Call Blocking Devices

Way back on this thread there was the comment, that it is just phone wars, and for each teck solution, the telemarketers and scammers will find a way to break back in.   So here is our solution.

This is a company and we get these calls every day.   Instead of getting mad we do this.

1.  A call comes in and we take the call.  

2.  As soon as we know its a scam/telemarketer, we log that phone number into our client list but put it into folder Z.

3.  Now when they call back as you all know they will do this, we see that it is a Z call and we ignore it.  

If they want to keep calling is their dime.   We just ignore the call and get on with our business.

Right now we have logged 32 Z numbers and I would say that this number will climb but we are not stopping our day or interupting our other calls or clients to answer silly calls.

Dont get rude, dont get your blood pressure up - or plead with them to stop.   IT WILL NOT STOP but this way you have the power to not be bothered with them after the first contact.

Cheers and let me know if any of you try this and how it works for you.

I think I should clearify this.

The phone number is logged into our phone.   So that as soon as this number comes up, we see a

Z

So just like you would have in your phone, all your regular clients/friends phone numbers, you have these numbers saved but as a Z for the name.

We know then that it is an IGNORE this call.

As I said, in our Z phone list there are now 32 phone numbers logged there.

Exactly, ignoring and blocking numbers is the way to go. Raising blood pressure won't solve any problems. People have the right to be angry but these calls should be handled in calm manner. When you get angry, the callers are in control but when you ignore them and block them, you are in control.

Payback,

We don't need to invest a penny.  Double O has laid out a reasonable approach.  I've had a working solution for years and my phone never rings unless it is someone I want to talk to.  It really isn't hard to manage.  I can't count how many times on here I have explained simple ways to handle unwanted calls for free, or as part of your regular phone bill.  If you have somehow missed those endless posts, let me know.

In the end, you can go on forever about what somebody else needs to do, or you can get off the couch and take a few simple steps to get these calls out of your life.  Your choice.  Get a VOIP line, get Google Voice, get a call blocker, switch to Dixie Cups and a string, whatever floats your boat.  Then get on with the rest of your life.  Unless, of course, you would rather have a reason to keep complaining.

Just got a Teleblocker device from Ebay and so far it seems to work as advertised. Simply put the phone number into the block list and it rings once and gets disconnected if they have the gall to call back. You can also block an entire area code (such as the infamous 253/866/877/888 codes where most of the telemarketing scum hang out). It can take up to 500 numbers in the blacklist. Also has a whitelist that only allows specified numbers to ring thru. Quite a few other functions for the cheap price of about $60. I am going to give this device a total QC test and will report back in a month or so. I will be the ideal test platform since I just retired one year ago and have begun to get bombarded by the bottom-feeder telemarketing scumbags thinking they are going to prey on this poor old senile senior citizen! The first number that I programmed in was 000-000-0000 (recognize that one?).

I noticed people complaining on their inability to block robocalls. They should take a look at the forum threads and they'll have a pretty good idea on the alternatives that are out there. What you have mentioned are some alternatives, and if its free it's worth it. People who complain don't pay attention to call blockers. They feel that they don't have control of the calls. I am thinking of getting dial up internet and hooking up phone tray free. I thought of getting VOIP as well. Whatever fits the budget. Call blockers are a mesh that keeps out phone scammers, but they'll try their best. They have been trying for a long time but I never fell for it. You know why scammers call people? They have a pretty good idea that people need their phones, especially cell phones. You see people talking on the phone all the time. Scammers know that people have this reflex action to automatically answer any calls. They use people's psychology against them but as long as people aren't vulnerable, it's all good. I feel bad for old people and young children who have access to a phone. That's where a caller id helps. Never answer unknown numbers.

I have a landline just in case the power goes out and don't use it. I keep the ringer turn off, and only use my cell phones that have call blocking.

Payback,

Since you are toying with the idea of VOIP, I'll offer you a couple of things to consider. For residential (and even SOHO) use, the Obihai product is pretty painless to set up. Other devices, such as VOIP phones and the like, are a bit harder to get going. You can buy Obi's from Amazon, or from Obi's web site.

There are many voip providers out there, and the Obi has a good selection of them on the setup menu. Callcentric has by far the easiest configuration and filtering options, but voip.ms may have a little better call quality and reliability. Callcentric had some problems with a DDOS attack, and Hurricane Sandy, but that is behind them. They seem more "residential" than most. The servers are in NYC, so you may want to weigh in the distance.

The downside of voip.ms is that it is a little more trouble to set up and manage. However, voip.ms has servers all over the place, so that is a real plus. I believe voip.ms is running on top of ShoreTel?

Vitelity has been around a long time, and for most of that time their attitude was "if you can't figure this out, then go away". More recently, they have added a consumer oriented plan - I don't know if the attitude has improved because I rarely interface with tech support.

Callcentric and Vitelity offer faxing, but not voip.ms . Vitelity also offers SMS, but I find it a little lame. voip.ms and Vitelity are more business oriented, and with voip.ms you can use voip phones and configure your phone system on the site - IVR, queues, DISA, you name it.

However, if you are using an Obi, you may have to customize your dial plans to get it to play well with some of the voip.ms special features. I believe the Obi also supports Broadvox (Broadvoice) communications. I don't use them, but the seem to be popular with CAs and such ;) . The Obi can be configured with other providers, it is just easier to use one of the many pre-configured choices.

Other than that, Grandstream, Cisco/Linksys, and others have adapters for your existing analog phone systems, as well as VOIP phones. If you look on the support pages for the various VOIP providers they usually have sample configurations for common devices, so that might be a good place to start.

If you really feel geeky, take a look at PIAF (PBX in a Flash). It is an asterisk derivative.

But of the many solutions I have worked with, I've got to say I think the Obi is the best choice for a beginner. You can get as geeky as you want with it, but you can also be up and running in a few minutes by using their setup wizards.

As always, YMMV.

hi lone stranger, just saw your posts on here. i would love to get some free call blocking pointers for my parents' landline. any help is appreciated.

I've been using a similar product for several years now and it has been quite effective.   A few always get through, at least the first time, but by blocking certain types of calls--improper numbers and missing names--blocking certain area codes and 800-type numbers, and certain specific phone numbers, I've had significant success in blocking unwanted calls.    Products like teleblocker and digitone really do work.

"i would love to get some free call blocking pointers for my parents' landline. any help is appreciated."

Sure, hold on to your hat, here it comes.

Free:

There are a lot of ways to set this up, and it is much harder to explain than it is to do, so bear with me.

After you read this post, sign up for a free Google Voice (GV) account.  Once you have played with the account a while, re-read this and it will make a lot more sense.  You can either port an existing home phone number to Google Voice, or you can forward their home phone service to the account.  I recommend call forwarding, at least in the beginning.  

Call forwarding can forward all calls, or it can forward calls when you don't answer or your line is busy.  Which one is right for you depends on how you decide to use GV.

This is where the explanation starts to get complicated.

You can use a blacklist approach (only calls you specify are blocked) or a whitelist approach (only calls you specify are allowed).

Whether you go with whitelisting or blacklisting, when a call comes in that you want to take, you can have GV handle it in several ways. (1)  You can have the call forwarded from GV to one or more phones - cell phones, land lines, etc.,.  (2) GV can take a message, and then send you an email or text message to let you know you have a call.  (3) You can purchase a device called an Obi ($40 to $70 on Amazon, depending on the model you select).  The Obi will let you use Google Voice with your regular (POTS) phones, so you can take wanted calls directly from GV just by picking up your existing phone. You can also place calls using GV the same way.  (5) Some combination of the above.

Whitelisting/Blacklisting:

GV has various of tools for managing calls.  One of those tools is the ability to create "groups".   You can assign callers to groups.  You can also specify what phone(s), if any, will ring if a member of a particular group calls, and create a specific voice mail greeting for each group.  One group which always exists is "default".  In order to use whitelisting, you simply make the default voicemail greeting your "drop dead" response.  One way to do this is to make the voicemail greeting a "this number is no longer in service" message.  But it doesn't matter what the message says as long as it conveys to the caller that they have hit a dead end.  You do not want to configure ANY phones to ring for the default group.  When you review your call logs, you probably want to mark any unwanted callers as "blocked" or "spam".  

You also need to create groups for those whose calls you do want.  A group for friends, family, business associates, whatever you like.  Each group can have its own call handling and voice mail message.  You can even have a special greeting for an individual, or record a temporary greeting to let clients know who to call while you are out of town.  Periodically, you should review the call logs.  If you see an unwanted caller, then the simplest approach is to flag calls for blocking, or flag them as spam.  Wanted callers should instead be assigned to their appropriate group (family, friends, whatever).  Until you flag an unwanted caller, they will still be able to leave a voicemail, but since the "greeting" will indicate otherwise, only robo-dialers are likely to do so.  Once flagged (when you review the logs) even that possibility goes away.

Blacklisting callers can be handled either by configuring a "normal" default setup, and a blacklist group whose members get the "drop dead" message, or by simply flagging such callers as blocked or spam.  However, since you can only flag people who have already called, you will probably want to use both methods, so that you can put those who have not called yet in your blacklist group.

If you like, GV can also handle your cell phone's voice mail.  The instructions for doing this are on the GV site.  This means that when you get a call you don't want to answer, or aren't sure about, you can either reject the call or simply let it roll over, and GV will handle it according to the rules you have set up.


Sort of Free, but not actually : )

Another option is to switch to, or add, voip service.  It should cost less per month than your existing phone service - so you would save money - unless you choose to keep a POTS line "just in case".  You would need to buy an adapter like the Obi, but even if you keep your POTS line, the cost is so low you might not mind it.  DIDs (phone numbers) can be under a buck a month.  There are flat rate residential plans that are reasonably priced, but at a penny or so a minute, many folks will come out better if they just pay for time used.  Some adapters will manage both the POTS and the VOIP.  Obi offers devices which handle POTS, VOIP, and Google Voice.  (BTW - I have absolutely no affiliation with Obi, I just think they have done a good job of making things easier for the folks who aren't telephony geeks.  Also, you can start out using it with GV, and add VOIP later if you want.)

I know this is all a bit much to wade through, and I am not entirely satisfied with the explanation I am providing, but since GV will not cost you anything to set up, just dive in and give it a try.  No promises, but I will try to remember to check this thread in case you have a question.

Hope this is helpful,

Lone Stranger

P.S. Here are some links for you -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_information_tones (for your voicemail drop dead greeting)

http://www.porticus.org/bell/recordedannouncements.html  (also for your voicemail drop dead greeting)

http://obihai.com/

voice.google.com

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2/192-8709017-2964646?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=obi

As other people have mentioned, Phone Tray free zaps all the annoying calls that I get. One thing I did that made this really convenient was using a very old computer that had just enough resources to run Phone Tray on Windows xp. I put this in a out of the way location where I could run my phone line to the modem and then ran a KVM switch to my main computer and the old computer so I could use the same keyboard, video, and mouse for both computers. I leave the old computer on all the time and just use the main computer as needed. I was ready to purchase one of the phone screening devices, but as it turned out I had every thing I needed. All I had to do was a lot of googling and read a lot of posts from all you good folks so I could set every thing up and stop all the harassment from the annoying calls.

I have the new PhoneTray (I think it's $25.) running on a netbook, hiro modem, windows 7.  A Netbook uses no power at all. They did fix an old problem with PhoneTray. The new one has white list - black list. I just blocked everything & whitelisted all the numbers I want. The rest of the people in the world? Write me. Not for everyone, but it was cheap, & easy. The phone rings one, I snicker.

White listing numbers is a scammers worst nightmare. When you white list numbers, no matter what numbers the scammers use, it just can't get through. Thats the best way to deal with scammers.

Just got a Digitone and it has made life so much more pleasant. I am chronically ill and no longer work, so having the phone ringing at all times of the day and night was stressing me out. You ask to be taken off the list, and they basically tell you to stuff it. You are at their mercy, and they have none. So, I can block 1000 trunk line numbers from each of these azz hats. All I hear is a click, as the Digitone decides if the number is a blocked one, or a legit one. Only if its legit, will the phone ring. Best thing I ever bought.