering machine temporarily would help. At least they would not be assured that they called a working phone. Or a it might play a recording of the phone company's phone disconnected recording.

I run TrueCaller on my Android phone. While I don't usually answer calls from numbers I don't know, the nature of my work often requires me to answer a client call. This app gives me at least some info to help me decide whether or not to pick up. Most scam calls are quickly identified. I am not affiliated with TrueCaller .. just a user fan.

NoMoRobo should be great news ... for some. However, I checked the site for it, and saw this:

"Unfortunately, Nomorobo is not available on traditional analog landlines or wireless phones at this time."