One of the problems is that tele-scammers are able to spoof phone numbers. The scammers don’t care about the DNC list. Since the Caller ID phone number we see is faked, there’s no way for us to trace who’s really calling, and reporting a faked number to the DNC is pointless. The current solution is for us to get everyone to use “Call Reject” or use a silent ringtone for any unknown caller.
The long term solution is that the telecommunications industry should put a stop to spoofed and faked phone numbers.
Here’s The Solutions:
(1) Don’t answer the phone if you don’t recognize the caller’s number.
(2) Screen unknown calls with an answering machine or voice messaging service.
(3) If your phone has a “Call Reject” feature, activate it. My cell phone can reject calls by group, by all unknown callers, or by all unknown numbers. I reject all unknown numbers since I have all of my friends, family and contacts in my “Contacts” list.
(4) If you can assign ringtones to different contacts, assign special ringtones to your friends, family and contacts. Then change your normal ringer to a silent ringtone. Don’t lower the volume of the ringer, you must find or create a ringtone that is nearly silent and keep the volume high enough so you can hear the regular ringtones. I used Audacity to create a silent ringtone (generate 30s of silence, export to mp3).
(5) I turn off most of my VOIP and cell phones at night … only one line left open for emergencies, and only my close family knows that number.
I live in N.B. and got the call just minutes before 10pm. This was an automated call stating "you or someone in your family entered a contest online and had won just under $3000 in travel dollars". I hung up since no one in my family does stuff like that and even if it was legit I would hope that the call would not be automated or come at 10pm. This is just another sad attempt by dishonest people that don't want to get a real job to try to bilk money out of unsuspecting people. Scam. Please don't fall for it.
One of the problems is that tele-scammers are able to spoof phone numbers. The scammers don’t care about the DNC list. Since the Caller ID phone number we see is faked, there’s no way for us to trace who’s really calling, and reporting a faked number to the DNC is pointless. The current solution is for us to get everyone to use “Call Reject” or use a silent ringtone for any unknown caller.
The long term solution is that the telecommunications industry should put a stop to spoofed and faked phone numbers.
Here’s The Solutions:
(1) Don’t answer the phone if you don’t recognize the caller’s number.
(2) Screen unknown calls with an answering machine or voice messaging service.
(3) If your phone has a “Call Reject” feature, activate it. My cell phone can reject calls by group, by all unknown callers, or by all unknown numbers. I reject all unknown numbers since I have all of my friends, family and contacts in my “Contacts” list.
(4) If you can assign ringtones to different contacts, assign special ringtones to your friends, family and contacts. Then change your normal ringer to a silent ringtone. Don’t lower the volume of the ringer, you must find or create a ringtone that is nearly silent and keep the volume high enough so you can hear the regular ringtones. I used Audacity to create a silent ringtone (generate 30s of silence, export to mp3).
(5) I turn off most of my VOIP and cell phones at night … only one line left open for emergencies, and only my close family knows that number.
This is a fraud campaign currently active in Canada using a series of Iristel VOIP numbers. The objective is to obtain your credit card number and drain your account.
If you attempt to "opt out" your number will be confirmed as live and added to a suckers list for repeated future calls.