CONSTANT spam Calls. What can I do?

Wish in one hand and shit in the other

You answering the phone is the thing that keeps them calling back. If you ignore spam calls, the ignoring (plus blocking numbers that call) will diminish the number of calls. (Same with spam emails - if you try to unsubscribe you just get more phishing attempts - not answering will eventually make them go away.)

I know you say you have to answer the phone for work, but is it always different callers with work? You can add some work contacts to your contact list so you can clearly tell when a colleague is calling.

Alternately, I'd try to find out the state where Select Quote Insurance is domiciled and send a complaint to both their state attorney general and yours (if different) saying you're being harassed and you want it to stop.

Talk to your phone provider if they have any call blocking ability. I once called T Mobile about rogue calls or texts and they must have done something because it has gotten better

Check if something like this would help

I have a crazy idea for you.

Turn those calls into cash.

So, if you are on the Do Not Call registry, there are big fines for calling numbers on that list. A violation of the Do Not Call (DNC) provision of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) can be up to $43,792 per call. The fines for violating state Do Not Call rules can vary from $100 to $25,000 per call.

Find out the company making the calls (or sponsoring the calls) and send them a demand letter. You should force them to settle for $1,000 or more per call.

They are SPAM calls. Tell them to fuck off and end the call. Why be polite?

[quote] Why be polite?

I'm guessing OP is a boomer/over 60.

There's a strong ethic that's been drilled into people of that age or older to be unfailingly polite.

I usually get possible spam warning on my cell phone using AT&T. Do you have a landline, Op?

Yeah, Boomers are surprisingly credulous. I have witnessed my Boomer parents be taken by scammers more than once. I don't get it. These people don't care about you, they want to SCAM you.

Um, way to generalize, R9.

And people your age are idiots.

R10 Who has to pick up the pieces and try to protect these idiots from scammers?

My theory is that Boomers were of a very lucky and prosperous generation - everything went well for them - and that's why they're like this.

Blocking calls does nothing. As OP said, the callers are spoofing numbers.

“I’m calling the state attorney’s if I receive any further calls from you!” “DO IT DO IT”

i use AURA on my iPhone and computer...it works well

OP here.

I am 40 years old. I know. Ancient.

And yes, I was still taught to be polite. Like I said, the people making the calls are just trying to earn money in a country where things can be pretty rough. No need to be nasty with them,. I want the names and addresses of the American companies that hire them for pennies to circumvent DNC lists. And I want THEM to suffer.

And yes, I did try a spam blocker, but it occasionally decides local numbers are spam calls. The spoof numbers are also usually numbers I would answer for work.

They’re trying to scam you out of money.

There is no call to be polite.

R11, I am a "late Boomer," i.e. Generation Jones, and very well educated, but neither prosperous nor lucky. Still, I have not been scammed and as long as my mental faculties are intact, I probably won't be -- because I'm not an idiot.

Idiots come in all ages. And chances are good you're one of them because, according to you, both your parents are. Perhaps you should ponder that as you sit at your desk and pretend to work.

Do not EVER answer the phone unless you know who is calling.

Ever.

Under any circumstances.

I didn't mean to generalize (no intentions to go all Boomers! Are! Bad!) but I stand by what I said at R7.

It isn't meant to be a negative or said in a pejorative way, just an observation.

In my experience, observing a lot of older people and seeing this topic on my own NextDoor feed, there is a certain sort of "respect authority and/or be polite" vibe that happens.

R19 Yes, stupidity. Even when you KNOW the person is a scammer. Why? What's the point?

R20 it's a cultural thing, a very ingrained response. That can be a lot to overcome.

As others have said, don't answer the phone.

That's really all you can do. Oh, and don't bother threatening to sue anybody. If that ever worked nobody would be getting spam calls now.

Whenever I’m frustrated by spam calls I finger fuck my ass.

They're neither as easy to find and a helluva lot more expensive now, but when we had a boat, I used to take one of these home and used it when unwanted calls came in. This was before caller ID or voicemail, so you had to pick up back then in case it was important.

Anyway, 125 decibels, even through the phone, is pretty loud and very effective.

"Hi, this is OP at Consulting Company LLC. I do want to speak with you, but I'm currently screening all calls. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message, and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your understanding, and have a great day!"

Problem solved.

this works wonderfully for me

[QUOTE]My theory is that Boomers were of a very lucky and prosperous generation - everything went well for them

Vietnam was a small, inconsequential "speedbump" in boomers' otherwise utopian existence.

I used to work in the survey research industry for a legitimate, nationally known company. After the advent of marketers' incessant calls, our response rates plummeted.

I'm fairly certain that marketer's use a similar version of the software our company used (CATI - Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing). Each piece of sample (a phone number) had to be tagged with a code (e.g. VM, fax #, busy signal, bad # undialable, completed interview, etc). Another disposition code we used was Communication Difficulty for respondents who were too out of it/not coherent enough (usually drunk) to complete the survey. This was a terminal disposition. The number was never called back. An option may be faking being drunk, mumbling a word salad, or maybe even just screaming into your phone. These places are mills and don't want to waste interviewer time or money dealing with crazies.

Along with LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, stagflation, inflation (thanks to Reagan when mortgage rates were over 10%) political assassinations (JFK, MLK, RFK) George Wallace, Bull Connor, and a truly shitty economy in the 70’s when a lot we’re entering the job market.

Boomers were indeed fortunate through no fault of their own, but hardly a generation for which everything “went well.”

R9, people get more gullible as they age for a number of reasons. It isn’t just baby boomers, it happens to everyone who gets old. It will happen to you, too.

My parents are boomers, too, but they have learned to screenshot pop-ups, emails, voicemail transcripts, etc. to pass along to me, and call me before they get sucked into anything.

“were entering the job market.”

Don't forget highjackings, r29. What a quaint terroristic activity that sounds like now.

OP please post your number so we can make sure you don’t get any more spam calls. We have a special way to do that.

[QUOTE]people get more gullible as they age for a number of reasons

Dementia and just run-of-the-mill cognitive decline associated with aging will do it. Some like my parents go to the opposite extreme with hypervigilance and paranoia. They changed phone # three times when marketers became a scourge. They didn’t understand why they kept calling despite me trying to explain why --- a computer randomly generates numbers, random digit dialing, but they refused to believe me, despite my knowledge of the industry via my job. They even started to believe people they knew were calling to harrass them.

Funny story: when they got a new mail carrier, he'd occasionally misdeliver mail addressed to the next door neighbors including utility bills. My parents honestly believed the neighbors (who are lovely people) were trying to get them to pay their bills!

Hello?

This is spam.

How can I make it easier for you to call me again?

Basically just be stupid. Be yourself.

That I can do!

R7 I’m 70. I never got that memo. Over 60’s were taught to be unfailingly polite?

Did you sleep through the Trump administration?

If they love you or you owe them money, they’ll leave a message.

Don't marketers usually leave messages, some that can be intimidating and alarming to the elderly?

Use the Bea Arthur soundboard to fuck with them.