Getting several nuisance calls a day from numbers that don't exist

[bravius]

Any idea how to stop nuisance calls? I get several a day from 1-778-257-xxxx numbers. I call back trying to find out who is calling but the numbers have all been invalid. When I answer nobody ever responds but I can hear office noise in the background. I block the numbers but it seem they can just spoof new caller ids. 

Pretty much ready to throw the sim in the garbage and find a new service.

[srlawren]

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@BabakR wrote:

Thank you for that suggestion. I'll look into it but can't help but wonder why this is available for post paid clients and not for everyone? or am I not understanding it correctly

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@BabakR you understand correctly.  Prepaid plans at the Big 3 (Telus, Bell, Rogers) umbrellas in Canada are treated very much as "no frills" / basic plans with only the essential features* (calls, texts, data, voicemail, call forwarding, maybe a few other little things I'm forgetting).  Access to the more premium features* including but not limited to VoLTE (Voice over LTE), VoWiFi (Voice over Wi-Fi), visual voicemail, call control, international roaming, etc are typically reserved for their post-paid customers.  This is just how it works.  Mostly we think this is a marketing/product differentiation difference to help entice people to the more lucrative post-paid plans, but the pre-paid customers are also on a different back-end system (PM and Koodo pre-paid share a back-end platform with each other; not sure about Telus pre-paid customers), which generally is slow to or does not receive updates to support these premium features, so there is likely some implementation cost which the carriers are typically unlikely to eat to bring the features to pre-paid customers.

* there may be some small feature differences between the "big 3" and their 3 (each) sub-brands, in terms of what is and isn't offered at each tier; however, the general theme is still valid.

[BabakR]

Thank you for that suggestion. I'll look into it but can't help but wonder why this is available for post paid clients and not for everyone? or am I not understanding it correctly

[LoreckAvery]

I had a day where there was a spam call nearly every hour, I was furious! From that day forward I will not answer it unless I know who it is, if it’s someone I know they leave a voice Mail. It has almost stopped, I only get about one a month now. 

[dabr]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@dabr wrote:

@srlawren    According to this CBC story the phone providers have until the end of this month to provide some relief from these nuisance calls 

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@dabr oh yeah I did see a version of that article (I think on Mobile Syrup) the other day.  Sounds like what they are asking the providers to do is to provide a green (identity verified) or red (not verified) indicator on the inbound caller ID to give us the choice of whether to risk answering or not.  If that's right, that would be a big help for sure--but to my understanding, the phone will still ring and it's up to you to accept or reject (like any other call to date, except you have the red/green to give more confidence).  

If my understanding is correct, then Koodo/Telus' feature is still far better as those calls do not reach my phone at all, nor do they redirect to my voicemail (which happens if you block numbers at the phone level or ignore the calls) where you end up with those annoying robocaller voicemails or hangup voicemails.  

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@srlawren     I'm sure PM wouldn't get the same features as postpaid Koodo/Telus, but agree anything (even a warning about the potential spam call) would help customers who need to answer unknown calls.  

Although, it's just as easy to not answer unknown callers and then listen to any message left to see if it's important or not to respond to, IMO... 😊

[srlawren]

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@srlawren wrote:

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Others may now be offering this so do your own research, but at Koodo and PM it's called Call Control https://www.koodomobile.com/en/help/call-control?search_api_views_article_search_fulltext=call%20con.... 

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So, here's my recent call log (with the numbers obscured):

You can see that I had two calls from someone on my Authorized list, that came right through without screening.  I had one call from a number on my Blocked list, and they are not screened, just told that the person is not accepting calls and hung up on.  The rest of the incoming calls were on neither list, and got screened.  You can see they all failed! 

You can manually add or remove numbers to your Authorized or Blocked list by typing them in, OR, you can click the "..." beside any number in your log (on the Koodo self-serve site, not on your phone) and add that number to the Authorized or Blocked lists:

Check out the Koodo link in my quoted text above for more details about the feature and how it all works.  It's really the best thing since sliced bread!

[srlawren]

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@dabr wrote:

@srlawren    According to this CBC story the phone providers have until the end of this month to provide some relief from these nuisance calls 

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@dabr oh yeah I did see a version of that article (I think on Mobile Syrup) the other day.  Sounds like what they are asking the providers to do is to provide a green (identity verified) or red (not verified) indicator on the inbound caller ID to give us the choice of whether to risk answering or not.  If that's right, that would be a big help for sure--but to my understanding, the phone will still ring and it's up to you to accept or reject (like any other call to date, except you have the red/green to give more confidence).  

If my understanding is correct, then Koodo/Telus' feature is still far better as those calls do not reach my phone at all, nor do they redirect to my voicemail (which happens if you block numbers at the phone level or ignore the calls) where you end up with those annoying robocaller voicemails or hangup voicemails.  

[dabr]

@srlawren    According to this CBC story the phone providers have until the end of this month to provide some relief from these nuisance calls although I'd have thought if they were implementing anything before the end of the month we might have heard something directly from one of the carriers..

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiL77v7nbT0A...

[srlawren]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

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It doesn't matter what provider they are calling everyone. 

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I just want to point out that this isn't entirely true.  Yes, they are calling everyone.  However, there are two (that I know of) providers where it will not bother you:  PM's big sister Koodo and parent Telus.  Others may now be offering this so do your own research, but at Koodo and PM it's called Call Control https://www.koodomobile.com/en/help/call-control?search_api_views_article_search_fulltext=call%20con.... 

I'm not sure if it's offered on their prepaid plans or not, but it's free on post-paid.  I have it on my main line and it...is...incredible.  It has stopped 99%+ of these nuisance calls from getting through to me.  It takes 2 mins to enable, and a few mins to set up your allow list so your important/frequent contacts don't get prompted, and you may need to revisit that list from time to time. But once it's set up, it just works.

If you are thinking of changing providers to ditch these calls, I highly recommend checking into Koodo or Telus to see if there's a plan that meets your needs.  Or look around at the offerings from the Bell and Rogers families of brands as well to see if they have caught up.

re: changing phone numbers--don't bother, you're just kicking the problem down the road a little until the next time your new area code + exchange get targeted by an auto-dialer.  It's not worth the hassle

[darlicious]

@bravius 

Both my pixel and my moto phones recognize spam callers but they do not recognize spoofed numbers. There as been an increased number of spoofed calls lately with up to 10 calls coming in once an hour starting at 7am. The recent spate of these calls finally got me to set up my busy/declined call forwarding to the aforementioned Lenny. Now I almost look forward to declining these calls knowing where I am sending them and it prevents me from blocking the spoofed number if it ever legitimately calls me. Once you recieve the first call that you may answer thinking it's real you will know to swipe away all the ones that follow with a sly grin on your face.

But as both the bf and the m-i-l both said to me....why are you being so mean to that dear old man Lenny? Don't worry he's a tough old geezer that Lenny....he can take it!😁

[CountyDownIeUk]

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@bravius wrote:

Any idea how to stop nuisance calls? I get several a day from 1-778-257-xxxx numbers. I call back trying to find out who is calling but the numbers have all been invalid. When I answer nobody ever responds but I can hear office noise in the background. I block the numbers but it seem they can just spoof new caller ids. 

Pretty much ready to throw the sim in the garbage and find a new service.

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That is so silly to throw out a SIM. It has nothing to do with PM. We get the same calls lately from CBSA 5 minutes apart. Make sure your contacts list is up to date. Learn to keep blocking.  Learn to use your DND settings. I am guessing they target mobile numbers only. Both of our 778 numbers are targeted but our 604 number is not. The funny thing about our 604 number that was originally with Telus had blocked numbers, then with voip.ms had around 600 blocked numbers and now still used as a land line, but on PM has no blocking, no contact list and so far no spam calls. If you are local in the lower mainland.....find a new number that starts with 604. From my experience with voip...those spam calls are not really from the caller number you see. I can put any number in as caller ID. They do this to make you think they are a neighbour. So in saying this...blocking might just be pointless.....but an up to date contact list is very important....any call....no name....beware. We do not publicize our numbers and we do not subscribe to the Canadian Do Not call list either. The latter actually makes a list of your number that can be called. And other countries,...why would they care about our Do Not Call list? It’s all based on your control skills.....a legit number can easily be determined from here by adding you own last 4 numbers. Try calling one back...likely either not in service or a legit honest unaware person will answer. Give me your number.....I will call you and will show your caller ID.  

[HALIMACS]

@bravius , there's always this method... tried and tested by our very own @Nezgar :

Lenny - the Telemarketers worst nightmare! - Community (publicmobile.ca)

[ShawnC13]

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@softech wrote:

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

The Department of National Defence.  

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the only problem is they will hang up right a way and not play along

i always like to say I am Trump.. or you reached CIA and we are into your case, please provide your name and address .. lol

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I don't tell them that right away, that wouldn't be any fun

[HALIMACS]

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@bravius wrote:

The last four digits of the number are always random, never the same twice. Seems like some spam/scam company is working the whole block, probing for valid numbers.

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@bravius 

If you are, NEVER answer any calls from numbers/people you either don't recognize or are not on your contact list.  It can be difficult to ignore a call, but you will get used to it.  

If the person calling you needs you that badly, they will leave a voice message; if they don't bother leaving one, you likely didn't need to hear from them in the first place.

IF YOU DO ANSWER, and the caller is a spammer, it's likely your number will get logged as one which will get answered, so anticipate spam calling to increase (at least in the short term).

[softech]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@softech 

i have a number keep call to me something like that number i don't where from, and

i did contact them before 3 week ago the take that number and i never getting any call for that number the have some tools i think,

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interesting.. but it is a spam call?  it could be the spammer stops calling and not CS agent did anything . 

but anyway.. maybe I will try that too next time.. 

[softech]

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@ShawnC13 wrote:

The Department of National Defence.  

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the only problem is they will hang up right a way and not play along

i always like to say I am Trump.. or you reached CIA and we are into your case, please provide your name and address .. lol

[Anonymous]

@softech 

i have a number keep call to me something like that number i don't where from, and

i did contact them before 3 week ago the take that number and i never getting any call for that number the have some tools i think,

[ShawnC13]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

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@softech wrote:

@bravius then it is hard to block...

I would not answer the calls and see if it dies down after couple days.  Yes, you can try changing phone number.  But as I said, you will get some new Spam calls sooner or later as they generate numbers to call programmatically.    

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Once you answer the call...they know your number is valid and then the relentless pestering will start. Just don't answer unless you know who's calling.

It takes a couple weeks, but eventually it'll die down as long as you don't answer. I reckon I get a couple of calls a month now...but sometimes they make several attempts.

Hang in there !

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It doesn't matter what provider they are calling everyone.  I get them on my personal PM line and my Bell Work phone.  I enjoy messing with them.  Hey if they are going to waste my time I am going to waste theirs.  I will push 1 and play along for the whole talk about how I have a package seized be CBSA , I thank them for calling me so we can get this cleared up and ask for their badge number so I can record it for my records as well.  (Who knows if they have badge numbers but they always hang up)  My favourite is when they call my work number and I get talking with them and let them know they have reached The Department of National Defence.  You would think that would get your number off the list but it doesn't.

[softech]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@bravius 

just ignore and delete and block,
or if you like to change your number.

if that happen too many time you need to contact to CSA,,

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@Anonymous   hey.. we told you.. CSA cannot do anything.  And there is no use to let them aware of it

blocking is hard, too.  OP said the last 4 digits keep changing.. 

[Anonymous]

@bravius 

just ignore and delete and block,
or if you like to change your number.

if that happen too many time you need to contact to CSA,,

[hairbag1]

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@softech wrote:

@bravius then it is hard to block...

I would not answer the calls and see if it dies down after couple days.  Yes, you can try changing phone number.  But as I said, you will get some new Spam calls sooner or later as they generate numbers to call programmatically.    

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Once you answer the call...they know your number is valid and then the relentless pestering will start. Just don't answer unless you know who's calling.

It takes a couple weeks, but eventually it'll die down as long as you don't answer. I reckon I get a couple of calls a month now...but sometimes they make several attempts.

Hang in there !

[softech]

@bravius then it is hard to block...

I would not answer the calls and see if it dies down after couple days.  Yes, you can try changing phone number.  But as I said, you will get some new Spam calls sooner or later as they generate numbers to call programmatically.    

[bravius]

The last four digits of the number are always random, never the same twice. Seems like some spam/scam company is working the whole block, probing for valid numbers.

[softech]

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@bravius wrote:

Any idea how to stop nuisance calls? I get several a day from 1-778-257-xxxx numbers. I call back trying to find out who is calling but the numbers have all been invalid. 

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Why did you post the full number here?

if the same number keep calling, just block it on the device level.

unless you got spam calls the whole day, I really don't think changing number helps much.  Spammer calls randomly and programmatically, no number are safe. 

[hairbag1]

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@bravius wrote:

Any idea how to stop nuisance calls? I get several a day from 1-778-257-xxxx numbers. I call back trying to find out who is calling but the numbers have all been invalid. When I answer nobody ever responds but I can hear office noise in the background. I block the numbers but it seem they can just spoof new caller ids. 

Pretty much ready to throw the sim in the garbage and find a new service.

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I feel your pain...been there !

I decided to never answer a call unless I know who is calling. If it's a legit caller, they can leave a message and I'll call back. I suggest you adopt similar strategy...if you don't recognize calling number...simply don't answer.

That has reduced those calls...not eliminated, but reduced 'em substantially.

[esjliv]

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@bravius wrote:

Any idea how to stop nuisance calls? I get several a day from 1-778-257-xxxx numbers. I call back trying to find out who is calling but the numbers have all been invalid. When I answer nobody ever responds but I can hear office noise in the background. I block the numbers but it seem they can just spoof new caller ids. 

Pretty much ready to throw the sim in the garbage and find a new service.

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@bravius sometimes spam calling comes in waves. 

You can change your number in your Self Serve account under the "Change Number" option, up 4 times every 30 days...but, I wonder why someone would that do that this many times? 🤔

Well, that is an option, but I would not be happy to change my number if I had it for a while.

Hopefully, they stop soon!

[bravius]

I've already done that once, and it's a pain in the a** to have to update dozens of accounts with  a new number. Can't Public Mobile tell if a number is legit or not and screen out all the spoofed caller IDs?

[Anonymous]

 @bravius : Change number. Or move to a provider that has something resembling Call Control.