The spoofing spam calls won't stop!

January 31, 2019 3:00 PM

I've had a large increase in junk calls that spoof my own area code. I have some questions!

I have a phone with an area code, let's say 000. I haven't lived in 000 in over a decade and I don't actually know anyone in 000 anymore. For that reason, I know anytime I get a phone call from 000, it's either a mistaken dial or it's spam. Lately, the amount of calls I have been getting from 000 has increased exponentially. It seems to have coincided with my switch to Google Fi, which uses Google Voice as its basis. I feel like there must be a way to scrape numbers via Google Voice or Google Fi, because I'm getting a ton of junk calls. But here's the thing: it is a different 000 every single time. When I google the numbers that call, they are always listed as non-spam numbers registered in a normal person's name. This suggests to me that it's probably the same spammer or two, and they are spoofing a different, random 000 number every time. Obviously, they believe that spoofing my own area code is going to prompt me to want to pick up. I am fortunate in that I automatically know 000 calls are junk, but if I had a cell phone number in the area code I actually live in, this would be very inconvenient and very annoying. I never answer these 000 calls, they never leave a voicemail and they never call back.

I guess I have a few questions. First, is this a relatively new tactic? I've gotten plenty of spam on my cell over the years, but usually it was 800 numbers or random area codes. Now, it's constantly my own area code being spoofed. Second, Google Fi doesn't have a mechanism on its end to block all calls from certain area code. I'm sure there are plenty of apps that do this, but I thought I'd see if anyone has an ironclad recommendation from an app they've used. I definitely worry about an app not functioning properly and blocking other calls I want. Third, why has it increased so much since switching to Google Fi? I do feel it might be related to Google Voice but curious if anyone has info or similar experiences. It's really annoying and Google needs to get a handle on this.

posted by AppleTurnover to Technology (27 answers total)

I don't think this is Google Fi, I think this is what is happening nowadays. I have a (regular cell service) phone with an area code from two moves ago and I get around half a dozen spam calls from that area code per weekday.
posted by restless_nomad at 3:05 PM on January 31, 2019 [9 favorites]

I also don't think this is Google-related, because I don't use Google Voice/Fi and the same thing is happening to me. I still have the area code from the town where I grew up (a place I haven't lived since 2004) and I've been getting loads of spam calls from that area code lately. It's infuriating, especially because I actually do still have lots of connections there, so I pick up every damn time.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 3:09 PM on January 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

Yes, this is typical behaviour among spam callers right now, at least partially in response to ramped up efforts on the part of phone companies and regulators to block "obviously" spoofed numbers. Spammers used to use a lot of very fake-looking numbers for their call display, but those are being blocked so now they've switched to using really real looking ones, especially hoping people will think that it must be someone they know, since family members and friends often have similar phone numbers.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:11 PM on January 31, 2019 [3 favorites]

I have been on Fi for a long time and notice no more or no less spam than before. Do turn on spam blocking from the phone though. Phone App, three dot menu in top right, Caller ID & Spam, Filter Spam Calls. Lots of mine are blocked before ringing me with this. Some with the same area code get through though.

This is not one carrier or one area code, it's getting bad for everyone on every carrier I know lately.
posted by deezil at 3:12 PM on January 31, 2019 [4 favorites]

My work mobile phone, which 1) is from a state I do not live in and 2) is not Google-Fi gets numerous calls every day from the area code *and fort 3 digits* of the mobile number (which really makes it look like it is coming from a coworker since they got blocks of numbers when they started handing out mobile phones). I have a standing policy that I do not answer calls from numbers I do not have saved. Sometimes my calls leave a voicemail, sometimes they don't.

I really don't think there is anything you can do other than just accept you will look at the phone when it rings and either ignore it or hit the decline option.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 3:12 PM on January 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

I guess I have a few questions. First, is this a relatively new tactic? I've gotten plenty of spam on my cell over the years, but usually it was 800 numbers or random area codes.

One term you're looking for is "neighbourhood spoofing," which is increasingly in use by phone scammers and spammers. Some telcos are claiming to be taking steps to address it.

I haven't listened to it yet, but it just came up in my queue - the latest Reply-All podcast episode is about robocalls. A quick scan of the episode transcript (available at that link as well) indicates they talk about area-code spoofing.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:14 PM on January 31, 2019 [13 favorites]

As others have said, I don't think it is a specific issue with Google Fi; just the latest tactic for spammers to try and get you to answer a call. You didn't mention if you were using Fi on iOS or Android, but I have been using the free version of Hiya for a year or so on iOS (they have an Android version as well). It allows you to enter the first 6 digits of your phone number (which seems to be what the spammers use), and have it either blocked completely, or alert you that it may be a spam call. Aside from having to restart the app every now and then, it has done a great job of silently sending those calls to a black hole.
posted by shanewtravel at 3:15 PM on January 31, 2019

Yeah, it started happening to me very abruptly like 9 months ago maybe? Along with a lot of spam calls in general, but it's extremely noticeable to me because I kept my Fort Worth AT&T area code on my mobile but have not lived in it in over 10 years.

I have Google Voice with a local area code. I get some spam calls and some real bad spam texts periodically, but not spoofed-to-XXX (fake, sure, but not fake in my area code) and not at the volume of the other number.

I blame Facebook, personally. They had some kind of "breach" where they, you know, gave everyone's data out to the highest bidders including telephone number.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:19 PM on January 31, 2019

Response by poster: It could be coincidental, but this did start happening when I switched a month ago. It's a pretty stark difference from before the Fi switch and after Fi. Maybe there's some other event that triggered it, but I got a new phone and switched providers after Christmas, and the calls have increased from there.

Either way, it's driving me nuts. Even if I screen the calls, it's still incredibly disruptive. Anyway, I will not thread-sit. Thanks!
posted by AppleTurnover at 3:19 PM on January 31, 2019

My android phone allows me to set "Priority Only" rules under the Do Not Disturb options that mean the phone only rings/buzzes on calls from numbers in my contacts. Unknown callers can leave voicemail. It's easy to turn off/on if I'm expecting a call from, say, a contractor whose cell number I don't already have. It's been working great!
posted by momus_window at 3:23 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

One of the things that (highly anecdatally, your-mileage-will-almost-certainly-vary) helped me with this was never, ever sending the call to voicemail, or indeed interacting with it at all beyond hitting the volume-down button to silence the ringing - a tip that I'm certain I saw here on mefi in a previous ask, somewhere - as prematurely sending the call to voicemail confirms that a human is likely on the other end of the number.

(even if this truly didn't help, it still seems like good hygiene to me, for much the same reason that you never click the "Unsubscribe" link in a spam message).
posted by namewithoutwords at 3:27 PM on January 31, 2019 [3 favorites]

It's new-ish, but I and lots of folks I know have been getting this kind of spam for maybe four years now? I get multiple calls a day, which I never pick up. Occasionally they leave a message, which is obviously a recording but which carries some "humanizing" elements like ums and giggles and throat-clearing noises, talking about my "health care case" (I don't have a health care case) or my mortgage (which I have one of, but only as of a month ago) or my IRS case (again, nope) or whatever and trying to entice me to call back.

At this point, if you're not in my contacts then you can leave me a message and if you're someone I want to talk to I'll get back to you shortly. Otherwise, fuck off.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:39 PM on January 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

Anecdatally, in the past two years or so my cell phone has received a large number of spam calls from my exchange (same area code and same first three digits after the area code). But in about the past two weeks my separate Google Voice phone number has been getting many more junk calls than before, whereas in the past it received almost none of these calls compared to my cell phone number. These are just the same area code, not the same exchange.
posted by exogenous at 3:49 PM on January 31, 2019

See this previous question. Hiya is able to stop these calls from reaching me. I'm down from multiple spam calls a day to maybe 1-2 a week getting through their filters.
posted by karbonokapi at 3:52 PM on January 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

I switched from Hiya several months ago (it had stopped working) and now I use Should I Answer. I have it set to block all calls not in my contacts list. As a result the spammers are sent to my voicemail box, where few of them leave any messages.

This has been the only way to really address this for me.
posted by suelac at 4:16 PM on January 31, 2019

+1 for no issue with google relating to the neighborhood spoofing
+1 for using Should I Answer to block all calls not in my contacts. Whatever tool they're using to bother me must be paying attention to my exclusion behavior, because the calls went down from about 15 a day to maybe 2 a week.

As a side benefit, when people with genuine business do call, they leave messages that I can respond to at my convenience instead of doing the whole "sorry can I call you back" thing.
posted by snerson at 4:33 PM on January 31, 2019

The most recent episode of the Reply All podcast, which I listened to this morning, looks into this phenomenon.
posted by kevinbelt at 4:34 PM on January 31, 2019

I've seen a higher number of spam calls in the last few months. A few of them were from different numbers from nearby cities in my zip code; the most recent one was from a city on the other side of the country where I've never lived (it even tried to page me!).

Should I Answer didn't work with my preferred phone/contact app and wanted me to make it the default app in order to work, which I refused to do. Instead I don't answer any anonymous number (i.e. that isn't in my Contacts list), just hit the button to silence the ringing. If it calls me more than 2 times in a row and doesn't leave a voicemail, I manually block it (which is a feature my preferred app offers).
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:36 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have T-mobile and this has been happening to me for a couple years. At one point it was several a day. I re-registered my phone number on the DoNotCall list and that has helped significantly; it now happens once or twice a month, mostly IRS scammers or people trying to sell me opioids for chronic pain. The DNC registry is not supposed to expire, but my listing had. So check there first.

Other things to lessen the disruption: my phone is set to silent ring for unknown callers, and I aggressively blacklist any number that leaves a spammy voicemail.
posted by basalganglia at 5:12 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

In my observation these things come in waves. I have not switched my number or provider in over a decade, and I'll go through months of tons of spam calls and then it will die down, and then it will pick back up again. Sometimes lately the voicemails are in Chinese.

A couple months ago, I got some voice mails from someone asking *me* to take him off my do not call list. Needless to say, I was not calling this person trying to sell medical devices. But my number was the one being spoofed, so he thought calling back would help. I would not recommend this tactic.

I do not currently have to pick up from unknown numbers, so I just don't.
posted by misskaz at 5:17 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

I block private number, it doesn't even ring. Mr. Number is an overlay that helps with blocking. TMobile ramped up its spam blocking. I now have quadruple the number of blocked numbers, as I have contacts. Basically anymore, if my phone rings, it is not for me.
posted by Oyéah at 7:07 PM on January 31, 2019

I agree with the strategy of setting your phone to only ring if the number is on your contact list, otherwise known as ‘whitelisting.’ Legitimate calls from new numbers (service, contractors, etc.) will leave a message. Google Voice will transcribe the voicemail (often hilariously, but that’s a free smile and who doesn’t need that at least once a day) and send it as a text. This is better than the blacklisting approach.

Meanwhile, raising it’s ugly head, spam texts. Look for the flood of crap in this channel coming soon to a cell phone near you.
posted by sudogeek at 5:28 AM on February 1, 2019

I got a new phone and switched providers after Christmas, and the calls have increased from there.

Long shot, but is it possible your old phone was running some anti-spam apps or call blocking functions you'd forgotten about?
posted by trig at 5:51 AM on February 1, 2019

WideProtect for iOS will let you block an entire area code except those people already in your address book. It stops them from ringing so it will still go to voicemail. You can specify how many digits you block so you could filter based on the first 6 digits for example. I don’t know if there is an android version.
posted by ridogi at 5:51 AM on February 1, 2019

I have Nomorobo and Hiya installed, which mostly work, but the killer app for me was setting my default ringtone to a silent ringtone, and assigning a ringtone to everyone in my contacts list. Any robocall that gets through, I never hear. If it's important and they're not in my contacts list, they leave a message.
posted by telophase at 10:06 AM on February 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I appreciate that some people can only let the phone ring from people in their contacts, but I routinely get calls from people who aren't in my contacts who I want to call me, but I don't know their number beforehand. My job involves getting calls from people, so whitelisting is just not a viable option.

I've downloaded the Hiya app and I'm going to try that.
posted by AppleTurnover at 10:25 AM on February 2, 2019

I found that the Google built-in spam filtering has been very good at filtering out those spoofed robocalls. I'd suggest you try that. It's in the phone menu, tap the three dots to open settings and then select spam and caller ID for the option to turn on filtering suspected spam calls.
posted by Lady Li at 2:56 PM on February 2, 2019