Way too many scam calls

June 25, 2023 2:56 PM

I'm trying to run a small business, so I have my number on a website so potential customers can call and schedule a service visit. So I guess that's why I get so many scammer calls. I made the mistake of pressing 1 to connect to a person to tell them that is a business number and please stop calling, so apparently now i am on the "this number actually answers, so keep calling him over and over" list.

I'm not exagerating, I get 20 or 30 calls like this every day except sunday. I guess the scammers need a day off.
I have an app called Hiya, that stops many of them, but many still get through. They spoof the number to make it look like a local number, so I have to answer in case it's a real customer. It's driving me crazy. I have almost fallen off of a ladder trying to answer the phone in case it was important, but of course it was a scammer. It's affecting my business because I feel like throwing the phone out the window every time it rings, and that's not good customer relations.
I asked my phone provider if I could set it up so that when they call it says "press one to continue" because I think that would stop them. but they said they can't do that. Can other cell phone companies do that? Is there some other similar thing that I can try?
Any tips, tricks, or advice? My business isn't making enough to hire a receptionist yet, besides that would just pass the frustration along to someone else. Please hope me

posted by ambulocetus to Technology (9 answers total)

Google's Pixel-series phones can do the sort of call screening you're talking about.

Alternately, I would consider moving the number you posted online to a service like Google Voice that can be set to go straight to voicemail, and use a second different number for your actual personal phone.
posted by kickingtheground at 3:06 PM on June 25, 2023

Most companies will sell you something similar for extra $5 to $10 a month, that works similar to the Pixel's call screener.

Verizon: "Call FIlter"

AT&T: "ActiveArmor (tm)"

T-Mobile: ScamShield
posted by kschang at 3:17 PM on June 25, 2023

If you were able to switch to a land line for your business, this AT&T phone set may help. I use it on my land line and it quite politely does call screening and asks the caller to give their name and push a button and only then does the call ring through. I answer and it tells me who's calling and asks if I want to accept the call. That procedure worked just the other day but in a sense the phone works everyday by not ringing when the caller doesn't jump through the hoop. It also provides a white list for friends, family, business partners, etc.

My link is to the DL72219 model, I actually have the DL72210 model, but I suspect it just an update.
posted by forthright at 3:24 PM on June 25, 2023

Thanks for the answers folks, and so quickly too!
Well, I swore I would never give AT&T another penny after the scandal during the Bush II regime, so that one will be the last thing i try, but if all else fails I may have to.
If anybody else has anything, feel free to post it.
posted by ambulocetus at 3:53 PM on June 25, 2023

If you’re on an iPhone, I pay 99 cents a month for a subscription to an app called Nomorobo for this. It checks against their crowdsourced database of spam numbers. I still get a handful of calls a day but it’s gone way down.
posted by anotheraccount at 3:57 PM on June 25, 2023

I like the app Robokiller. The company won a contest sponsored by the FCC to stop spam calls. I like that I can pick my voicemail to deter spammers and I can screen calls and they also have an option that they screen calls.

Good luck!
posted by ichimunki at 3:58 PM on June 25, 2023

I have Active Armor installed and I don't pay anything for it. You can pay for something extra that costs $3.99, but I rarely get spam calls. Try it out. You don't have to give it any of the info it asks for in all the other features to have it active for spam calls.
posted by soelo at 4:08 PM on June 25, 2023

Use a spam filter from either pixel phone or from your carrier. Set it to not even ring your phone if it is a suspected spam call.
posted by jdthompson at 7:52 PM on June 25, 2023

I am not sure how long this has been happening to you, but for me, these calls hit my Google Voice number for about 10 days and then faded away. Then, the scammers were spoofing my number and I was getting both nasty and nice call backs asking if I called. This too lasted about 10 days.

I have a Pixel and use the call screening assistant for any call not in my address book. I had to add numbers from service providers such as my accountant and doctor so their calls would go through, but I rarely, if ever, get spam calls anymore that ring through. Most go to the spam folder in my GV app. Like email spam, I do check that folder periodically as sometimes legit callers get swept up into spam.

Also, when I post my phone number on a website, I do it as a link. "Call me" and the link is to my phone number. I may be deluding myself, but I think the number does not get crawled and picked up as much that way.

And, with Google Voice, you can listen to messages as they are left like old time answering machines.

Good luck. (Don't rush down a ladder to get a call).
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:16 PM on June 25, 2023