Apple teaming with AT&T, FCC, Google in 'strike force' to battle robocalls
After a call by U.S. Federal Communications Commission's commissioner, Apple and 32 other companies are banding together to make an industry-wide organized resistance against the expanding "robocall" scourge.
The FCC "Industry-Led Robocall Strike Force" is holding its first meeting in Washington D.C on Friday morning. AT&T CEO and strike force director Randall Stephenson is expected to detail the effort at some point Friday following the meeting.
The strike force is expected to report back to the commission with "concrete plans" on how to combat the automated call services on Oct. 19. No specific deadline for implementation of any such developed plan is known.
Apple, Google, and AT&T are three companies associated with the program. At this time, the identities other 30 companies involved in the effort are not yet known.
Apple has rudimentary blocking features in iOS. If a callers on a user's block list dials, the user is not presented with a notification of the call, nor with the phone ring.
However, at present in iOS, there is no wide-reaching "black list" feature, where known "robocallers" are blocked by default. Users can implement a de facto "white list" work-around with the "Do not disturb" feature, and selectively allow only users in the "favorites" or in specific defined group to ring the phone.
In July, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that he had spoken with major wireless carriers to expand carrier-level call-blocking services to users at no cost. Friday's meeting with the "strike force" appears to be in response to that call to arms.
The FCC "Industry-Led Robocall Strike Force" is holding its first meeting in Washington D.C on Friday morning. AT&T CEO and strike force director Randall Stephenson is expected to detail the effort at some point Friday following the meeting.
The strike force is expected to report back to the commission with "concrete plans" on how to combat the automated call services on Oct. 19. No specific deadline for implementation of any such developed plan is known.
Apple, Google, and AT&T are three companies associated with the program. At this time, the identities other 30 companies involved in the effort are not yet known.
Apple has rudimentary blocking features in iOS. If a callers on a user's block list dials, the user is not presented with a notification of the call, nor with the phone ring.
However, at present in iOS, there is no wide-reaching "black list" feature, where known "robocallers" are blocked by default. Users can implement a de facto "white list" work-around with the "Do not disturb" feature, and selectively allow only users in the "favorites" or in specific defined group to ring the phone.
In July, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that he had spoken with major wireless carriers to expand carrier-level call-blocking services to users at no cost. Friday's meeting with the "strike force" appears to be in response to that call to arms.
Comments
Problem number one: One of the biggest robocall sources, political ads, are ALREADY LEGALLY PROTECTED and cannot be blocked, because political speech is protected!
My solution has been extremely effective. I have no landline and any call from a number not in my iPhone's address book will go unanswered and is immediately blocked.
I notice a dramatic increase in unwanted calls if:
1. I answer the call - whether or not anything is said by either party.
2. If I ask to be removed from their calling list.
3. If I have a custom voicemail greeting.
Simply ignoring all calls that I can't identify or am not expecting and using the generic voicemail greeting seems to be very effective at minimizing the calls. The Do Not Call registry seems to have little to no effect.
If it comes from outside my country I don't answer it. If it comes from outside my state there's a 50% chance I will answer it.
If you answer the call but don't say anything, the robot call will hang up after a few seconds, a real person will say "...hello?"
I've wondered what would happen if I would play the recorded the sound of a fax machine attempting to connect when they call. I don't know if their software is sophisicated enough to deem my number as a fax line and not call it anymore.
Anyone have a dedicated fax line that gets robo calls?
I'm on the same page as you. One trick that's started just recently is I've seen is a call comes in from a local number, so I answer and either a charming male or female voice, on an exceptionally clear line, asks if I can hear them ok. I've experimented with this. The AI being used is very sophisticated and could easily fool people into thinking it is a real person. If I've time to kill I'll keep the AI chatting for a while just seeing how clever it is. Next time I'm asking either what the meaning of life is or for the first two million digits in calculating Pi and see if that old saw from Star Trek works and fries its brain.
There used to be a phone number you could call and it had a voice that sounded like someone was listening and then make up crazy scenarios like a bee landing on your arm. I would conference call in the computer and then mute my phone and listen to the fun. It must have been costing him a lot to keep the service running as he has now made it a paid service but you can try and see if it is still working (from http://jollyrogertelephone.com/how-to-send-your-telemarketers-to-this-robot/):