This has been going on for years. Back in 2005(ish) I purchased an answering machine with call screening capabilities so I could see the number of the caller and hear the voice message as it was being left, which is probably standard issue nowadays. The machine didn’t come with it’s own robovoice telling people to leave a message though, so I had to record my own, which went as follows: “Thank you for calling. We can’t get to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number we may get back to you. If however you are selling, preaching, advertising, seeking donations, or conducting surveys, tell someone who cares.” Needless to say, it was an instant fix. If someone did leave a message I could hear it as it was being recorded and could pick the phone up if I wanted to before they hung up. Not once did I ever get a recorded message from anyone in the “tell someone who cares” category. Pretty much the same with the phone we have today, but the robovoice with the generic message does the job.
Another technique that worked a charm.
What I experienced is being hounded by debt collectors who are trying to get their payment faster. It was hard especially when you have current financial problem too. As for scammers, it is easy to identify them so I just block their calls.
A few years ago I got a phone message from a debt collector asking to call back urgently. It scared me as I didn’t know if it was a scam or an Id deft.
I looked up the agency on line to make sure the call was genuine and called them on the listed number and not on the number they had messaged.
It turned out they were looking for someone who had had my landline phone number previously.
They agreed to take it off their register and it’s been fine since.
If it was a debt you owed, it can’t really be called a nuisance caller, can it?
I’m fed up with pestilential callers who dont leave messages. I used to block all “private” numbers because 99% of those were scammers or cold callers and I dont want to talk to them. Neither do I want to have to access my voicemail when they dont leave a message. Alas, I have also had calls from local medical services which end up blocked, and I need those, oh why is there no way a local call can be separated from anything else, when its “private”. ARGHHHHH.
That is a key question. In my case I would block all overseas calls and 97.34% of my problems would go away as there is nobody OS that I want to talk to. I am told it can’t be done with current tech - I am not qualified to know.
I expect this a result of the rampant scamming, spamming and spoofing on our phone network, people just don’t pick up calls from unrecognised numbers.
Professor Brett Sutton said up to a “third” of people are not picking up the phone when authorities try to inform them that they may have come into contact with the virus.
The article did not comment on whether messages were left, or ‘not picking up’ implies the receiver refused/blocked the call or blocks all ‘private number’ calls.
Many government departments, state and federal, and some large businesses are all guilty of ‘private numbers’ that in the end only serve to isolate themselves from their constituencies. They could have a generic number attached to a voice messaging system minimally announcing who they are if called back, or recording the persons name and number for a recall.
My wife was listening to the Victorian CMO on TV today when I overhead him say something to the effect that residents will know when the Health Department has called them as it will be from an unidentified number.
I could not believe this stupidity as a huge number of people will not answer unidentified or private numbers for good reason.
If this the best they can do, little wonder they have such a crisis on their hands.
Both my wife and I received unsolicited text messages yerterday from +61473041254 (0473 041254) claiming to offer a “free” electricity and gas bill comparison.
A Google search of the number found this result.
https://www.reverseaustralia.com/lookup/0473041254/
I loved this comment.
Caller: 0473 041 254
“They’re at it again. Spam txt offering a “free” comparison for electricity bills - and we’re off-grid and have been for 15 years!”
I’ve had various foreign accented women calling me (sounds like call centre background noise) over the past week from a range of landline and mobile numbers about the government solar rebates, wanting to know if I had solar panels. Despite me telling them that it is none of their business (I’ve been off-grid for 29 years!) and that I am on the DNC register, they continue to call. The company is Green Home Services.
I’ve reported them to ACMA/DNC, so I’ll have to wait and see if it makes any difference. They did try to call again yesterday, but the DNC people may not yet have contacted them.
It won’t. I think this one is a phishing expedition that will continue to ignore the DNC register.
Does the DNC also apply to text messages?
Both my wife’s and my phone are on the DNC Register.
The answer is no @Fred123, from the FAQ at the DNC Register site:
"
Will registering my number stop me from receiving SMS Marketing?
No, registering your mobile number will not prevent you from receiving SMS marketing.
SMS marketing is covered by the Spam Act 2003 . The Spam Act also regulates the sending of commercial emails and other electronic message types such as MMS and instant messages.
If you would like to lodge a complaint about the receipt of spam, or to obtain further information, you can visit the ACMA’s website. "
You can forward SPAM SMS text messages to 0429-999-888 to report them.
You can forward SPAM emails to report@submit.acma.gov.au to report them.
Every once in a while I receive phone calls from dubious people saying that I have qualified for a government solar rebate or something, and they need to confirm a few details. Noting that it could be a SPAM caller the usual response is “I am not saying” to their questions and soon they get the hint and hangup. Another number to block. If I want to buy solar panels then I will go to a reputable supplier in my local area rather than a fly by night outfit that happens to call me out of the blue.
In this latest report of scams their doesn’t seem to be any mention of ensuring authentic caller ID’s although they ground breakingly (sarc) state “recognising the majority of these calls come from criminals overseas”.
2+years later – some advice via a fluff piece.
Nuisance call? Gently put the phone down, leaving them talking, and walk away. You can hang up later.
