Keep getting missed calls from non-existent numbers??

[zlloyd1]

Hello again all, I have recently, this past couple of months, been getting a lot of calls to my phone from numbers I do not recognize, from within my area code, and if I answer there is nothing, nobody speaks, then just hangs up, but if I miss the call then try to call back I get an error recording telling me to check the number then try again??
If I choose the option provided to send a message, I get a text error telling me it is a 'Landline' or something and that a voice message will have to be sent, which will cost me something??
It is almost like I am continuously getting calls from imaginary fictional phone numbers, and I am wondering if someone can explain this to me Please??
Thanks up front!!

 

[AugieTN]

It's just spam.

I get the same calls, I normally screen the call with Google. Once and a while I'll get a message like, "extend your auto warranty now" or " this is credit card services" which is another scam.

 

[ocnbrze]

Yep it's spam. Don't even answer it. If you answer the spam bot will mark your number as in use and you could get more spam. Let it go to voice if you can.

Also look into using apps like Youmail. It's what I use and blocks a majority of spam calls. I still get some spam that gets through, but it is far less then before I started using the app.

 

[Dannydet]

You're over thinking about it.
They're all spam and spoofed numbers that are calling you, nothing more.
As suggested, install a good spam call blocker such as Youmail and move on.
Unfortunately that's the world we live in today

 

[zlloyd1]

Youmail is only for iPhones, but mine is an Android....
I assumed it was some elaborate Spam thing, or Phishing of some kind, but it was confusing that it is always a Virginia number that turned out to not even be a legitimate phone number.
I am on the Do Not Call list, so am curious how these people are contacting me to begin with.
Nonetheless, Thanks for the replies!!

 

[mikedt]

Youmail is only for iPhones, but mine is an Android....
I assumed it was some elaborate Spam thing, or Phishing of some kind, but it was confusing that it is always a Virginia number that turned out to not even be a legitimate phone number.
I am on the Do Not Call list, so am curious how these people are contacting me to begin with.
Nonetheless, Thanks for the replies!!

youmail - Android Apps on Google Play

Enjoy millions of the latest Android apps, games, music, movies, TV, books, magazines & more. Anytime, anywhere, across your devices.

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Do you think spammers and scammers really care about some whatever "do not call" list? It's a certainty they're not in Virginia, these criminal type peeps are much more likely to be in something like Hyderabad, India.

 

[Dannydet]

The "Do not call" list is a joke and does nothing these days.
Youmail is for both iPhone and Android, so I don't know where your getting wrong information from, use the link from mikedt to install it. Personally, I use this :
Calls Blacklist PRO - Blocker - Apps on Google Play
And works just as good.

 

[treb1797]

There's a "Do Not Call List"? Where do I sign up

 

[Saimel]

These spam bots often call me too. Ban incoming calls to everyone except your contacts and the problem goes away.

 

[The_Chief]

The Do Not Call list is only for legitimate businesses. Overseas spam & scam crooks don't care about it. I use NoMoRobo and it does a great job of filtering out those calls before my phone ever gets them. Well worth the two bucks a month to spare me the aggravation.

 

[nickdalzell]

I would make sure to get a security suite that checks for any of your identity being on the dark web. I was getting tons of these scammer calls and after checking with one of those suites I had TONS of my data where it wasn't supposed to be, such as my phone number being on tons of lists, sold to tons of businesses many of whom probably deal with scammers.

Today, I never give my real phone number to a business. I'll give a fake one, or one that I no longer use, or even a made-up one like 555-2659 because if a company really wants to contact you, it will be via email, text, or their app. they NEVER call. Many sell the numbers to data collectors who sell it to the lowest common denominator. After removing my data from those lists, changing passwords, and changing the phone number that I had on sites such as Google Play, Microsoft and Amazon to a fake number, those calls are few and far between.

Back in the 1990s, there used to be a little gadget you could put on your landline called TeleZAP that would listen for specific codes that scammer call centers used (sounds, clicks, delays, etc) and if it detected a scammer, they'd hear a very high pitched ear rape sound. I don't know how successful it was, but I loved to imagine the image of them whipping their headset off in sheer discomfort over it. I often wanted to use an air horn against a few back in the day as well.

There are exceptions though, many times your phone number is a reused number that someone else had. I had a home phone once that apparently must have belonged to a grandparent, since it got tons of automated calls from medical groups, insurance companies, and one from a school system that basically is recorded propaganda known as OneCall. Sadly, any attempts to stop those failed since calling them back (these were local comanies as well) was met with a recording of "this number does not accept incoming calls' so I was forced to change the phone number. In these cases, the calls were specifically coming in at a specific hour, day of week. There was no way to get rid of them, since answering them only had recordings, not real people, nor a method to tell the automated system to go frell itself.