Last year, a Chicago resident sued the Trump campaign for allegedly sending unsolicited text message spam…
Surely the perfect defence in this case is, “It wasn’t us. It was the Russians.”
On the Robocaller/Cold Caller front, I just try to bear in mind that the person on the other end of the call is probably having a worse time of it than I am, and politely ring off. Of course, I am still probably adding to the sum of human misery by not eating in to their bosses’ profits a bit.
Over 430 phone numbers blocked on my in house line.
Using https://www.amazon.com/CPR-V202-Call-Blocker-Telemarketing/dp/B00JG02ZEY
It works well for everything except spoofed phone numbers from my area code. Have to do them one at a time.
Aside from getting those robocalls (I simply point out that we only have Macs and hang up) I did actually get a genuine call like that.
Not from MS, but my ISP. They tried to tell me that I was running a botnet from a bunch of Windows machines on my newly installed fibre, which was a puzzle since yes, no Windows machines in this house ever. I don’t even allow visitors with them to connect- except for the ISP tech that installed the fibre…
You can see where this is going I’m sure; after several arguments and actual threats of cutting me off, followed by hints from Somebody Important that it would be frowned upon in a very particular manner, they finally admitted that their tech’s laptops might - just might - be infected.
(You mean Allison in the Warranty Department doesn’t really have a crush on me? Putting this here because the comment system is concerned that I may be posting too many times for my own good. Real reply follows.)
………
Once, I had the task of assembling a traveling exhibit that came to my workplace at the Forest Service. It was in two crates, each piece having its own dedicated slot that it would later go back into, and it worked on the principle of rods that fit into holes in disks, exactly like a larger version of a familiar children’s toy.
As Steve, the custodian, and I put it all together, people would pass us in the hall. Each would stop, look for a moment, and then realize something, and say, “You know what that looks like? Tinkertoys!”
And each time they did, I would look doubtful for a moment, then look over at it and look sort of surprised and say, “You’re right! Steve, look! It’s like Tinkertoys!” And Steve would chuckle quietly behind his beard somewhere, and we’d go back to work until the next person came by and made the same perfect first comment on the display.
Back in the day, I used to tell people about an ad I expected to see on TV any time.
Open with a woman in her kitchen. The phone on the wall (that’s right, kids!) rings (yes! like a bell!) and she picks up. “Is this Helen?” says a voice. “Yes.” “Do you remember me, Helen? Because I think about you all the time…” We know the voice is still talking from Helen’s disgusted reaction, but then she smiles as she glances at the receiver, and says, “I’ll remember you too, Mr. 804-555-7463!”
On the other end of the line, a pervert in a motel room hangs up as quickly as he can, shaking with fear.
The announcer’s voice says, “This will never happen to you, if you sign up for AT&T’s Caller ID Blocking!”
[Footnote: This was a real ad, except for the last line. Why, if I had an ounce of gumption, I’d go find the ad on YouTube and link to it.]
@doctorow s/ecosystems ecosystems/ecosystems/
My Android phone with T-Mobile is pretty good at hinting when a call is spam. But I do get at least two a day. If I pick up, say hello, and there’s nothing for 1 second, I hang up. I suppose it’s important that they not be regulated because Freedom.
Obligatory link:
Guy builds audio chatbots (which he refers to as “robots”), for taking your place in telemarketer calls.
Maybe he was paid by the hour.
This story surprised me because I rarely (a few times a year maybe) see spam in my inbox (I’m not counting unasked for junk from companies or sites I’ve actually had contact with since they do honor unsubscribe demands). It all gets neatly shunted to my junk folder where it disappears eventually
I’m not sure where to. I assume it gets compacted and shipped to bit recyclers who recycle them into low quality bytes to be sold to YouTube personalities.
I get spam calls from local numbers sometimes, but this was my favorite robocall ever, with bonus truth in the caller ID.
Please pardon the dirty phone.
This Caller ID baffles me:
It was from a legitimate credit card company, regarding a card I own.
I guess they have low self-esteem(?)
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