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FCC bars providers for non-compliance with robocall protections

(docs.fcc.gov)
379 points impish9208 | 5 comments | 25 Aug 25 16:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.715s | source
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zeta0134 ◴[25 Aug 25 18:43 UTC] No.45017407[source]▶
At this point I'm firmly of the opinion that "leak this 10 digit code and anyone on the planet can call me relentlessly" is just a broken model. Maybe that worked better when the calls carried a significant cost, but clearly the scammers are able to do this sort of thing at scale.

In practice of course, my phone is 100% permanently in "do not disturb" mode and does not ring at all unless I've added you to my contact list. Which means the scammer, already pretending to live in small town rural USA (where they most certainly are not) has to correctly guess the number of one of my relatives before my pocket actually rings. It also means I'm unreachable for anything actually important that isn't in my contact list. That's an annoying price.

I'm not sure what the correct end solution is, but the current solution seems to be very broken.

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thephyber ◴[25 Aug 25 21:00 UTC] No.45018950[source]▶
Yup.

I didn’t realize how bad it got until my father stopped answering calls. It turned out he was getting (no hyperbole) 90 calls a day from spammers and vendors he had no relationship with.

I used the iOS filter, the AT&T filter, and turned on the shortcut so the phone doesn’t ring unless the caller is in his contacts.

The problem is that it already changed his behavior. He doesn’t answer the phone anymore, even if it is a person he recognizes. The Pavlovian response to his ringtone is still very negative.

I’m sure there is a non-trivial percentage of the US who already viscerally hates receiving phone calls.

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HankStallone ◴[25 Aug 25 21:51 UTC] No.45019488[source]▶
That's wild. I'm in the US, and I get maybe 1-2 spam calls a month. I get more spam texts than calls, though not many of those either. I've never done anything special to try to prevent them, so I wonder what the difference is.
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1. afavour ◴[25 Aug 25 22:12 UTC] No.45019732[source]▶
My theory is age. I get very few calls. Neither does my wife. My mother in law is called multiple times a day. I assume there’s some basic demographic data available out there and they’re targeting retirees because they know (statistically speaking) they’re an easy hit.
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2. rconti ◴[25 Aug 25 22:20 UTC] No.45019817[source]▶
My 86 year old father regularly gets calls from his "grandson" (who does not exist)... who is in jail, and needs help.
3. collinfunk ◴[25 Aug 25 22:34 UTC] No.45019967[source]▶
FWIW, I am in my 20s and receive many phone calls. But maybe your theory is correct and I am an outlier.
4. pentamassiv ◴[25 Aug 25 22:48 UTC] No.45020091[source]▶
I think an important factor is also how long you had the same number. I switch numbers every couple of years because I get a new contract and moving the number to the new company is such a hassle. Over time you share your number with more and more companies and people who sell it or get breached.

My parents had their number for ~30 years. I never get spam calls or texts. They get one once a week or so (this is in Germany, we get a lot fewer of these calls).

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5. scarface_74 ◴[26 Aug 25 00:09 UTC] No.45020733[source]▶
I’ve had the same cell phone number for 25 years across 5 carriers and get maybe 1 spam call a week.