danzingone wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2024 3:53 pm
Are there any "safe" ways to look up numbers online?
Maybe Sonic should publicize this more widely, so others can be aware.. Any other suggestions besides ignoring any incoming calls other than known IDs?
Meanwhile, the number of scam callers I get is far worse than before Stir/Shaken went into effect. Disappointing, to say the least.
I still do a web search for some numbers (it depends on multiple factors, including my mood), but I'm very judicious on which links I click. If it's to a well-known site, like 800 Notes, NoMoRobo, Robokiller, whitepages.com, etc. I may click on the link to see more of the report. For the sites I don't recognize, I simply glean what information I can from the summary placed by the search engine and stop there.
While I may investigate some of the numbers to get an overall sense of what kinds of spammers/scammers are calling me, I don't obsess about it. The fact is that our numbers are on lists that are sold and resold constantly, and that's out of our hands.
To reduce the number of scammers' calls that I actually answer, I have two tactics. First of all, the number that I share when I must (e.g., a merchant requires it to get service) is a Google Voice number, and Google intercepts a good number of the calls, routing them directly to voice mail. Secondly, the calls that get through, as well as calls directly to my cell, may be intercepted by my phone's (a Google Pixel) "Call Screen" feature, which roboanswers the call and asks for the caller's name and reason for calling. At that point, the phone's AI will decide whether to ring the call through or send to voice mail. If the Call Screen didn't intercept and I don't recognize the number, I can touch a "screen this call" button and go through the same process.
<Knocking wood> I am getting fewer phone calls these days, but I think it's because the scammers have realized that I'm not answering... they're probably frustrated that a human doesn't seem to answer. Periodically, I'll get a swarm of calls from a particular number or a series of similar numbers, but they get the same treatment, and within a week or so, they tend to stop. FYI, I also don't respond to scammers' text messages (e.g., no reply of STOP) unless I know for a fact that it is a legitimate business. I forward them to 7726 ("SPAM") and then tap the "block" button on my phone. Those tend to die quickly. ...cheers!
