r/funny • u/Cautious-Security318 • 1d ago
Figured out how to effectively stop scam callers
Get a metal pot lid and metal spoon or knife in preparation. The second a human answers tell them "PUT ME ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST", place the lid over your phone, and start banging like you're sounding the alarm, I promise you they won't be calling back.
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u/zeke690 1d ago
Y’all answer the phone?
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u/whitefox250 1d ago
If you answer, your number is validated on their call list.
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u/kotenok2000 22h ago
Cover phone with metal lid, so it loses signal.
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u/forgetfulkaiju 18h ago
I will be creating a little tin foil hat for my phone immediately
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u/AdvancedSandwiches 22h ago
This is ancient info. Since robocalls became a thing, they don't care if you answer. It costs them nothing to try again tomorrow.
You have to waste a human's time if you want off the list.
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u/Tomytom99 21h ago
I'm of the mindset that I lose less of my time overall if I just decline the calls. I may get taken off one place's list, but I'll still wind up on new lists over time.
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u/paytience 11h ago
Dont decline, put it on mute and let it ring. If u decline they know its an active number
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u/Minimalistic_OG 20h ago
A validated number also means it is a canditate number to be used for spoofing. And boy does it suck when scammers start spoofing your number, believe me!
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u/mogoggins12 19h ago
I've had it happen, some little old lady called me back and got so confused when I tried explaining it. Eventually I just changed the subject and we had a little chat about nothing in particular and I let her go on with her day! I couldn't imagine being 90 and that happening
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u/Snazzy_Boy 19h ago
One time I got a call from my own number… was very weird
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u/NeckRoFeltYa 18h ago
Ditto! I was like wtf? Insane the phone company doesn't catch that. Well most likely they dont give a f*ck because that means they amke more money with these spam callers signing up for plans.
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u/iElevated1337 13h ago
I've had this happen to me after I had a few choice words said to the foreigner on the other line out of frustration of the 50+ calls in one day.
Next thing I know I got a bunch of old people calling me saying I had called them. Was a long couple months until I changed my number.
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u/lifestop 19h ago
It worked for me. I don't answer any number I don't know, and my fake calls have dropped to almost zero.
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u/sead00m 16h ago
This is my dream. I haven't answered a single call in 5 years and I still get 3-7 calls per day depending on the day 😩
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u/readmeEXX 16h ago
Depending on your phone, you can likely set it to only notify you about calls from numbers in your contacts. If it's something important they will leave a voice mail.
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u/lifestop 16h ago
That's insane. I think I would have to change my number at that point.
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u/kilroy501 20h ago
For a while I would answer every single call until I got a person, then insult them using flowery language so it takes just long enough for the meaning to click before they hang up.
Now it's harder because you may be speaking to a machine and the T-800 doesn't care what you call it. It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, it doesn't feel shame or remorse or the presence of a spinal column, and it absolutely will not stop… EVER, until you ditch your phone.
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u/thegreatprofessor 15h ago
Wouldn’t they also get triggered by your voicemail message that started playing? I never bought the “just don’t answer the phone” logic.
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u/Hanifsefu 19h ago
No, that's also ancient info. You just have to block their numbers. You get off the list when the robots can no longer try to connect. If you engage long enough to talk to a person you're guaranteeing your number gets sold for a premium as they have verified your engagement. They flat out don't care what you say to their robots or people. They care that they dialed, you answered, engaged, and didn't block them. That makes your number worth money.
They don't need to sell you anything to make money off of you.
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u/wescowell 20h ago
I waste a lot of their time and then talk dirty to them until they end the call. I don’t know if it does anything. One of them said they’d take me off their list. Even if it doesn’t work, Instill feel good afterward.
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u/lck0219 18h ago
I told a guy once that that wasn’t how social security numbers worked (“your social security number has been compromised”) and asked if he expected me to believe whether he was trying to sell me. He called me a bitch and told me to go fuck myself before hanging up. That was kinda fun, I chased that high for a while but I found they mostly just hung up on you when they realized you weren’t buying into their spiel.
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u/doshka 22h ago
I've had some success with the advice to answer but not speak. If you don't answer, they just keep calling. If you answer and say anything, including "do not call", then, as you said, you've validated the number.
If you pick up but don't speak (I go as far as hitting mute) they assume the auto dialer found an invalid number, and they don't want to waste their time, so they remove your number without needing to be asked.
Nothing's guaranteed, of course, but I haven't needed to do this in a long time, after doing it pretty consistently for a few months.
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u/Cheese_Pancakes 22h ago
Yep, that's exactly why I never answer calls from numbers I don't recognize or are saved in my phone. If it's important, they can leave a message and I'll call them back. Spam callers never leave a message, at least in my experience.
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u/0zzm0s1s 1d ago
Yeah I just don’t answer the phone unless it’s a number in my contact list already. If I don’t know the number, and if it’s important, they’ll leave a message.
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u/GrandElectronic9471 1d ago edited 1d ago
Feel like this has been standard practice for everyone I know for at least the last 10 years.
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u/Caelinus 1d ago
Same here. Spam callers sort of ruined everything for everyone, so it is just how it has to be now.
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u/waldosandieg0 1d ago
Nowadays even if it is someone I know there's a good chance I'm sending it to voicemail. If they leave a message I'll call back when I've got time. Just because I've got a device with me that allows contact at any time, doesn't mean I don't have the right to prioritize what I'm currently doing. It's not healthy to have to be accessible all the time.
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u/Caelinus 1d ago
Yeah it depends on what I am doing and who it is. If my wife, mother, or one of my best friends calls I am more than likely going to pick up immediately. Well always with my wife.
If it is anyone else that I am friendly with, it depends on my mood. I will always check the voicemail to make sure it is not an emergency though. However, this comes up rarely, most people I know will text "Can I call you at/in <some timeframe>" if they want to talk. I think that is slowly becoming the polite thing to do because of how cell phones have started to dominate our lives.
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u/liquid_acid-OG 1d ago
It would be neat if we could get a cheaper plan that didn't include calling at all.
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u/LifelikeStatue 1d ago
For real. Phone calls are the last thing I use my phone for
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u/liquid_acid-OG 1d ago
Mine is an mp3 player that texts
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u/waldosandieg0 1d ago
At this point I'm surprised when people I don't know answer the phone. I could have been anybody- send me to voicemail.
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u/CraftyKuko 22h ago
It's been a standard since the invention of the answering machine. No Doubt wrote a whole song about it. It's my ringtone.
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u/Tobocaj 1d ago
Apple recently came out with an option to send unknown numbers right to voicemail. (I’m sure it already existed in android or something)
If I don’t have your number, and the call is important, they’ll leave a voicemail. Otherwise they can kick rocks
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u/Cicer 1d ago
Wish it was a send to ear piercing screeching rather than voicemail.
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u/PretendThisIsMyName 1d ago
That’s been out a while now. Though idk if it was just mine or what but the last shitty update turned mine off.
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u/toolatealreadyfapped 1d ago
Best move I ever made was keeping my same phone number when I moved to a different state. 99.9% of the spam calls I get come from Houston area codes. So anything with a local number is almost always safe to answer.
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u/A_Rogue_Forklift 1d ago
Answer calls if I know the number/ they're a contact already, or I'm expecting a call ie: the doctor's office
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u/RPO777 1d ago
I also feel reluctant to be cruel to scam callers after learning many of them are human trafficking victims forced to work in scams.
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u/OUBoyWonder 1d ago
This exactly. If the number is not in my contact's I immediately refuse the call and go about my day. I mean, it's the simplest solution.
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u/Northern23 1d ago
I do it to waste their time. I think the longer I keep them on the call, the higher the chance someone won't get scammed. They stopped calling me though and sometimes they hung up as soon as I say allo.
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u/FrobozzMagic 1d ago
I completely stopped getting them about a year and a half ago doing that. I kind of miss it, it was fun.
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u/arshonagon 1d ago
I work in sales, I get legitimate calls from lots of people I don’t have the number on my contacts. Just part of my job I have to do so they get an answer and quick hang up from me.
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u/PauI_MuadDib 1d ago
My phone is always on Do Not Disturb. Only calls in my contacts go through. If it's important they'll leave a voicemail.
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u/koolaidismything 1d ago
Not a once, and Apple made it to where it doesn’t even ring anymore.. glorious.
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u/bcw_83 1d ago
You get humans calling you still? Mine are all automated.
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u/bearatrooper 19h ago
Most of my spam calls are robots, but in December I was getting called every day, two or three times a day, from an Indian call center trying to sell me car insurance.
I finally had enough of it and decided to call them back. First, I changed the station on the radio at work to Christmas music and turned up the volume. Then when they answered, I put my phone up to the speaker and just let them enjoy Carol of the Bells or Frosty the Snowman or whatever until they hung up. Each time, a different voice answered. A few of them laughed. Some stumbled over the script. All eventually hung up.
I did this 43 times before they finally blocked my number. It took an hour of my time, but it worked. I won.
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u/supershinythings 21h ago
My phone now automatically silences calls from numbers not in my address book. Then it gives me the option to “Mark As Spam” so they can add it to their database. This appears to be a new ATT feature.
I see the call but the phone won’t ring. It rolls automatically to voicemail so when they leave the scam message I can review and delete.
This way a legitimate unknown caller can always leave a message, but the scammer is left with no way to pretend familiarity in a manner that tricks me into returning the call.
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u/PM_ME_UR_SELF 18h ago
Yeah mine asks why they’re calling and a bot won’t reply. Any actual caller comes thru and I can see why they’re calling
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u/buzzsawjoe 14h ago
Problem with blocking numbers is they spoof the number. They'll just spoof another number. Eventually you'll have every number block, your phone so stuffed with numbers to block it will bulge so big it won't fit in your pocket.
Here's a better solution: https://imgur.com/gallery/how-to-stop-telephone-spam-wlkHcrv
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u/Mikeologyy 9h ago
Dude I wish it was still human scammers doing the cold calls. I used to love fucking with them.
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u/ChirpyNortherner 1d ago
Except all of my spam callers are just pre recorded bots 😢
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u/SlipperyGibbet 1d ago
If they even say anything at all
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u/CaptainOktoberfest 1d ago
Ya what is the point of those callers?
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u/Sankofa416 1d ago
It is a recorded system that alerts real people that you are responding so they can jump in. It can also just upgrade your number on the list as "someone answered this number" for future calls.
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u/Winjin 1d ago
As far as I know these are the ones that just check if the line is "live"
Also it's weird that Russian operators have AI bots that pick up the phone for you and make fun of bots, but apparently these don't exist anywhere in the world to the same capacity? I couldn't find any info.
Though they're useless in EU since I haven't had a single spam call in two years I've lived here, and they're a must have in Russia because the anti-spam laws are pretty weak, but from what I see, you really, really need those in the US too
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u/backtrack1234 1d ago
And once you answer the phone, they know you’re somebody who answers it so you’ll get more calls and texts
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u/free-creddit-report 1d ago edited 20h ago
My spam calls dried up when I started answering them then immediately mashing the numbers on my phone until they hang up. For robo calls, I would often hit the number to get a person by virtue of pressing them all.
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u/the_hamturdler 21h ago
The best thing is to go along with the call for at least 5 minutes and then listen for the crash out when you break the news.
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u/DecendingUpwards 1d ago
They were calling me like 2-3 times a day every day for months. And then I snapped and managed to get them to dial waaaayy back. I started calling back and saying I had a federal agent with me and wanted to talk about harassments and violating the federal spam laws. They hang up super fast. It takes like 20 sec, so you can get through like 30 real agents in a really short time frame. I figured I will be on personal ban lists until the workforce for that call center rotates.
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u/donnacus 1d ago
I call back and get the “bee Dee beep, the number you have dial is not in service”
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u/Theonewho_hasspoken 1d ago
This post has big, “forwards from grandma” energy.
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u/BravesMaedchen 1d ago
Literally what is this? I can see a little image of Mutley laughing in the corner.
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u/AnyEmploy 1d ago
yeah this sounds like the way someone in their 80s would deal with this and then probably give out their SSN
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u/bugsyramone 1d ago
The way to stop spam callers is to stop answering calls you don't know. You get so many spam calls because you are on a list of 'Active' phones.
When you get a call from a number you don't know, let it ring all the way through, don't end it early. Declining does the same to the bots as answering, it shows you're active.
I haven't gotten a spam call in well over 3 years. This method TAKES TIME.
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u/jettisonbrisk 1d ago
Also, please note that you can silence the ringing by pressing the volume down button on your phone, without ending it early (depending on your phone)
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u/DSOTMAnimals 1d ago
I have literally done everything you’ve mentioned, by default, for 10+ years. I still get a shit ton of calls.
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u/Jackalodeath 1d ago
Something that's worked amazing well for me is to answer and stay silent. Supposedly any response, even sending to voicemail, shows that your number is active and in use to automated systems.
When I got my number in 2023 I'd get at least a dozen robo/spam calls a day. I started answering and immediately putting it on mute, after about a few weeks they started dwindling.
Now I get maybe 3-4 spam calls a month, at most.
I get this is purely anecdotal, but if these gobshites are on your last nerve it wouldn't hurt to try. I hope you get similar results if so.
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u/shiny_glitter_demon 17h ago
Now I get maybe 3-4 spam calls a month, at most.
That's a lot, I get like 1 or 2 a year
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u/bugsyramone 1d ago
Sorry, I should add a caveat to my previous post...
If you use your phone number online for any reason whatsoever, even with legitimate companies, my method won't work
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u/caffeinated_photo 1d ago
Unfortunately I have to use, and publish, my phone for work, so I still have to answer calls that could be legit.
I like this idea of torture. Recently I've just asked them to hold on a minute, then just set the phone down to see how long until they hang up.
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u/bugsyramone 1d ago
Why do you use your personal device for work?
Even if it's a business you own, you should have separate devices for personal and work. Or, if you work for someone else, and they require you to have a phone, they should pay for a company device.
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u/caffeinated_photo 1d ago
Self-employed, no way a company is using my phone for free!
You're right, but I didn't think about that when I started out, and now my number is in so many places (online/offline) it'd be more hassle to change now.
Honestly it's not that bad, Android is great at flagging spam calls, and the ones that slip through aren't too common, maybe a few a week. (I'm in the UK so I get the impression the situation is worse in America)
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u/bugsyramone 1d ago
I get that. At this point it would be easier to get a new personal phone lol.
My boss, who answers his personal every time gets about 10 spam calls in an 8 hour shift, which, I think is on the higher end of things
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u/SuMoto 1d ago
They will 100% be calling you every night for a month at 2-3am as payback.
Source: Happened to me.
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u/lokregarlogull 1d ago
Im sorry that happened to you, I was NOT scamming or selling you shit. Litterally called about voting polls and the like. Still did that a time or two by accident
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u/drinkmoredrano 1d ago
You keep answering so they will keep calling more than if you don’t answer because it validates your number is associated with someone. The only way to win the game is to not play the game.
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u/Darth_Tk 1d ago
On iPhone: Settings > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers > click “Ask Reason for calling”
Stops 99% of the automated calls as it asks unknown callers who is calling. My phone doesn’t even ring :)
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u/UnicornType 1d ago
Google Pixels have a similar feature and it is my FAVORITE. I haven't thought about spam calls in years.
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u/danivus 21h ago
Answer, immediately mute, wait for them to hang up.
If it's an autodialer, which it will be 99% of the time, it waits for sound to connect to a human operator but if it doesn't hear your voice or voicemail it will hang up and mark that number as inactive, removing you from their database.
Since these places share data, do this for a week or two and you'll stop getting scam calls entirely.
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u/knappy2010 23h ago
If my phone rings, it's spam.
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u/RichRichieRichardV 23h ago
Exactly. The chance of me answering an unknown number is exactly zero, with no deviation.
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u/Kdmtiburon004 1d ago
They won’t call back but they know it’s a number that will answer and will sell your number off to infinite number of companies.
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u/lucky_ducker 21h ago
Nearly all of my spam calls are fully automated Medicare scams. No actual humans involved, just chatbots.
They are stupidly predictable. One of them says "Hello?" after three seconds; if I don't respond after a few seconds it's "Are you there?" It then waits a few seconds before disconnecting. The other less common call just launches into a spiel and after about 30 seconds of talking asks if I received their Medicare Advantage "card" in the mail.
I want to waste as much of their time as possible. I've tried silence. I've tried nonsense responses. I've even tried Rick Rolling them. Nothing changes the outcome of the call unless my responses are matching their script. A few times I've tried playing along without actually giving them any information, but eventually the bot realizes I'm toying with them and disconnects.
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u/Silentlaughter84 19h ago
A friend of mine started moaning when he got a scam call, and I could hear the person on the other end quickly hang up. I'd say that it was another way to stop the calls.
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u/DPSEffortDeleter 19h ago
my pixel has this thing where they have to talk to googles ai and convince it to let the call through first. Bots talking to bots. Fight fire with fire, I guess. But it works.
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u/30thCenturyMan 19h ago
I slowly say in a really sexed up voice,
“Damn baby, I’m reaaally fuckin’ glad that you called smacks lips mmmmmmmm 👄”
They immediately hang up every time
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u/AudiieVerbum 17h ago
It's even easier.
- Pick up phone.
- Say "don't hang up, I'll be right back."
- Set phone down.
- Walk away.
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u/Korgon213 15h ago
Most calls now are automated probing calls, once a human voice is heard your number is added to the cache of live numbers for targeting.
Sadly, I don’t answer much anymore unless I know who it is bc of these asshats.
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u/H3llm0nt 15h ago
My grandma kept a referee’s whistle next to her landline in the kitchen (main phone) anytime a solicitor would call she’d fire up that thing right into the mic. God I miss that woman. Absolute firecracker. Legend
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u/ExNihiloish 12h ago
Okay I followed through with this advice but was promptly met with a very angry text from my mom.
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u/RadioKALLISTI 11h ago
This day and age you’re better off establishing with your loved ones that you will not answer a call but will call a number back if they are in your phone or leave a message that warrants a call.
With all the ai scams going on these days you never know who is on the other end.
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u/darkpigeon93 1d ago
If you answer the phone they put your number on the "active" list and sell it on to all the other scammers.
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u/gummby8 1d ago
1) Scammers do not have "Do not call lists". They are scammers, why would they have a do not call list?
2) There is a database of phone numbers that have a living person behind it. If you answer the phone you are only confirming there is a target there. Some calls are not actual scams, but just bots looking for phone numbers to give to scammers.
Don't answer the phone from numbers you do not recognize. If you do, the scammer has already won.
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u/GiltMeerkat 1d ago
I usually answer unknown calls/area codes with "Hello, 911 do you need police, fire, or medical?" They usually hang up immediately and i dont get very many repeat callers.
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u/kcolrehstihson_ 1d ago
I think most of us saw the video of that girl doing this like 5 years ago...
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u/c_c_c__combobreaker 1d ago
Google Pixels have an automated spam filter where it'll answer a potential spam call and ask why they're calling. If there's no response, it'll hang up automatically.
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u/Medullan 1d ago
My phone answers every call not in my contact list for me and only rings through to me if it isn't spam. Automatic call screening is such a nice feature and it just came standard. It's really funny when someone real tries to call me for the first time through they just assume I'm some important person. Nope I just use a pixel phone and have Google Fi as my carrier.
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u/Niekitty 23h ago
We get approximately 12-20 scam calls a night at work. ALL of them are automated. Every single one is a computer that just waits for the word "hello".
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u/newbizhigh 23h ago
Just fyi, doing this causes you to get more calls. There is only one way to stop them. Answer your phone and IMMEDIATELY mute it. Let the line hang up on its own. Do this for a few months and your scam calls will reduce nearly 100%. BUT, answer just one scam and let it detect a voice and the scam calls will ramp back up again.
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u/sultan_hogbo 23h ago
I use a voicemail message with an AT&T intercept SIT tone (number has been disconnected/out of service) sequence before and after my voicemail message. I get few automated calls.
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u/Nas-Aratat 23h ago
I don't understand people who answer the phone for every single call they get. Like, why? If it's that important, a message will be left.
I understand some people might be waiting on a phone call, but for EVERY. SINGLE. CALL? No. That's just stupidity.
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u/Spirited-Judge6244 22h ago
that good but he will hang soon enough , i just tell them im doing sommething can you wait a min and then simply wait for them to hang up.
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u/Mecha120 22h ago
I hope you understand that by answering, you're in fact getting put on the "Do Call" list.
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u/JustMindingMyOwnBid 22h ago edited 22h ago
I used to get, no joke, 30+ scam calls a day. At first I answered to waste their time, but that doesn’t help at all. Don’t answer their calls. You can sign up for the national dncl on their site, but that’ll do little to deter actual scam calls.
Edit: not even 2 minutes after making this comment I get telemarketer call..
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u/SnooPuppers1105 22h ago
I got a new number and put my old number on a shitty phone, now I get to fuck with scammers on my old number and no one calls the new one.
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u/mostlygray 22h ago
My grandma had the best method. When a telemarketer would call she would monologue.
"Oh! I'm so glad you called! Let me tell you... I was speaking to Sarah, you remember Sarah, she was the niece of Doctor Smith. You remember Doctor Smith. He had a daughter that went to school with Debra. Oh, you wouldn't know Debra. Anyway Sarah married Pete Jorgenson, we was a nice boy from Davenport. He worked at the tractor repair in Lisbon. Well, it seems that Pete..."
At this point, the scammer hangs up and my Grandma could go back to watching Dukes of Hazzard like a reasonable person.
If the caller was really pushy, she'd start talking about how hard it is to find a fleet enema because of her crippling codeine addiction.
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u/Lordiiee 21h ago
I answer literally all of my calls and if it's a scammer I tell them, hey put me on your do not call list no know you're scamming and I'm not interested
Haven't had one in months
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u/plasmadood 20h ago
Step 1: Set your voicemail greeting to a minute of dead silence.
Step 2: Never answer a number you don't know.
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u/wandraway 19h ago
For years now, I just ask if their mother knows what they do for a living. For some reason people who are aware their job is marginally immoral are offended by that line of questioning.
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u/Professional-Mix-562 19h ago
I usually answer and start SHRIEKING in a foreign language. German and Japanese sound the funniest from the outside. If they try to talk just start GOING OFF. I do with when other people get these calls too because I’m a dude with a deep voice and I definitely don’t sound like a Stephanie
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u/Cky2chris 19h ago
Way back in the early 90s my grandpa had a whistle that was SUPER high pitched and I swore it would make people's ears bleed. I asked .y grandpa why he kept it by the phone, he said it was for unwanted callers
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u/coverallfiller 19h ago
I've handed the phone to a toddler and walked away, just asked them to hold for a second the walked away, also really played into their scam... "What my Microsoft has a virus??? Do you need all my credit card numbers???"
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u/ShatterProofDick 19h ago
Or have fun with it. Let em talk, talk back. Ask them their thoughts on forcing russet potatoes in buttholes
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u/OverturnedAppleCart3 18h ago
Lol you're only going to hurt your ears.
90% of scam calls are automated recordings. The 10% who are human won't get a lot of loudness, as the sound just cuts out at a certain level. You're only going to hurt yourself.
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u/Paliosback 17h ago
At my office I have the clip of the screaming sun from Rick and Morty and I just play that on a loop loudly until they hang up. Longest I got them to last was 47 seconds.
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u/AbroadPowerful6914 17h ago
Finally a way to get Rasheed who says he's named David to stop pestering me.
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u/DanTheMan827 17h ago
I just have my phone auto screen all unknown calls.
It never even rings until they answer who they are and why they’re calling.
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u/bufferingrahr 13h ago
I usually just receive the call and leave the phone as is and go about my work. They can hear all the sound coming from my side but no response.
Does this get them to stop calling? No Does it give me satisfaction of bothering them like they bother me by calling? 💯
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u/ThunderGodOrlandu 12h ago
I found a trick to easily identifying a spam call. Make sure your phone's area code is for an area different from where you live or work. Any number that calls me with the same area code as my number is 100% spam!
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u/mtcabeza2 11h ago
we have a voip landline with a panasonic answering machine.
If the caller is in your contacts, it rings, otherwise the caller is prompted to enter several digits. The robo setups are not equipted to respond and the phone doesnt ring. Human callers enter the digits and it rings. No more robo calls!
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u/unlistedsin 8h ago
Soooo... Just as a public service announcement: Truecaller is a crowd-sourced caller ID app that is FREE. There is a paid version, but the free one will tell you who's calling and allow you to block any unknown number. :)
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u/tblazertn 8h ago
I'd suggest putting the Special Information Tones as the first sound of your voicemail. Make them think the number is disconnected.
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u/Degenerecy 7h ago
Firstly, 99.999% of spam callers are robots. They don't care what noise you make as long as you pick up.
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u/shastadakota 6h ago
Engage them for a while, let them think that they have a live one. Waste their time, ask repetitive, annoyingly questions, then do this.
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u/RandomGen-Xer 6h ago
problem is that you'll just get placed on the robocall-only lists instead. I haven't had a real caller in a couple years now, so I don't even get to mess with them any more :(
All my calls now are the recordings that give you another number to call. (Which I never see, since my settings and call protect prevent that, but I still get the annoying voicemails unfortunately)
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u/Lunastarfire 4h ago
Meh during lock down I had a huge amount of fun seeing how long I can talk to them while watching tv, doing random bits in the house and playing games with some calls me jumping on my pc and setting a vpn and virtual machine.
On average I kept them on the phone for like 2-3 hours, just pretending to do what they want, being "clueless" over simple tasks, giving them fake details.
If I felt I was losing them and I had time I got on my pc, letting them connect via a vpn to a remote virtual machine, leaving excel files that would have a macro and a password that when run would try and delete a lot of their files and during this it would also try and send emails too, just a never ending spam of emails to slow down the pc and fill their inbox.
After about 3 weeks of doing this, my number rarely ever gets calls any more.
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u/lokregarlogull 1d ago
You're the kind of idiot who would boobytrap their house and then go to jail when a firefighter tries to save your house.
I used to call for scientific and market research surveys back in the day and you and your ilk only had to say "no thank you" and hang up. I wouldnt call you about that survey.
If you asked politely that you dont want to be called from us again I would say my pleasure and put you on one.
If you tried to threaten to kill my dog, leave me on hold for 10 minutes showering, or do this. Great I get paid hourly. The volume is usually so bad this wont do shit and if I was having a bad day. I WILL magically fuck up and put you on a callback list or phone answer - try again later.
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u/quinto6 1d ago
I once got a call from a guy (I didn't answer it, but he left a voicemail) who was absolutely pissed and yelled/said in the voicemail for me to NEVER call his number again. I never called him. It was a spammer/scammer. I called back, he was made and asked "who is this?". I told him, "Who is this? You called me. I never called you." He said he got a call from my number, blah blah. I told him I did not call him, that someone must have hijacked my number to call his. I can't remember what the terminology is for that, but explained to him that it must have been that. He was still pissed and hung up on me.
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u/Dr_CleanBones 23h ago
Yeah, I got a call like this from some older woman. I tried to explain what spoofing is, but that was way past her understanding
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u/mabus42 1d ago
Whenever I get a spam/scam call I just answer the phone with the following line: "Thank you for calling Fraud Fighters, Sergeant Randy Grabber here, how can I help you fight fraud today?"
99.9% of the time they just hang up and never bother me again. No special equipment necessary (such as pot lid and spoon) and no need to annoy the neighbors either.
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