Stop Unwanted Phone Calls - Comments Page 2

Here is a method I have used in the past with great success. Transfer your landline number to a cell phone and then transfer that number to Google Voice. Buy a $50 device from ObiHai or similar equipment which picks off your google Chat as voice, this device is connected to your LAN and it is basically a simple VoIP. Then when you get an unwanted call, go into the Call Management options in Google Voice and BLOCK the number from calling you. The caller will get the usual British accented message that this number is not in service, etc. Clean, neat and it works!

Although we no longer receive a lot of these kinds of calls because we got rid of our land line, I hit on something very easy to do with our cell phones. When I receive this kind of call, I add the number to my contact list with some kind of designation (the name, if I know it, or some characters like "xyz") and then set it to NOT ring or in any other way let me know this party is calling. My husband and I do this on our cell phones and it has worked out very well, and it's free!

Bob,

>>>> Political speech is sacrosanct under the First Amendment, so campaign-related calls and calls regarding political action will keep coming until the First Amendment is amended.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and similar laws in other democratic countries, forbid “abridging the freedom of speech”.

Alice’s freedom of speech should not be interpreted as her right to compel Bob to listen to what she has to say at any time she chooses to exercise that sacrosanct right.

Bob should have a similarly sacrosanct right to refuse to listen to Alice.

I have a cordless phone system from Panasonic that allows me to block up to 250 phone numbers. I have been using it for about 4 months and have about 50 blocked callers already. This phone has definitely cut down on these nuisance calls.

Contact all your Congressional representatives and make a strong argument for closing the loopholes in the Federal Do Not Call law and for encouraging the FCC to be more aggressive in cracking down on the scofflaws. This is IMPERATIVE, as we have another election year coming up. Be sure to mention that political speech in the form of unsolicited robo-calls SHOULD NOT be protected speech. This is a disincentive to register to vote. If the candidate (or one of their innumerable PAC shills) wants to pay a human being to make these calls, fine. You can be nasty to those callers and tell them to remove the number from their lists (then they have to).

And here is a tip for when you do get unsolicited calls: Ask the caller to hang on because there is someone at the door - then just leave them hanging indefinitely! They will eventually realise that you're not coming back and hang up. But at least you've wasted some of their time and haven't had to listen to their sales pitch!

Or simply place the handset on the table, without saying a single word, as soon as you hear the start of a sales pitch. Again, they will eventually realise they are talking to thin air but at least you are wasting some of their time and not yours!

I just bought a new cordless phone from Panasonic KX-TG6512 that has "call blocking". You can store up to 30 numbers AND it works great. It also blocks calls from callers without a phone number.

Every time I get a call from a NEW telemarketer, I just block their number. And like I said before, it works great!

If you have a digital phone plan, and your provider supports it, you can activate "simultaneous ringing" and then sign up with a website called Nomorobo.com
Nomorobo has a data base of rogue callers and when one calls your number the phone rings once and the caller gets a message to not call. Very effective!!!

Using CID, any number I do no recognize, I pickup and disconnect. Only takes a short time until there are no more calls from that source.

My Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S3) has a reject call feature that lets me block up to 100 numbers AND all calls where the caller ID is "unavailable." I can also block all numbers with a certain beginning, such as all 800 numbers. And I can block individual contacts, which I use if I exceed the 100 auto-reject limit. (At the moment, I'm block 95 numbers.)

What about the "ProCallBlocker V2.2"???
It cost $60 incl. S&H and can block 1500 numbers.

http://procallblocker.com.

You can also block area codes and/or prefixes for those calls that are "PRIVATE" and some that are "UNAVAILABLE" where you do not know the full tel. #.

The caller is dumped with no explanation after 1-2 rings.

Verizon digital service in the Verizon Fios bundle will let you block all anonymous calls.

Verizon will let you blacklist up to 10 phone #,s.

Verizon will also let you set up a "do not disturb" for any hours during the day you do not wish to receive calls.

I use that for my second line which I only use for lengthy outgoing calls so as not to tie up my regular in/out phone line.

What's your take on this info??

P.S. I think you forgot about political calls which I also blacklist.

Another great hot topic, Mr. Bob Rankin.
But I think it will remain "hot" for eternity or as long as there is a profit potential and consumers need to communicate [which ever endures longer!].
I wonder if it would be relevant to provide a FREE web service called NoMoRoBo (http://www.nomorobo.com/), here. It allows call blocking per individual phone numbers that a registered user inputs to the NoMoRoBo server, for users own account.
Although I registered for a FREE account with them, I have some trust issues (right or wrong) regarding whether I want some server to monitor all my incoming phone numbers and calls... We are continuously being deluged with all our phone calls being monitored/recorded by too many vested interests, the government and the federal law that mandates that all incoming/outgoing phone numbers to be retained for as long as 18months... Please notice that I did not bring the current NSA snooping into this post >> Ooooops! ;)

I use Google Voice to block received calls after determining for sure if they are a telemarketer.

I have been using PhoneTray Free v1.39 for years and it can effectively block most unwanted phone calls, especially 800 numbers. You can add any number to your block list.

I long ago learned that with the Do Not Call registry the exception was the rule. Almost anyone can get around it and some just ignore it. The simplest solution I found was a $15 answering machine. I NEVER answer the phone and all my friends know that. Start speaking and if I recognize the caller I'll pick up. 9 times out of 10 the offenders hang up as soon as they hear the answering machine.

Great article, as always Bob.

But it doesn't help much here in the UK. I'd love to sue the socks off 'em. We get around 3 calls every day and although I have Caller ID, 99% of the calls are "Out of Area" (meaning from somewhere abroad) so cannot be traced.

If, as I always do, I demand to know their name, company and phone number, they just hang up. I could, apparently, get these calls filtered out but that requires another, extra, subscription and I think: Why the hell should I be forced to?

My cell phone is not a smart phone, so doesn't have the options that are available with them. Some time ago, I began using YouMail (www.youmail.com) to handle my voice mail service. Instead of unanswered phone calls being routed to my AT&T voice mail, they are routed to my YouMail voice mail service. The free YouMail service has a lot of options for handling calls, including the ability to play the "this number is out of service" message, followed by hanging up, on unwanted numbers and/or blocked ID callers. Since I began using YouMail to manage my voice mail, I have noticed my unwanted calls drop dramatically. The ability to "ditch" these callers seems to have gotten me off of these caller lists. YouMail also has a paid service with more features, but I've not tried it yet.

I get a lot of calls from "Out of Area" or "Unknown". Is there anything that I can do to stop these calls. I have Verizon landline service.

You didn't mention if there is way to block unwanted calls for Windows Phones. I've noticed this before in a couple past articles that I never commented on. I get the fact that WP phones are not as popular, but they are gaining ground especially with the Nokia 520/521 which is the top selling smartphone right now only because of the 150 dollar list price which also makes it the cheapest price too.
Can you tell me if there is way to do this on my WP. Thanks Steve

Do you realize that corporations buy the 'no-call' list so they can have real phones to call!!! Yes, many people never received these cold calls until they signed on to the list.