# What's your SOP concerning scam calls? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2017, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344 "2017-09-26T12:11:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crazy\_Canuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazy_canuck/32/5282_2.png) [@Crazy\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazy_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/21 "2017-09-26T19:10:50Z")
Usually I just don’t answer and ignore them. However, at least once I have given the phone to a toddler and told them it was Santa. It was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/22 "2017-09-26T19:14:24Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > OTOH, I do answer calls from unknown numbers on my cell phone. If I ignore them, it goes to my voicemail and I have to listen to it in order to delete it. I find if you pick up and say nothing, the robocalls hang up (humans will say something). I have an app on my cell phone that simply hangs up on unapproved callers and doesn’t even let them go to voice mail. It only works if the phone is on, though. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/23 "2017-09-26T19:42:31Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > These days when I get a scam caller I usually just hang up, but in years past I would occasionally try to eff with them and lead them on like I was going to bite the hook but ask just one more question at the last second. I stopped doing this when I heard there was a way for scammers to use a recording of your voice for their nefarious purposes. > > I’m sure the right thing to do is to probably call the police when you get what you believe is a scam call, but I somehow doubt the police have either the time or resources to follow up on scam callers based on the number of complaints they likely get. I’d guess if they followed up on one out of every ten such complaint they’d probably be as busy as a switchboard during a natural disaster. Also, my guess is that caller ID offers police little help towards catching any scammers. Most are probably out of the country and out of reach of US laws. > > Maybe I’m too cynical about this. What do you usually do when you get a scam call? If I don’t know the caller from the ID I generally let it go to voicemail (if it’s not my work cell). If it still gets through, basically what I do is say hello, if I don’t get an immediate reply I hang up. If they still get through I generally cut them off as soon as they start their sales pitch and hang up. I generally get the most spam type calls on my work phone, and there I basically say ‘this is a government phone, please don’t call in the future’ and hang up if it’s spam. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/24 "2017-09-26T19:43:30Z")
> [@Crazy\_Canuck](#): > > Usually I just don’t answer and ignore them. However, at least once I have given the phone to a toddler and told them it was Santa. It was hilarious. I keep the barking dogs in the back in their own room so that they are less distracting to the groomers and myself. I’ve been thinking about adding a line in back there, so that I can “transfer” scammers “to the correct department”. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/25 "2017-09-27T14:23:05Z")
If I happen to have the ringer on (landline) because I’m expecting a call and it turns out to be a telemarketer, I pick it up and say, “Thank you for reminding me to turn the phone off” and hang up. I don’t get junk calls on my cell phone because I rarely give the number to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/26 "2017-09-28T02:30:51Z")
I no longer have a land line and the DNCR was limited to land lines only. On the other hand, the smartphone is able to identify any caller in my Contacts list, including the dozens of dozens that are associated with _Telemarketer, Unknown 001_ through _019_ So it’s rare that I actually end up answering a call from someone I don’t know or I’m not expecting. However, on those occasions in which I place some kind of service request and I’m expecting a call from someone previously unknown, my tendency is to answer the phone NOT IN ENGLISH. I began to notice that robotic callers seemed to key in on the two-syllable greeting – so “Hello?” and “Hola!” and even “Shalom!” all seemed to trigger the transfer to either a recorded message or a script-reader in some boiler-room operation. So now when I answer the phone I use the pick-up phrase from Russian (Ya sprocitye!) or Japanese (Moshi moshi!) or a greeting in Telegu (Namaste!) or even Hawaiian (Aloha!) and that seems to confuse the autodialer. I usually hear a brief pause and then a click as the line is dropped. I’ve never gotten a robo-call from the same number twice. I wonder if the auto-dialer is just moving along on the list or if it’s marking my number as “Not English-speaking; won’t understand the sales pitch anyway.” And, on the rare occasions in which someone I know was calling me from an unfamiliar number, they’ve recognized my voice and just laughed at the greeting as just another of Grestarian’s weird antics, then rolled on into whatever they were calling about in the first place. My boss used to answer with “Pizza Pizza!” in that goofy voice from the Little Caesar’s restaurant commercial. He said telemarketers would mark his number as a business line to avoid and friends & colleagues would laugh and roll into their planned discussion. –G! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/27 "2017-09-28T03:31:56Z")
I only ever get phone calls from people I want to talk to or robots, which are usually trying to warn me about the warranty expiring on my 16-year-old subaru. Those, I hang up on. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/28 "2017-09-28T08:27:11Z")
I’ve been living in a Sanctuary City. A call to the police reveals that that is not one of the crimes they enforce. Maybe that is something the Prez would like to tweet about. (I moved recently – I dont get them anymore) ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/29 "2017-09-28T09:39:51Z")
I don’t talk to scam calls because they never get through. We don’t answer the landline, period. Everything goes to voicemail there. I don’t answer the cell unless I recognize the number. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/30 "2017-09-28T10:19:13Z")
I rarely answer calls from numbers not in my contact list, and when I do, on the rare occasions they turn out to be possible scams, I just hang up. Yes, boring, I know. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/31 "2017-09-28T10:21:32Z")
if I don’t recognize the number that is calling, I don’t answer. if it’s someone who actually needs to speak with me, they’ll leave a voice mail or follow up with a text. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/32 "2017-09-28T10:43:59Z")
I have an app called “Nomorobo” that IDs and relegates to voicemail all calls from known spammers. It seems to work at least as well as any other “call blocker” apps I’ve used in the past. I also use the iPhone’s “Do not disturb” function, which blocks all calls, but I’ve used the setting that still allows calls from my contacts, essentially making it a whitelist. I pretty much just leave it on all the time, unless I’m expecting a call from someone that I know is not in my contacts list. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/33 "2017-09-28T10:53:26Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > I no longer have a land line and the DNCR was limited to land lines only. On the other hand, the smartphone is able to identify any caller in my Contacts list, including the dozens of dozens that are associated with _Telemarketer, Unknown 001_ through _019_ The National Do Not Call Registry is also for mobile numbers. > **[National Do Not Call Registry](https://www.donotcall.gov)** > > Register your phone number to report stop or block unwanted, annoying,telemarketing, spam calls, robocalls to the FTC ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/34 "2017-09-28T13:55:10Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The National Do Not Call Registry is also for mobile numbers. > > [https://www.donotcall.gov](https://www.donotcall.gov) The Do Not Call Registry worked really well for me for years. Then about 6 months or so my cell phone, which has been registered since the inception of the list, started to receive telemarketing calls, an average or 2 or 3 a day. I checked the registry and the number is still listed. I really have no idea why, I am wondering if some regulations were repealed or declawed but I haven’t been able to find any information. I usually just ignore calls from suspicious numbers ( strange area codes as well as calls from my area code with the same 3 leading digits as my phone number - that seems to be a masking tactic.) If one gets through I usually just hang up. I had some good one in the past though. Back in the day, when solicitors were trying to get everyone to switch phone companies, I would tell them when they called me that I didn’t have a phone. And when I used to get them at work I’d say " I’m sure we’d love to buy your product or service but you’ve reached our sales office. This request needs to go through our corporate office. Then I’d give them the number of a competing business. And recently I got a brand shiny new phone number when I got new cable/internet service. Within minutes, the phone rang. I picked it up and immediately went into hysterical ranting about how I know you’ve kidnapped my daughter I will hunt you to the ends of the earth you SOB, punctuating the rant with “you’re the only person that has this number”. The guy hung up but that was fun. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/35 "2017-09-30T01:04:08Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I have an app on my cell phone that simply hangs up on unapproved callers and doesn’t even let them go to voice mail. It only works if the phone is on, though. do you use apple or are you a droid? If you use droid, what is the name of the app please? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/36 "2017-09-30T04:32:00Z")
> [@guestchaz](#): > > do you use apple or are you a droid? If you use droid, what is the name of the app please? It’s simply called “Call Blocker No Spam Voicemail.” If you Google it, it’ll probably be the first app that comes up. It’s in the Google Play Store. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/37 "2017-09-30T07:15:12Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I have an app called “Nomorobo” that IDs and relegates to voicemail all calls from known spammers. It seems to work at least as well as any other “call blocker” apps I’ve used in the past. I also use the iPhone’s “Do not disturb” function, which blocks all calls, but I’ve used the setting that still allows calls from my contacts, essentially making it a whitelist. I pretty much just leave it on all the time, unless I’m expecting a call from someone that I know is not in my contacts list. We used to get tons, but when we went digital I got Nomorobo for the land line (which is free.) It doesn’t send the call to voicemail, it just dumps it. We have an announcing phone also, but so many numbers are spoofed to look local that listening to it doesn’t work all that well, so we just let it go to the answering machine - and they usually hang up at the beep. Mostly it rings once and then stops. Before we got Nomorobo I’d try various things with the Indian Windows company scammers. Saying nasty things about their mothers and the callers’ sexual relationships with said mothers got them really, really mad. That was the most fun. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/38 "2017-09-30T19:12:17Z")
We also have Nomorobo for our (Comcast) landline. Dumps robocallers so fast that they don’t even come up on the caller ID. Our [landline phone system](https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-TGE270S-Bluetooth-Cordless-System/dp/B00MWB8LO2) can also block numbers on its own, anything that gets through Nomorobo and is on the phone’s block list gets dumped when the caller ID activates. Shows up as “caller blocked” and the caller gets a message that we’re not accepting calls. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344/39 "2017-09-30T19:41:23Z")
My mistake. The caller ID displays the supposed caller as normal but there’s a little icon with it indicating that they’re blocked. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-sop-concerning-scam-calls/797344.md?page=1)