No there is no reliable list to check as spam callers do not use real numbers, they obscure them or fake them and change them often. They only look like Australian numbers. No your Telco cannot police them, in part because of the fake numbers. There is no simple way to create an accurate black list and I doubt they are much interested in trying. The DNC register is no use as the spammers just ignore it, even though they may look like Australian most are overseas call centres and are out of jurisdiction.
This topic has been brought up before, there is no easy and comprehensive solution to the problem.Most people who have the problem seem to use some variation on what you are doing. It works when the caller is known to you (on your white list) and the reply is not urgent but the problem of missing a genuine caller unknown to you or missing something urgent is still there. Ignoring those who conceal their number doesnât work either. I have friends who show up as PRIVATE NAME PRIVATE NUMBER. I have also got genuine calls from institutions such as hospitals that do the same. About the only good news is that spammers rarely leave messages and those you want to speak to do so you donât waste much time going through the message list looking for those to return.
Phone spamming, including con jobs, is like email spam. As the cost of initiating such contacts is almost zero making thousands of contacts on the chance of getting some money out of a small percentage of them is a viable business model.
We get so many nuisance calls now we donât answer the phone unless we know whose calling or there is a message left. The problem is that we may be missing important calls. Is there a reliable online telephone number look up service we can use so we can check who called?
As the nuisance calls are from Australian numbers shouldnât the Telcos be required to police them. I could provide a list of the so-called Telstra, Microsoft etc spam numbers.
We are registered with DO NOT CALL
If the caller has an id, just google the number in full (0XXXXXXXXX) or to see if it has been reported on one of several scam reporting websites.
With google.com.au it is also best to turn on âAustraliaâ only search so that you donât get hits from other countries. To turn the search to Australia only, click on Tools, then Any Country. Select Country: Australia.
Scammers donât look up Do Not Call register before making their scam calls. It would be nice if they did though.
The caller most likely will not be based in Australia. With making calls over the internet, it is possible to create oneâs own caller id. Scammers use caller ids to make it look like they are calling from Australia, increasing the likelihood of the call being (accidentally) answered.
It would be good, however, scammers are now using random id generators which often pick up real phone numbers. It is difficult to compile a list as it might end up as another whitepages of Australia.
True true. Still Iâll take a start at something over nothing - itâs been working for me so far (caveat - I only have a mobile. I gave up on having a landline 10 years ago when the spam began to dominate mine)
Look I hate to be simplistic about it. I know for some people itâs a real hassle. But for me itâs a good way to get all that old mans aggression out of me. I have lodged my land line and mobile with a database stating I do not want unsolicited commercial or charity calls. If I receive an unwanted and unsolicited phone call, either on my land line or mobile phone I am as rude as I want to be. I may curse and swear and even threatenâŠusually calls only last 5 seconds or so. I am retired so I do have a few minutes a day to spare.
I know Choice is doing its best to stop these calls but I donât see why I should be patient with these callers however worthy their cause.
I have had 6 calls in the last two days. If I do not recognize the number I donât answer any more. Scam calls from âTelstraâ telling me that my internet has been âcorruptedâ. I have had it up to the back teeth.
Today 24-05 -2018 I had 5 calls claiming to be Telstra btween 1.00pm and 1.30pm . On the last call I blew a high pitched football umpires whistle down the phone at them . The calls stopped .
I intend to buy a whistle next week. I actually counted 12 calls over the past 2 days. It is obviously near the end of the financial year for the charities, but the scam calls will be getting a blast. I have noticed some of the Indian calls are being routed through local numbers because occasionally when I call back I get a recorded message stating that the number is not complete or has been disconnected.
If you want to step up the ladder to where you are practically developing your skill at burning off these nuisance callers to an art form use a can of compressed air with a trumpet horn attached . They can be purchased online or at security industry supply centres as well . /
Iâve gone from 7 -10 calls a day to 1 in the last 3 days .
I have been having a little fun with some of the âTelstraâ callers lately. Today I was German; yesterday I just didnât understand anything the guy was saying. Mean, and it eats up their time to call others.
We do also have a whistle.
On the campaign front, @BrendanMays, how do you define what constitutes a call âasking for moneyâ? These âTelstraâ callers, for instance, have never asked me for money (although they would eventually). Similarly, I can see some loopholes for charities and politicians (who should be added specifically to the DNCR) to avoid âasking for moneyâ while at the same time getting the message across that - say - âchildren are going to dieâ!!!
My understanding is that the wording âasking for moneyâ is intended to catch any âsalesâ activity, so that if they are soliciting for any money at all then that would fall under the definition. Thereâs a neverending slipperiness to some of these type things, but really it should be simple - think âno junk mailâ for telephone calls
The âTelstra Technical Departmentâ has mutated to render horns and whistles less useful by using a recorded message. In some ways the perps are stupid in other ways a little clever. The new one is designed to scare you by saying your internet will be cut off. As well the voice is educated, female and sounds Australian, which avoids the foreign accent cue.
I havenât wasted the time to let it run all the way but I assume at some point if you fall for it you have to contact them when the whistle would come back into play.
Whistle is what Telecom (now called Telstra) advised people to use when receiving hassling calls and threatening calls.
The "guardianâ service was introduced for when people were getting threatening calls.
When people rang your number the call was intercepted and the operator asked them who they were and what number they were calling (and for what purpose), and if they didnât answer the operator would not put the call throughâŠ
I donât know much about the current guardian service - is it free? is it for a set time and then stops?
I tried the whistle twice this week. I donât feel happy about using it, but these operators must be aware that this is a scam, and it seems to be working. I have never heard of the guardian service, but canât see it working in this day and age. It would be expensive to run.
