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Google Just Revealed a Brilliantly Simple Trick to Totally Destroy Telemarketers:
Google just announced it has come up with a new way to thwart telemarketers--heck, to completely destroy their business model. It's brilliantly simple, and it seems like it will actually work.
[...] Here's how Google's solution works--introduced at its hardware event in New York City on Tuesday. It's called simply "Call Screen," and it's built into Android on the Pixel 3.
- When you get a call from a number you don't recognize on an Android device, click "Call Screen" on your device.
- Google Assistant answers the call, with a greeting like, "Hi, the person you're calling is using a screening service from Google, and will get a copy of this conversation. Go ahead and say your name, and why you are calling."
- The caller will either hang up--in which case it's probably not important--or provide an answer, which will then be transcribed and displayed on your screen.
- Then it's up to you to decide whether to answer.
So if the message you receive reads something like, "Bill, this is your wife, I lost my phone, pick up," you'd answer (I hope). But if it's something like, "This is the IRS calling to say we will arrest you for not paying taxes," you can just ignore it, since it's absolutely a scam.
"Just tap the 'Call Screen' button and your phone will answer for you and ask who's calling and why," Google product manager Liza Ma said in announcing the new feature, followed by the eight most important words of her presentation: "You'll never have to talk to another telemarketer."
You can also mark spammy incoming calls as "Spam." That way, if you ever get a call from that number again, it will come with a big red interface reminding you that you've previously pegged the number as suspicious.
That's it. Call Screen won't remove your phone number from telemarketers' lists. But it could ultimately make the entire telemarketing industry unprofitable. If telemarketers can never reach anyone to pitch, they can never close a sale.
All the better to target advertising at you with.
(Score: 5, Touché) by kaganar on Tuesday August 06 2019, @04:24AM (10 children)
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 06 2019, @05:02AM (4 children)
But did you not read the headline? It is this one trick the telemarketers don't want you to know!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 06 2019, @06:20AM (3 children)
Is it brilliantly simple?
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Tuesday August 06 2019, @07:49AM (2 children)
Yes, and it will give you whiter teeth and an erection that lasts all night long.
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday August 06 2019, @11:06AM (1 child)
It can if it knows the number for "Sexy Dentists R Us"!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 07 2019, @12:41AM
Four out of five dentists agree!
(Score: 5, Informative) by janrinok on Tuesday August 06 2019, @06:21AM (2 children)
I live in France, and have had something similar on my Galaxy J3 since forever. Spam and Scam calls are often displayed with a red screen warning me of the risk, and I am able to accept or decline the call. I assume that, as this appears to be a 'new' idea for so many people, that Orange (France) provide the service.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 06 2019, @02:17PM (1 child)
AT&T in the USA has a similar feature. It knows about reported spammers and can automatically block them based on the the risk. You can report new spammers. The idea is that you see a spam call at most once (and sometimes never, when they are auto-blocked.)
(Score: 2) by GeminiDomino on Tuesday August 06 2019, @05:43PM
For some reason, Prepay clients are apparently unworthy of this service. :P
"We've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of our culture"
(Score: 3, Informative) by driverless on Tuesday August 06 2019, @06:43AM
It's not new, see my earlier post. It's an old story from last October. The very second paragraph gives it away:
Since it refers to this year as being in the future, it can't possibly be current.
(Score: 2) by Teckla on Wednesday August 07 2019, @01:31PM
It's new to me, and I'm glad this article made it to SoylentNews.
When it comes time to choose my next smartphone, this is another useful data point.
Thank you to the submitter, and thank you to the editors for posting it.