Robo calls

[Econ]

The older I get the more I want to simplify things. The latest tech isn't interesting so I don't keep up.

A land line is a requirement. Cant avoid it. I am the family member who is called when an extended family member dies and is charged with letting everybody else know hence a public phone number.

Now getting about 15 telemarketers a day in spite of being on the do not call list for 15+ years. Maybe 1 good call a day.

Is there a phone system where if you arent on an approved list you can eat my answer machine and the phone wont ring? In the alternative, the phone voices out the caller ID so I dont have to walk over to the phone to read out the caller ID?

Thanks

 

[rsdata]

well I ditched the landline over a year ago
I did the setting on the Iphone to silence the phone ringer on calls NOT from anyone in my contact list. The message that is heard says: IF your not in my contact list I will NOT answer. Leave a message if you want a call back. Has been very effective in the past 15 months or so.

More to your situation... I know of at least two people that I call with landlines that have a message verbalized to the caller " please push 8 to verify you are not a telemarketer"... at which time if you push 8 then the call goes thru... if not... well I don't know what happens after that cause I'm not a telemarketer...

Ya... there are laws against telemarketing to do not call lists... how is that working for you???

 

[Anthony Hitchings]

get an iphone

and use the block unknown caller feature - it sends them directly to voicemail on your phone
(don't forget to set up voicemail)

get a kid to help you if needed

 

[LilRed]

You can port your POTS landline to a VoIP service (assuming you have a decent Cable or Fiber provider) like Ooma or even GoogleVoice and benefit from screening. But, its not POTS at that point as you want.

Have you called your phone company and asked about better filtering on scam/spam?

 

[LilRed]

You could also try one of these devices:

SENTRY 3.1 Call Screener, smart active blocking, block all solicitor calls, election calls, robo calls. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY0DXYH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_HA0T832SVD342VYZBHZ4

 

[rabird]

I have talking caller ID (recent robo calls from "united nations", "my actual last name!" )
I have 5 hand sets, this one below is a single with 150 number call blocking (I don't have that)
https://panasonic.factoryoutletstor...m.html?category_id=23516&catalogitemid=550072

 

[tfischer]

We carried (and paid for) our land line far too long, ditching it earlier this year. Why do you need it? Give people your cell phone number and they will call you on it.

 

[neighbormike]

Run a business... lots of phone phun...

 

[Econ]

Why do you need it?

A hundred years ago, most southerners were of simple means. They couldnt afford long distance. If someone died and the relatives lived far away they would call long distance to a relative, sometimes distance relative, and tell them who would relay therefore saving a lot of long distance. I represent the area that has most of the relatives and custodian of the family phone book. I am probably the last to carry on this tradition. My number is public so I can be found.

 

[tfischer]

I guess I don't get it lol. People who need to contact me know how to contact me, whether that be on a land line, cell phone, or otherwise.

 

[kitphantom]

We too still have our landline, for a number of reasons. I have switched a lot of things to my cell phone, which can be a pain if I'm waiting on a call I need to answer, because I have to tote the cell phone around the house. I can't hear it if I'm at one end of the house and it's at the other. That's balanced out by not having to worry if I'm out and about, or spending the day at my friend's house, as I do 2 or 3 times a week.
Our house phone, which has a base station and two hand sets, can be set to speak the caller ID. I don't have it on, my friend does, and trying to decipher what it is saying can be interesting. I do like having caller blocking. It holds up to 250 numbers, then I have to empty it and start again, but it does take care of repeated trash calls, if they use the same number.

 

[rabird]

my phone links to my cell phone so at home I just use the standard cordless handset to answer hard line or cell.
Quality is the main reason I still have a hard line to deal with businesses and long on hold times

 

[tenttrailer]

I just look at the numbers and decide if I will answer the calls. Being added on the federal do-not-call list use to work. Now the calls are being called from over seas. They are not concern about the $50 per call fine.

 

[Grandpa Don]

My land line if VOIP with Spectrum Internet. I get a lot of Robo calls every day. If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer. I also have a two cell phone numbers. One if from my work, and the other is personal. I get Robo calls every day on both of them. I have the ability to block phone numbers on my Android Cell phone. I'll bet I now have dozens of unknown phone number blocked in there. I don't even both anymore.

Sometimes I know they are Robo calls, so I just answer anyway and kid around with the caller. One time when I answered there was a guy on the other end. I started the conversation with:

"Oh man! Do you know what you just interrupted. I was just about to get it on with my wife. Do you know how long it takes me to get her in the mode. Now I have to start all over again."

You should hear them stutter and stammer. Then I will take the phone away from my mouth a little and say, "Okay dear, just a minute and I'll plug it back in after I finish talking to this nice gentleman."

About this time they hang up on me.

 

[Allamakee County]

You can port your POTS landline to a VoIP service (assuming you have a decent Cable or Fiber provider) like Ooma or even GoogleVoice and benefit from screening. But, its not POTS at that point as you want.

This is what we did. Google Voice, run through an OBI device, then wired to the house phones. I forget it's not a true land line because it acts like one. Cheap, too: once set up it would be free except I pay $15 a year for virtual 911 service. Not willing to skip that.

You can port your number that all the family knows to Google Voice, but it will take a while and involves several steps. Doable though.