Just got a call from 415.742.8805. No one there. Blocked now. The person prior to me (I got his phone number; how lucky of me) did not pay his bills. Now I have the luxury of having to field his bill collector's calls.
This is a yet another spoofed number (they seem to have quite a few!) for an outfit called Diversified Consultants, Inc. which is a company based in Florida and specializes in collections for the telecom industry. They use spoofed numbers with the same area code as the receiver of the call in order for the receiver to think it is a local call and deceive him/her to pick up. Additionally, they often spoof the number of the receiver himself/herself. They use predictive dialers (google it) and that explains why when picked up, there is usually no answer. They call and try to collect on old telecom bills and often call numbers that have since been recycled to new owners and cause major nuisances to current phone owners. There are MANY complaints about this biz on BBB and other consumer orgs. Best to just block.
.... which disproves nothing of Willy's story. The local number ruse is a common tactic from lawbreaking collectors trying to muscle their way to the top of one's attention. While the number(s) in question may be genuinely occupied by the caller, generally at a cheap VOIP cost, the practice can be considered deceptive since DCI is not likely to run a call center in Willy's state.
} spoof the number of the receiver .... Best to just block
Hell, it's best to sue if they're desperate enough to try a Mirror Spoof. That's an easy §1692e(10) violation count all week long.
FTC and CFPB material on US federal collection law:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/search ... debt-collection
Yeah well I don't answer callers I don't recognize. For peace of mind in your life don't open the door unless you know who it is and treat your phone likewise, do not answer unless you know who it is.