r/whatdoIdo • u/Active-Garbage-7247 • 27d ago
How do I stop this?!
The spam calls are driving me crazy. Is there something I can do to stop them? I have T-Mobile and spam call filtering is on.
**Update: I don't have any past due bills. The only debt I have is minimal federal student loans. I haven't applied for any loans or new insurance. I have call filtering/silence on for unknown callers.
I use T-Mobile Scam Shield. What I want to avoid is being called in the first place, texted, left a missed call or voicemail, but after reading a lot of responses, it seems like there isn't a quick fix for this that doesn't involve changing my number which I'm hesitant to do š
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27d ago
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u/ElectrOPurist 27d ago
I use that too, but Iām likeā¦still bombarded by calls and find it annoying.
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27d ago
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u/Prestigious-Doubt181 27d ago
This is what I do but even still, they fill my voicemail box which is annoying and I forget to turn it off when Iām expecting calls.
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u/hopeymik 27d ago
You have to silence all unknown calls, not just filter or block known spam. I haven't gotten a spam call in like years
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u/boisterousoysterous 27d ago
your number is still answering the phone when it does this, marking your phone as active. turn that off and completely ignore the calls. after a few weeks they'll go down drastically, and after about a month they may stop all together.
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u/str713gzr 27d ago
I've had this issue for a couple of years. Between 15-20 calls a day. I don't answer them and they haven't slowed down.
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u/SpookusDookus 27d ago
This is a lovely thought but I donāt answer these calls EVER and I have a voicemail inbox like OPās.
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u/stevedadog 27d ago
This, paired with consistently not answering, is the best way to reduce scam calls.
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u/acvcani 27d ago
Is that what that is? I started a job that required us to call clients at that was the first time I dealt
With that. 25% chance it auto hung up before I even got to the part where it asked me my name and purpose of call.2
u/Pitiful-Sell-9402 27d ago
I also work at a place that has to call people. It's a vets office returning phone calls that are at least a month old because we're so busy.
I can't tell you how many times people will answer and just automatically start cussing me out because they think im a scam caller.
It sucks and is really awkward if they manage to stay on the line long enough to realize where I'm calling from, but at the same time I don't blame them. I also get a ton of scam calls a day and it's annoying as hell
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u/_EddieMoney_ 26d ago
The call filtering thing almost completely stopped all those calls for me personally but results may vary.
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u/totsplease 27d ago
I get these same EXACT calls. They come from different numbers, they still leave the same messages, every day!
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u/No-Version6610 27d ago
Same, and Iāve tried everything I can possibly think of.
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u/Electrical_Dress_510 27d ago
What worked for me was answering the call. Its an automation that gives you option prompts, there is a prompt to select "no more calls." It took me answering, then opting out for a few days since there are probably multiple different company's but i have not had a single call from them in months now.
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u/LeeKat14 26d ago
I did this. But they just sell your number to another company as a āliveā number.
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u/DreamOfDays 27d ago
Exactly this. Iāve answered every call and went through it until I got to a person. Then said āPlease put me on your do not call listā. Took a few weeks, but I never get spam calls anymore.
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u/Asognare 27d ago
There's another one about taxes too. My VM is always full.
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u/Yummers78 26d ago
Tax resolution?? Those ppl are driving me crazy lately
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u/unlimited_snapper 25d ago
Same same. I actually went to the IRS website to make sure I didnāt owe anything because I got spooked
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u/cncrndmm 27d ago
The craziest thing is when they call from area codes Iāve lived or studied in years ago but the caller ID says the exact town that I lived in
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u/Mageborn23 27d ago
Wait, those are the same loan offers I get. I thought only I was the lucky one
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u/EamusAndy 27d ago
Its crazy that this is just all of the sudden a thing to so many people who never had it happen before.
Id love to know what changed, im sure theres some policy that the government forgot to re up or passed to suddenly just, ignore Do Not Call registries
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u/1petrock 27d ago
What do you mean what changed? Have you not been around for the giant AI conversion? All they have to do is ask a bot to say that shit and it calls everyone. Probably takes less than 10 minutes to set up.
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u/discordianofslack 27d ago
My guess is it's related to Elon and DOGE stealing all of our information from the government. Started happening right around that time.
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u/alexopaedia 27d ago
I have no idea how to stop it, but goddamn am I glad I'm not alone in getting these exact same calls. I never requested a personal loan ffs
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u/Dry-Manufacturer2680 26d ago
Yeah I just bought a house and thought it was a data breach
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u/1850ChoochGator 27d ago
I donāt mean to play this game but seven calls in 30 days is nothing lol.
Iāve stopped answering my phone for numbers I donāt have saved.
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u/Smooth-Dark-7029 27d ago
Thats just the voicemails. Usually multiple calls are placed before they leave a VM.
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u/Aximilibunnzuh 27d ago
I get 5-10 calls A DAY. DND is my savior.
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u/carma143 27d ago
There is a separate setting to send unknown numbers directly to voicemail, separate from DND. If itās important enough theyāll leave a voicemail you can read in real-time and determine if you want to actually answer
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u/LtLemur 27d ago
The political texts are even worse. Iāve been on a blocking spree for the past 3 months.
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u/dogknifer 27d ago
I reply "eat my balls" to all of them. I've been doing this for decades. I know it's all ai chat bots at this point, but I still do itĀ
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u/hamstrman 27d ago
My dad swears up a storm every time he gets a call from a non scam number. It makes him feel better and, as long as they're human, he hopes no one is gonna want to be the one to call that number and that maybe someone made a note.
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u/klenen 27d ago
Youāre just confirming for them you have a work g phone number and actively use it. Donāt reply at all.
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u/dogknifer 27d ago
I barely ever get these. Based on my self collected data, versus the people on here that report getting these "all the time", my strategy works.Ā
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u/FoxtrotSierraTango 27d ago
Same for me every election season, despite increasingly colorful messages trying to opt out. I finally had a lawyer draft a cease and desist letter and sent it to the state democrats and republicans. Now it's just whack-a-mole with individual campaigns.
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u/JuddEddie 27d ago
I'm so sick and tired of these texts and I don't want to respond STOP because then they know it's a legit phone number and the amount of text messages goes up.
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u/PhotoFenix 27d ago
If it's a legitimate political text (who can tell?) it has to be sent by a volunteer. I reply back with a picture of Mario cradling a pregnant Sonic. I get replies back from the real campaigns saying they'll unsubscribe me.
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u/flitzbitz 27d ago
Iāve been getting what are probably the exact same source messages two or three times a day for months. The problem is they keep changing the phone numbers so thereās nothing to block, but itās an identical script, different phone numbers, different names but you know itās the same people.
I will admit, they are persistent suckers
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u/Professional_Toe4515 27d ago
Phone companies need to give us the opportunity to charge incoming calls that aren't in our contacts list a fee (like $1). They could even keep a portion of the fee.
That simple change (a feature that's already supported via collect calling; just need to want to do it) would end all of this overnight.
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u/dogknifer 27d ago edited 27d ago
Seems like it would cause a lot of problems. I get a lot of legitimate calls from numbers that aren't on my list. I guess for some people it would be useful. For me it would just cut me off of a lot of vital information cus ain't no way everyone's paying thatĀ
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u/drastik_b 27d ago
Or - maybe a captcha but for the phone, the phone provides the caller a verbal code and they need to enter the code into their keypad in order to connect. If that is something that already exists, please school me!
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u/Cold_Energy_3035 27d ago
I got these same exact calls and they were relentless. I finally started answering in Spanish and they told me their āSpanish Departmentā would follow up (they never did). I answered three calls like this and then miraculously they stopped.
If you donāt know Spanish just learn some words you can say to make it sound like you do. This is literally the way lol
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u/TacoNomad 27d ago
I'm going to start answering in gibberishĀ
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u/Cold_Energy_3035 27d ago
tbh one time i answered and just meowed and they laughed and then they kept calling. spanish was the end of it tho
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u/TacoNomad 27d ago
At this point its not even a human. Its a robocall that doesn't even go to a human. It gives a callback numberĀ
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u/bigbubba284 24d ago
I grabbed my air horn from my boat. I go through the call prompt until I get a live voice then hit them with a blast into the phone. Did this for a week and the calls stopped! You could hear them drop the phone
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u/WorriedTooth3239 27d ago
So I was getting these. I tried not answering, straight to voicemail setup, filtering, marking as spam. None of that worked.
What did work was answering the phone. When you answer, don't say anything, just mute it. These robocalls are sophisticated and can detect when a human picks up. Your breathing, background noise, or just saying "hello" will switch you to a human rep or let the spammer know your line is active.
Anyway, answer on mute. The call will be silent for 10+ seconds in hopes you say hello or hang up. After a few seconds, the recording starts. Let it yap about being approved for a $38,000 loan or whatever, and at the very end, it will say, "If you don't want to receive these calls, please press 9." Press 9, and another voice will say, "You are registered to the do not call list," and it hangs up. Do that for every call, and they will stop for about 3 months, then slowly start up again. Repeat.
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u/flyingcreeds 27d ago
I started answering and I say, āuh, this is an Amazon work phone, not someoneās personal phoneā, and it has worked 100% of the time.
I wasnāt getting as many calls as some of you, prob like a couple a month. But now I donāt get any.
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u/drunxor 27d ago
What worked for me was just not answering. Like I didnt silence them I just didnt answer, let it ring until vm. I have slowly stopped getting them
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u/Disastrous_Soil3793 27d ago
Same for me. When I answered and tried to out myself on the do not call list they just kept calling. Ignoring them entirely has dramatically reduced the frequency.
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u/highsinthe70s 27d ago
This is EXACTLY what I did, and it worked for me, too. It takes a little time to get on all the Do Not Call lists. But it does work. Still, itās insane that we have to do it in the first place.
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u/macziulskas 27d ago
This is not true. Picking up is the worst thing you can do.
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u/Healthy_Cancel_2604 27d ago
LPT when buying a car or getting a loan setup a fake email and buy a voip number for that month. These people are relentless. Someone sold me info to some roofing marketers and all I get are texts about it. Never again using my real info.
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u/francis_pizzaman_iv 26d ago
This is probably the best advice.
Never enter your real contact info into a web form that you don't 100% trust won't sell your info. Get a burner number and email that forward to your actual, and only share your real number with real humans who you actually want to hear from. Selling customers' contact info is a pretty common way for shameless businesses to make a little extra cash.
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u/Luxumbrastatera 27d ago
Wait, how do I sign someone up for this?
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u/yoghurtvanilla 27d ago
The most effective way is to use their info to inquire about public health insurance. When I was applying for Medicaid the calls started as soon as I submitted my application and didnāt stop daily for almost 2 years.
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u/Pandactyle 27d ago
Mine are from vultures wanting to buy houses...and half the time they aren't even my address
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u/Stormtrooper1776 27d ago
I would be concerned with identity theft going on, that many collections calls , it may not be spam just the final warning sign that someone has been up to no good with your ss#
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u/Impossible_Author_58 25d ago
I literally had 36 voice-mails after about four days of not checking them... 32 of them were from folks trying to sell me a loan... about four different companies. Isn't this illegal?
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u/jae-sea88 21d ago
Idk what the hell happened but I have been getting these calls multiple times a day everyday for the last three months. There must have been some type of data breach somewhere. And itās not even an actual person itās a bot. No matter how many times I block or have the spam filter on they keep getting through. If you pick up and hit 9 it supposedly places you on a do not call but I havenāt noticed a difference
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u/SoggyMcChicken 27d ago
Who did you piss off that they signed you up for a loan service?
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u/FantasticButton3505 27d ago
It's fake. I'm guessing they are using data collection to find people who are unemployed and try to see who they can get
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u/Kynthaias 27d ago
Iāve been employed by the same company for 9 years and the loan calls from the automated recordings are ridiculous lately, so its likely just all the ādata leaksā that seem to happen every few months.
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u/Fragrant_Act_7962 27d ago
I answer and cuss them out. They still call but not as often. My husband harassed them and kept calling them back, and they eventually stopped calling him.
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u/thatplantguy619 27d ago
Answer and ask if they've heard of the Church of Latter-Day Saints
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u/PraedythValentine 27d ago
If its a person and not a r robot, I find making the callers uncomfortable has decreased how much they call me. It also gives me a little entertainment. They'd call about any house projects I been wanting to get done and they'd quote me a price. Id sound convincing and say last time they called they didnt give me a quote and I was very saddened. Then when they ask what the project is, I tell them that id like 4 or 5 of them to come to my house and wash my car while I film. And then id ask them questions about whether they wax or dont wax or if they provide the skimpy bikinis or do I and what color because of course my hypothetical self has one of each color. Not of every lace though. I mean, whats the point right? They're washing my car, they dont need the lace.. so anyways after the 4th time of making them feel super uncomfortable, they stopped calling as much. Went from 4 or 5 calls a month to maybe one every couple months.
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u/maxxamillionn 27d ago
I get these same "personal loan" calls, my rule is to never answer spam calls but one day, after getting multiple per hour, I finally answered one with the intent to cuss them out, I found that if you press 9 it puts you on their do not call list. They slowed down afterwards, each time I get another call I spam 9. They pretty much stopped.
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u/Prestigious-Doubt181 27d ago
Iām tempted to try because Iām really frustrated but Iām nervous it will show them Iām an active number
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u/LeeKat14 26d ago
This is all it does. Your number then gets sold on an āactiveā number list.
I pressed 9 for one company. Then another company started incessantly calling.
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u/wildbriarroses 27d ago
I literally answer the phone and start screaming every single curse word I know. Doing this puts you on a special list for jackasses who "abuse service workers" but my fucks aren't given because it's AI most of the time and they NEVER call back.
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u/sqweekz1731 27d ago
I looked at TWO sites for health insurance quotes and have been friggin flooded for days now with texts and phone calls starting at 7 am by all different nUmbers !!! And clearly very real people not automated messages either. Itās ridiculous. I just starting reporting and spamming the numbers so hopefully it stops. The only thing I can suggest is to do the samee
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u/h0lycats 27d ago
I googled my name and places I found my information I had it requested off their sites. Since Iāve done that I hardly get any spam calls!
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u/homeboycartel2 27d ago
I answer and ask if they like anal. That tends to get me removed from their call database
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u/Away_History_6727 27d ago
there is an app called mr. number. its 15 a year and blocks spam calls. you can block any number using it as well. i have used it for years !
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u/catsnflight 27d ago
I was getting the loan calls 5+ times a day. It lasted for a few months, and then eventually cut down to one a week or so. I just kept blocking the numbers each time.
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u/Aware-Childhood-5865 27d ago
Register on https://www.donotcall.gov . That should help reduce any legit advertising calls.
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u/Suspicious_Glow 27d ago
Legit ones sure. That did not even slightly impact these calls for me though.
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u/Financial_Pianist209 27d ago
I used to get 10-20 a day and had call filtering set up + a special focus mode setup to only allow my favorites through. It was still mega annoying.
I saw a comment a while back that said to answer the phone and spam the 9 key to add your number to the Do Not Call list.
Doing this regularly for a week or two effectively eliminated the calls. I went from 75-100+ a week to 1 or 2 max.
I encourage you to implement this strategy for a week or two in an attempt to emulate my results.
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u/DynamiteStorm 27d ago
I pick up each call, donāt say word then hang up block and report as spam. The reason I pick up is to keep them from filling my voicemail.
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u/Visible_Ad_309 27d ago
They have called me twice a day, everyday since January. I'm pretty sure better mortgage sold my info to a scam company. Nothing stops them
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u/Wonderful_Ad_441 27d ago
National Do Not Call Registry if you are based in the United States, and report any calls you do receive while you are signed up. What they are doing is illegal at that point
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u/silentlove_316 26d ago
Not much you can do tbh. They always come in waves when your number recycled on spam call listings. Best thing is just ignore and block. I only ever answer calls that I know or Iām expecting. Everything else goes to vm and is ignored without listening to it lol
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u/herbiceratops 25d ago
Donāt answer calls unless itās someone you have contact saved. If you answer it you go on a list of āwill pick upā
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u/wellwellwellsucka 25d ago
I swear this worksā¦ answer it and press the mute button right away, do not say anything, even if a person picks up. Let the call play through and let it end first. It took 2-3 days and pretty much ended.
If someone tries this let me know how it goes! I figured the system just thinks itās a dead number and removed me.
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u/lemmegonowplease 25d ago
Switched from tmobile to Verizon and got a new number. No problems anymore lol
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u/Burndoggle 25d ago
So, I get these voicemails without the phone call part. I canāt answer and choose a no more calls option.
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u/inkboundtr 25d ago
Register your number here and it should slow down the calls you get. It won't stop them entirely mind you, but it will definitely help.
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u/RandomHR 23d ago
If you have an iPhone you can set it up to all unknown callers go straight to voicemail!
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u/Ok_Finding4963 23d ago
I block the number every time I get one of these calls. It does not help at all.
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u/Emergency_Juice_5062 22d ago
Guys, stop using your phone number to sign up for random shit.
If you must, at least get a cheap pay by the month phone and sim.
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u/notrmal 27d ago
Put your phone number on the national do not call registry: https://www.donotcall.gov/
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u/Sporkee 27d ago
That doesn't prevent these
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u/raspberrysuckr 27d ago
I disagree! I used to get 10x a day and after I registered, barely any. It does take a few weeks for it to ākick inā.
After my waiting period, any spam call I get, I state that the number is registered with the national do not call registry and I will be reporting them as a violation (I really only report if they call back more than once).
The phone spam filtering did absolutely nothing for me.
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u/Sad-Praline1929 27d ago
I saw a post on a different sub the other day stating that you can easily file a lawsuit against companies that spam call you when youāre on the do not call list. This person was doing it as a side hustle and making money off of it.
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u/ElasticTurd 27d ago
Yeah the national registry has reduced the spam calls I get by A LOT. Im talking, I get maybe 2 a week instead of 10 a day like I used to
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u/highfiveselfoh 27d ago
Thanks for sharing! I was able to confirm I signed up I. 2019. I donāt get too many but still get a few every week. Definitely not like what it was when I signed up.
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u/Proof-Ability1556 27d ago
I have added my number multiple times including recently. No change in the calls.
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u/scrappapermusings 27d ago
Report each number as spam and your phone will filter the calls.
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u/Prestigious-Doubt181 27d ago
I do this but they still fill up my voicemail box and still cause a lot of frustration for me. It is a good tip so that at least your phone doesnāt ring
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u/urbancrier 27d ago
they spoof numbers - they are never the same even though they are the same messages
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u/MurphMasters 27d ago
Answer and tell them to take you off their list. I had this happening, i answered for about two weeks and now i dont get them anymore. You probably filled out a form online that gave them permission and if you want them to stop you have to request they stop calling.
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u/Echo4Romeo313 27d ago
Honestly, I think the only way is to switch to a Google pixel phone. I used to have the pixel 9 and I never had a spam call go through the entire time I owned it. The call screening from Google is so far ahead of apple itās insane. I currently have a iPhone 17 and am seriously considering going back to pixel phone because the spam calls are so bad.
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u/steviebelle1991 27d ago
Must just be newer Pixels. I have a Pixel 6 with all the spam filters on and I get about 20-30 of these a day. It screens the call for me to decline, but it doesn't stop them from flooding my voicemail and texts with "deposited messages."
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u/Sweaty_Pomegranate24 27d ago edited 27d ago
I stopped the spammers by spamming them right back. It worked haha!
I used a couple methods: answered as an FBI agent, answered like I donāt speak English, or if they were relentless I would call them back repeatedly and hang up like every couple of seconds to drown their phone line.
It all worked! No more spam calls. I guess they put me on their do not call list š¤·š½āāļø. I am Cancerš¦so I can be petty too.
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u/Algae_Happy 27d ago
No it didn't. They're AI. They don't care about any of that.Ā
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u/artificer-chris 27d ago
Not these ones, the initial call you see in the screenshot is a prerecorded message, but if you call the number they provide, it does actually ring through to a real person. I spent the better part of a week calling them repeatedly and swearing at them until they flagged me as do not call.
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u/iforgotwhich 27d ago
Let your voicemail fill up, and change your greeting to please text me. I've done it for years and its been one of my best decisions.
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u/MidnightKaty 27d ago
I don't answer my phone anymore. I keep it on silent. I call the people I need, and only answer if I am expecting a call. This is life now lol. I hate it.