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Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
The robocall crisis will never totally be fixed
Years into the robocalling frenzy, your phone probably still rings off the hook with "important information about your account," updates from the "Chinese embassy," and every bogus sweepstakes offer imaginable. That's despite promises from the telecom industry and the US government that solutions would be coming. Much like the firehose of spam that made email almost unusable in the late 1990s, robocalls have made people in the US wary of picking up their cell phones and landlines. In fact, email spam offers a useful analogy: a scourge that probably can't be eliminated but can be effectively managed.
Finding the right tools for that job remains a challenge. The Federal Trade Commission has had a strong track record in its 140 robocall-related suits, including a recent victory at the end of March that targeted four massive operations. Bipartisan anti-robocalling legislation is gaining traction in Congress. Apps that flag or block unwanted calls have matured and are solidly effective. And wireless carriers—in part facing pressure from the Federal Communications Commission—have increasingly offered their own anti-robocalling apps and tools for free.
Yet the number of robocalls continues to hit new highs. The anti-robocalling company YouMail estimates that March 2019 saw 5.23 billion robocalls, the highest volume ever. And other firms recorded similar highs. But those numbers don't take into account calls that were successfully blocked. A more useful measure might be the number of complaints filed per month to the FCC and FTC, which remained mostly static in 2018 and the beginning of 2019.
"Even though we're at an all-time high, there's some good news," says YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. "The numbers may be creeping up a little bit, but the situation seems to be mostly stable at this point. We have not turned the corner, but maybe the corner is in sight."
In fact, some consensus has emerged about where that corner is. Industry groups led by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions have been working since 2016 on a pair of standards, dubbed "STIR" and "SHAKEN," that will be used across landline, mobile, and VoIP carriers to cryptographically authenticate the source of calls. Basically, this means that the "spoofed" phone numbers robocallers rely on to ramp up their call volume—also the reason so many robocalls appear to come from your area code—will be easily flagged as untrustworthy.
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday April 10 2019, @04:50PM (3 children)
Don't underestimate the power of telling *any* man how much their wife enjoys getting fucked up the ass, regardless of ethnicity.
Actually, given Indian men's dirty little not-so-secret [bbc.co.uk], it would likely work even better on them.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 10 2019, @07:12PM (1 child)
Actually, that wouldn't phase me one scintilla of a bit. I would simply shut the wanker down with "Look dude, your fantasies do not interest me! Take your wank fantasy someplace where someone might care!" So, why do you guys get so worked up when some guy who you obviously have never met--and your wife has obviously never met--get so worked up about this? How is it that your emotions can so easily shut off the logical part of your brain? Maybe you should get some professional help for this condition?
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday April 10 2019, @10:14PM
Such a statement wouldn't bother me either. What's more, unless you're a moron, it's obvious that this is *designed* to annoy and not as, as you say, a "wank fantasy."
Consider the situation we're talking about. This isn't a couple of strangers chatting down the pub or some random internet interaction. If your goal is to convince such a person to give up their credit card details (which is why you invaded their privacy in the first place), your reaction would likely be colored by that goal.
You know, it's funny, when I was fucking *your* wife up the ass last night (she *really* loves that, especially when I cum in her mouth when I'm done treating her like the skanky whore she is -- she loves to swallow!), she didn't mention how poorly your grasp of context is, or how literal-minded and lacking a sense of humor you are.
I don't know. I certainly don't. But then, I'm not dumb enough to think that something said to a scammer in an effort to annoy them and waste their time is some sort of fantasy or an expression of desire.
What's more, there are these things called "context" and "humor" that I generally consider when reading a discussion on the Intertubes. Perhaps you should try it sometime. Just a crazy thought.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 11 2019, @02:31AM
A more effective approach I've found is to explain to them how much negative Karma they're racking up from all the people they're pissing off. Think about it man, all that karma. You're coming back as a cockroach, if that. Maybe you can erase some of the bad by doing some good. Shut down that place, save your co-workers. Get them involved in saving humanity from the scourge of the unwanted, annoying and time wasting calls.
I've had a few get emotional and start apologizing. Then I repeat, do the bigger good, shut it down. Save your co-workers.
I dunno. Maybe it'll cause some turmoil? It does get their attention.