Call blockers

[Shade Tree Guy]

Nope, because unwanted e-mails aren't against FCC rules (AFAIK)

[ItsJoanNotJoann]

I've had one now about 3 years and couldn't do without it. If it should die on me I'd be online buying another one pronto.

The instructions are not fabulous but easily enough to be understood and it has cut those robo calls to almost nil. When a new one arrives it immediately gets blacklisted.

[ItsJoanNotJoann]

I'm sure Nomorobo is fabulous but your local phone company has to offer/subscribe to it for a person to use it. My phone company does not, thus the Pro Call Blocker.

[trader_4]

If you're willing to change your phone service, Ooma VOIP has extensive call blocking choices, everything from your own personal list, to one that Ooma generates, etc. You'd have to get their premier service, which is about $14 a month. The eqpt is $120, or there ones available on Ebay for half that.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Dan Espen:

They probably tell you on the web site, but just to prime you.... NoMoRobo requires that you have two extra-charge features on your phone: CallerID and Simultaneous Ring.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per KenK:

My little personal obsession is that Challenge-Response is the only workable solution - for now.

e.g.

"Ring, Ring" (but the phone's ringer is silent at this point)

"Hello, this is the Smith's. Press 1 for Joe, Press 2 for Sue..... and so-forth"

Ideally, you accompany that feature with a Gold List so that known callers do not get the prompt and the phone just rings until you or the answering machine answers it.

Either way you need to train people you know to press, for instance, "9" or "88".... or whatever to make the phone ring.

Depending on how it's set up, failure would flip the caller to an answering machine or just hang up on them.

Yeah, it's a hassle.... but so is a 5:1 ratio for junk calls to legit calls.... and I am about *that* far from implementing it via my VOIP provider.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per ItsJoanNotJoann:

If you have a broadband Internet connection you are not limited to your phone company.

You can install a little black box between the phone line and your Internet connection and subscribe to a Voice Over Internet Protocol service.

That's what I do for my outgoing non-800, non-911 calls.

Incoming are still via the phone company, so my phone number is registered with them.

One gotcha is that you have to set up the box. Not rocket science, but it does take some reading of instructions and time.

My little black box is a LinkSys SPA3102.

My VOIP provider is CallCentric.com.

Anybody wants my setup parms for the box, let me know and I will post them.

Both have been working for about five years with only the occasional (as in 2x per year) need to unplug the box and then plug it back in again.

Only reason I have kept the phone company account are doubts about 911 service under a VOIP provider and the chance, however small, of something going wrong with porting my phone number from the phone company to the VOIP provider..... And I suspect my doubts are misplaced.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Frank:

- The phone companies are making money on those calls.

- Things get more complicated when those calls originate offshore and go through multiple VOIP relays. (whatever *those* are.... but I've got a half-dozen lame letters from the Pennsylvania AG's office citing that as the reason they no longer can do anything.

OTOH, I have to think it's a money/resources thing because it would seem that they could set up honey pots and prosecute once money changes hands.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Don Y:

I have always suspected that telephone solicitor calls to cell phones of people in various European countries (where the caller pays for the air time) are rare.

Anybody know ?

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Don Y:

That is the most sensible-sounding solution I have heard so far - from anybody, anywhere.

"Sounding" because I have no clue as to the technological or political (think industry "lobbying") ins-and-outs of it.

[Dan Espen]

As I said, works for me.

They get the block list from the users. Like me.

If a call gets through and it has a legitimate number I enter it into their block list, through, what they call the "dashboard".

Since they have lots of users, and approve new entries pretty quick, I'm getting a high effective rate.

Unless they change the number on every call, nomorobo will catch up.

For a while, I was getting robo calls from the same exchange that I live in. I use Verizon's block list to block them as the telemarketer is impersonating some neighbor and I don't want nomorobo to block a neighbor. I haven't seen one of those in ages though.

I can assure you, the service is far from useless.

[sms]

I have RingTo VOIP. I guess they have a call blocker because I get very few junk calls, as long as I wait until the third ring to answer. You can also add specific numbers to block.

Plus RingTo is free. Only have to pay $12 per year for E911 service. Plus the start-up cost of an Obi SIP adapter. .

[Frank]

I, too, have gotten calls from myself.

Wife gets mad at me because I often pick up and become a loose cannon.

Never know myself what I might say.

She tells me I could go to jail for asking to speak to a white person or something like that.

I tell her that if they come after me, I will be called a national hero ;)

[sms]

[Muggles]

LOL I like you're approach!

[Laine]

I've been using CPR Call Blocker for a couple of years now, I'm very happy with it.

[Cindy Hamilton]

I dumped my landline and put my cell phone on "airplane mode" at bedtime.

Cindy Hamilton

[DerbyDad03]

Is that the poor man's version of the Mile High Club? ;-)

[Dee]

KenK wrote in news:XnsA58863D0E8C5Einvalidcom@130.133.4.11:

I get maybe one or two unwanted calls a month, mostly from area codes I haven't blocked yet.

I bought an Ooma Telo and subscribe to their Premier service which includes NoMoRobo as well as custom blacklisting using wildcards for number (but not name/C-ID). The Telo was $120 (now $110 on Amazon), and the Premier service is $14/month ($10 + $4 taxes).

Dee

[Dan Espen]

Actually, not extra charge with FIOS. The service is free. The sign up process checks to see if your phone is suitable.