Call Blocking Devices

I was wondering if anyone can offer suggestions?  My mom's landline get relentless calls all day, every day with all kinds of scammers.  I've drummed into her to let the answering machine pick up everything unless she knows the number ... you all know the drill.  But the calls are disruptive.

I've been debating the merits between Nomorobo and the call blocking phones (don't want to violate any rules by posting the specific brand).  Problem is, while my phone provider (Comcast/Xfinity) does have Nomorobo, I'd have *upgrade* my service for an extra $30 to access it.  Meanwhile, the call blocking phone is $100.  Either way, I'm paying to fix this.  If for the very reason that it disgusts me the Comcast is trying to bilk me for more money to access a service that was designed to be free, I'm leaning toward the phone.  However, none of my research will tell me if the phone has some sort of answering machine built in.  This is integral since 2 different machines would overwhelm my mom.  Does anyone know the deal on this?  And if the answering service is built in, I know the blocked number list only goes up to 250.  Any suggestions on the advantages of one over the other?

Sorry!  Meant to say $30 more per month. :-)

Have you tried telezapper ? It's $25. If you want to go even cheaper then just cancel phone service and get a voice mail. Get disposable cell phones to make calls.

I am guessing that is $30 a month?  You can buy a stand alone call blocker for less than $100 and they sometimes have more capacity than a phone..  They sell them on line at Amazon, Walmart, etc.  Some people use a call blocker in conjunction with No Mo.  You can buy call blocking phones that have the machine built in.  The one I have is made by a company whose name starts with a Pan.  A little research will go a long way to getting you what you need.

Last year, while reading comments on numbers that have been calling people, including me, I read a post concerning call blocker devices. I followed the suggestion and went on Amazon and found one for me, just about $60. I bought it, installed it on my landline and then unplugged my answering machine since the majority of my friends and trusted businesses call me on my cell phone. Best $60 I ever spent. Within 1 1/2 hours of hooking it up that day, one of the numbers  (I wrote down the numbers) that had called me prior, called again and was immediately blocked after their first ring and the best part is that it does not ring in my home any longer, once blocked. I can block up to 1,200 numbers as well as entire codes and I have done both. Works great for not wanting to hear from unwanted relatives either. LOL. Seriously, it may not be for everyone. I choose to screen all my calls, that is the whole point of caller id and do not answer any unrecognizable numbers. In the rare event I inadvertently pick up a call and realize it is a telemarketer, survey, etc, I simply hang up and do not engage in any conversation. With all due respect, I don't understand why people will  hang up on a call, then continually answer it when the callers kept calling back. Currently, since it is difficult to stop these out of country scam callers at this time, people need to take control of the situation and just common sense. Yes, it is annoying to see numbers on my caller id screen after they are blocked (some will call constantly, even though they cannot get through) but I no longer hear a ring, unless it is a number not blocked or the rare call from people I know. I have been told by the donotcall registry gal who called me concerning a complaint I had filed, never to answer, don't call back and if you do answer, do not press whatever number they tell you in order to be removed since it only indicates a live number and often they will either continue to call or worse yet, pass the number onto the next set of scammers. Everyone handles calls differently, I choose to handle it the best way for me.

My advice is overly simple and it might not be something you or your mom are willing to do:  turn off the ringer and rely solely on the answering machine.  Not every call needs to be answered and the valid ones will leave a message.

Unfortunately, my mom relies completely on the landline and can't figure out a cell phone.  Ergo ...

Well, I thought I HAD done my research, lol.  I had it narrowed down to Nomorobo and that Pan phone (any gadget more than a phone is just too much for my mom to get a handle on).  I just couldn't find out if it had the answering machine built in.  Since you say it is, that helps a great deal.  I was just wondering if people had any experience with both and found one more effective than the other.  As I said, I'm still leaning toward the phone, but I seem to get the feeling that Nomorobo works better.

Good suggestion!  But the problem is overly complicated, lol.  She often can't hear the answering machine and carries the phone with her around the house to answer doctors' calls, etc.  Based on the circumstances of the situation, I figured my two choices were the best and most efficient options for her.

Nomorobo does not work better, at least not yet.  It's just easier and low maintenance once you have it setup on your landline.  I have too many robocalls spoofing local area-code and local exchanges that get past Nomorobo.  It is a good service and would improve if more people could use it.  Even so it is free and it catches roughly half of the robocalls.

Just so you know, the answer machine will be in the base unit, not the hand unit.  I am not sure how the newer models work, but mine will ring once until the caller ID comes on and then it blocks it with a busy signal.  There are others here that know more about no mo, because my phone carrier doesn't provide what I would need to use it.

I use No morobo and like it.  It has never blocked a "valid" call, and it has blocked calls that only have a few recent complaints on this site.  I agree that it would only improve as more people use it - more crowd-sourced reports on numbers would only help the correct numbers being blocked.

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the advice.  Argh, there's still drawbacks on both ends! :c) But I'll take this info I didn't know before and talk it over with my mom to get her take.

We bought our Mom a Panasonic Dect 6.0 phone that blocks 250 numbers.  It has worked well, so far.  We programmed all her friends and relatives with a Jingle Bells ringtone.  This way she knows it's okay to answer the phone (unless a scammer spoofs one of those numbers!).  All other calls go to the answering machine.  Whenever one of us kids visits her, we go through and put the numbers on the call block list.  I can't say that this phone has stopped the calls or even lessened them, because it seems the scammers just change their caller id in an attempt to get through.  Also, with election season in full swing, all those calls are going to start.  However, the Jingle Bells ringtone has worked great and my Mom feels more in control and less anxious about being preyed upon.

The Panasonic is available through many retailers, but Amazon is a great source of info about it and offers good pricing when on sale.  Also, we bought the two-phone option and now our Mom has a phone in her powder room, which she loves.  Lastly, the 250 call block capacity will likely get filled up within about 3yrs and then you'll need to either delete numbers or consider another option.  Cheers!

Addendum:  For example, the Panasonic KX-TGE232B, which is a dual phone system, is about $47 today on Amazon.  So, if you decide to buy your Mom a phone, you should be able to find something suitable for less than $50.

You didn't say which unit you purchased????