Is there a reason I always get spam calls on the same day?

June 12, 2024 2:17 PM

The spam phone calls I get seem to follow a pattern where I won’t get any for days or weeks, and then will get 5+ all on the same day. Is there a technical explanation for this or is it just confirmation bias?
posted by capricorn to Technology (5 answers total)

Best answer: I'm pretty sure it's because whatever database payload your number is on got purchased by a new spammer, which probably runs 20-50-100 spam enterprises, and your number showed up in whatever criteria query (like numbers in the 903 area code that have been tagged as belonging to a person of X gender, Y income level, and maybe Z zipcode) 5 times.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:31 PM on June 12, 2024 [4 favorites]

My assumption is that they think if they keep calling in relatively close succession you will eventually think "oh, someone is definitely trying to reach me, I better pick up."
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:06 PM on June 12, 2024

What is a 20-50-100 spam enterprise?
An internet search reveals nothing.
posted by falsedmitri at 5:58 AM on June 13, 2024

It means one group might run a lot of enterprises - like 20 or maybe 50 or even up to 100 different ones.
posted by soelo at 6:10 AM on June 13, 2024 [3 favorites]

I have a cell phone and Google Voice and a home "land line" (really VOIP line with 911). I don't seem to get any spam via Google Voice. The cell phone I get loads (which I don't answer if it doesn't show a recognized name). The VOIP line is interesting because I have it hooked up to an AT&T base station that does "Call Screening". If the incoming number is not on a "white list" of known family phones it answers for me and requests that the caller leave their name and a short message. It then rings the actual base unit phone and I pick up but only if I recognize the name and message do I press "1" to actually connect to the caller.

Recently I had a situation where my VOIP # was being used as the number associated with someone running a scam (i.e., call now if you do NOT want to renew your ???? plan). I answered those calls and we discussed what the scammer had to gain, and we couldn't figure it out. I certainly didn't want them to do anything. We left it that if they ever figured out what the deal was they should call me and let me know. But I never heard again so I just blithely ignore the "Call Screening" message I see VERY OFTEN knowing that in some cases it's normal spam callers and in other cases they may be using my VOIP number as "their" call back number.

TLDR: scammers just going to scam, and there's no telling what the heck they're doing without talking to them and that's a bridge too far (at least for me).
posted by forthright at 2:22 PM on June 13, 2024