Joined Jan 2006
Get back, witch!
Forum Thread
Neighbor spoofing
April 22, 2022 at
02:43 PM
Someone is using my number to call anyone starting with the same area code + 3 first digits. So that's a pool of about 10000 numbers. They dial and hang up. I get about 20-50 calls per day asking me why I called or telling me to stop $%^& calling.
Besides changing the number, is there any other way to relieve this stress?
And what's the purpose... a prank?
(Free Ooma number so I don't want to give it up. Oh hey... maybe it's Ooma trying to convince me to switch to something else?).
Besides changing the number, is there any other way to relieve this stress?
And what's the purpose... a prank?
(Free Ooma number so I don't want to give it up. Oh hey... maybe it's Ooma trying to convince me to switch to something else?).
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Besides changing the number, is there any other way to relieve this stress?
And what's the purpose... a prank?
(Free Ooma number so I don't want to give it up. Oh hey... maybe it's Ooma trying to convince me to switch to something else?).
I'd suggest keeping your number, enough things try to use phone numbers as authentication tokens I'm not sure you should ever really willingly give up a phone number these days. you can always 'park' a DID for about $1/mo
As for what you can do about it, it will most likely blow over in a few days, possibly a bit longer. Call in to your voicemail (even if you use visual voicemail normally), and poke around the greeting menu until you find the option to set up an "extended absence greeting" that says something like
If you're having trouble setting up an extended absence greeting google 'your cell phone carrier extended absence greeting'
EDIT: sorry re-read your post, it's ooma not a cell number. in that case your best option is probably just to replace your regular voicemail greeting temporarily eg. "I most likely did not call you, a scammer using fake caller id made a robo call to you that appeared to be from this number if you'd like to complain to someone about the call you received, please write your senator if you'd still like to leave a message for Wasser please do so after the beep"
As for them dialing an hanging up, the robo caller is most likely trying to ID numbers that are in service or listen for someone to say hello and transfer to a helpful scammer in india. Their systems don't always work very well. Even legit robo calls like appt reminders sometimes require saying hello loudly several times before the message plays. Sometimes I just answer the phone "hell, hell, you're going to hell" or launch into my own fake scam pitch once I've decided it's a scammer.
https://support.ooma.com/home/known-spammer-call-blocking/
I'd suggest keeping your number, enough things try to use phone numbers as authentication tokens I'm not sure you should ever really willingly give up a phone number these days. you can always 'park' a DID for about $1/mo
As for what you can do about it, it will most likely blow over in a few days, possibly a bit longer. Call in to your voicemail (even if you use visual voicemail normally), and poke around the greeting menu until you find the option to set up an "extended absence greeting" that says something like
anyone who calls you will get this message before your normal greeting followed by a message prompting "if you'd still like to leave a message please press 1".
If you're having trouble setting up an extended absence greeting google 'your cell phone carrier extended absence greeting'
EDIT: sorry re-read your post, it's ooma not a cell number. in that case your best option is probably just to replace your regular voicemail greeting temporarily eg. "I most likely did not call you, a scammer using fake caller id made a robo call to you that appeared to be from this number if you'd like to complain to someone about the call you received, please write your senator if you'd still like to leave a message for Wasser please do so after the beep"
As for them dialing an hanging up, the robo caller is most likely trying to ID numbers that are in service or listen for someone to say hello and transfer to a helpful scammer in india. Their systems don't always work very well. Even legit robo calls like appt reminders sometimes require saying hello loudly several times before the message plays. Sometimes I just answer the phone "hell, hell, you're going to hell" or launch into my own fake scam pitch once I've decided it's a scammer.
Good idea about adjusting the VM greeting, better than telling the sob story 35 times a day. This has been going on since early April, I was hoping they'd be nice and change the Caller ID at some point but maybe not. Good point about them testing if someone is at a particular number and forwarding/selling that to some other scammer. Man, I must piss off a lot of folks without wanting to. I have been asking them what "I" said but it's just missed calls and good folks calling back to see what's burning.
I need to read up on shaken/stir but I think that applies more to preventing robo calls, not so much preventing your ID being spoofed.
https://support.ooma.com/home/known-spammer-call-blocking/
The problem is, it's my number that is getting blocked, and my number that will end up on a spammer list, or worse, reported and I'll get a visit from the local police or goon squad.
I do hope they change at some point but there are 10000 numbers with that prefix so it could be a while. Waiting for myself to call me.
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Heck, my mother had someone using her number (probably pure bad luck) to scam other people and those other people would call her (thinking she was the scammer) and chew her out for calling them. That lasted about a week before the scammer changed their CID number.
Recordings are on the internet.
Or maybe try this gem as a voicemail greeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuFTCir
I did that once when I was getting harassed by a debt collector with the wrong number and turned by phone off for a week. I added a fun disclaimer, "This phone number does not belong to Brittany. You have the wrong number and are hereby notified to cease and desist from all further contact. Continued violations of the fair debt collection practices act will be reported to the federal trade commission"
If they would leave a call-back number then most likely I would not get the call back...
One caller asked me if I was selling car insurance, so maybe that is what is being sold.
Oh well, in the overall scheme of things, not a big deal.
This morning I got a copyright infringe warning from my ISP, but I don't know anyone on my network who torrents, so there is that. Too. Fun never ends.