# Getting spammed constantly :(



## DuxCro (Mar 31, 2020)

So this is a non PC related question, but perhaps some of you can help me. 
Few days ago i started getting insulting SMS and one ring calls from range of numbers all starting with +178. This is scammers or whatever. Idk how they got my cell phone number. I use it for two factor verification on Steam, origin and Twitch. So either they found it there somehow or just sending SMS and calls to a range of numbers. I can block every single number. But it's not helping since this garbage is using a different number each time. I don't have a smartphone. Just an ordinary cell phone. Anyone knows if there is a way to block this permanently? Like entire +178 range of numbers?


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 31, 2020)

DuxCro said:


> So this is a non PC related question, but perhaps some of you can help me.
> Few days ago i started getting insulting SMS and one ring calls from range of numbers all starting with +178. This is scammers or whatever. Idk how they got my cell phone number. I use it for two factor verification on Steam, origin and Twitch. So either they found it there somehow or just sending SMS and calls to a range of numbers. I can block every single number. But it's not helping since this garbage is using a different number each time. I don't have a smartphone. Just an ordinary cell phone. Anyone knows if there is a way to block this permanently? Like entire +178 range of numbers?


Where are you located?


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## DuxCro (Mar 31, 2020)

eidairaman1 said:


> Where are you located?


Croatia


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 31, 2020)

DuxCro said:


> Croatia



Do you have a do not call website or a trade comittee or a communications comittee?


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## Regeneration (Mar 31, 2020)

Contact your cellular carrier OR get a modern phone and block them yourself.


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 31, 2020)

Regeneration said:


> Contact your cellular carrier OR get a modern phone and block them yourself.



There is only so many numbers that can be blocked.


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## Skywalker12345 (Mar 31, 2020)

could you switch to google fi? they screen for that type of stuff calling and/or messaging.


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## Regeneration (Mar 31, 2020)

eidairaman1 said:


> There is only so many numbers that can be blocked.



On most Android phones you can block prefixes (+178*).



lucasweir said:


> could you switch to google fi? they screen for that type of stuff calling and/or messaging.



OP is located in Croatia. Google Fi for U.S. residents only.


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## basco (Mar 31, 2020)

normally ya can call your carrier and block all numbers beginning with .....


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## Vayra86 (Mar 31, 2020)

DuxCro said:


> So this is a non PC related question, but perhaps some of you can help me.
> Few days ago i started getting insulting SMS and one ring calls from range of numbers all starting with +178. This is scammers or whatever. Idk how they got my cell phone number. I use it for two factor verification on Steam, origin and Twitch. So either they found it there somehow or just sending SMS and calls to a range of numbers. I can block every single number. But it's not helping since this garbage is using a different number each time. I don't have a smartphone. Just an ordinary cell phone. Anyone knows if there is a way to block this permanently? Like entire +178 range of numbers?



You can ask your carrier to block land codes yes.

For some countries they already do by default, most notably a few African ones. Nigerian Princes, and all that. Ethiopia, Tunesia...



Regeneration said:


> On most Android phones you can block prefixes (+178*).



Ha nice!


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## ne6togadno (Mar 31, 2020)

Where is telephone country code 178? - Answers
					

There is no telephone country code +178. Country code +1 is North America (USA, Canada, etc.), and 78 would be the first two digits of a three-digit area code.+1 780 = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada+1 781 = Lexington, Mass., USA+1 784 = St. Vincent and the Grenadines (island country in the...




					www.answers.com


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## micropage7 (Mar 31, 2020)

DuxCro said:


> So this is a non PC related question, but perhaps some of you can help me.
> Few days ago i started getting insulting SMS and one ring calls from range of numbers all starting with +178. This is scammers or whatever. Idk how they got my cell phone number. I use it for two factor verification on Steam, origin and Twitch. So either they found it there somehow or just sending SMS and calls to a range of numbers. I can block every single number. But it's not helping since this garbage is using a different number each time. I don't have a smartphone. Just an ordinary cell phone. Anyone knows if there is a way to block this permanently? Like entire +178 range of numbers?


using android? you could block the call
i dunno from where they get your phone number, maybe from some web that you visit or in here i suspect some phone counters collect the number and sell them to advertising company


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## DuxCro (Mar 31, 2020)

Guess there's nothing i can do. I can block single numbers on my phone. Which is useless in this case. And my provider customer service is unavailable because of corona "shituation."


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## ne6togadno (Mar 31, 2020)

doesnt your provider have call center which you can contact and request +178 prefix to be blocked.
btw what is the next digit after +178 is it always constant or it varies.


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## DuxCro (Mar 31, 2020)

ne6togadno said:


> doesnt your provider have call center which you can contact and request +178 prefix to be blocked.
> btw what is the next digit after +178 is it always constant or it varies.


+1780. After that the numbers vary. Here are some of them... +17804467169,  +17806680170,  +17806907816,  +17807421587....


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## FreedomEclipse (Mar 31, 2020)

Would of helped to mention the make and model of phone. Nobody is going to laugh at you. One of my uncles is still using a Nokia 8310 or 8310i. It works and the battery lasts a week between charges.

If your device is android based. you could look into an app called 'TrueCaller' It basically functions as an an anti-spam call filtering network. People who get spam report the number and TrueCaller block the number for everyone using their app


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## DuxCro (Mar 31, 2020)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Would of helped to mention the make and model of phone. Nobody is going to laugh at you. One of my uncles is still using a Nokia 8310 or 8310i. It works and the battery lasts a week between charges.
> 
> If your device is android based. you could look into an app called 'TrueCaller' It basically functions as an an anti-spam call filtering network. People who get spam report the number and TrueCaller block the number for everyone using their app


As i wrote in the first post, i don't have a smartphone. Just an ordinary cheap cell phone. Model is Nokia 105. Not that i can't afford a smartphone, i'm just a weird individual who hates cell phones (and cars). Not a problem to buy another phone. Problem is getting another number because this one i'm getting spammed is used for private contacts and work.  Tried calling my provider today, but they can't solve this kind of problems now because most of them are off work until Corona situation gets under control. That is the only solution i see. Aside from getting a new SIM card.


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## Chomiq (Mar 31, 2020)

Settings > calls > additional settings > call restriction

That's according to some guide on Google.


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## DuxCro (Mar 31, 2020)

Chomiq said:


> Settings > calls > additional settings > call restriction
> 
> That's according to some guide on Google.


Hmmm. i know about that. That's where i filtered all those numbers. Now i added the number +1780 to the list. So we'll see if the phone will filter everything starting with that number. But i doubt it.


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## ne6togadno (Mar 31, 2020)

780 is area code of alberta (ca) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code_780
so +1 is North america 780 is alberta after that 2nd 3 digit group of all numbers you've posted points to edmonton erea. may be edmonton Police department has online report form and if you like you can report those messages to them.


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## Bill_Bright (Mar 31, 2020)

DuxCro said:


> Idk how they got my cell phone number.


They may not have got it from anywhere. Spammers often just call random numbers - by the 10s of 1000s. 

Two years ago, after I discovered my old cell phone would not stay put on my truck bumper for a 10 mile ride, I got a new phone and decided to get a new phone number too. On the way home from the phone store, I got spam call!     

All you can do is block them but frankly, that is an endless battle because they will just spoof another number to call or text you from. 

The ones that really p!$$ me off are those that go straight to voice mail. I guess some carriers lets you block that from happening but apparent, Cricket doesn't.


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## birdie (Mar 31, 2020)

DuxCro said:


> So this is a non PC related question, but perhaps some of you can help me.
> Few days ago i started getting insulting SMS and one ring calls from range of numbers all starting with +178. This is scammers or whatever. Idk how they got my cell phone number. I use it for two factor verification on Steam, origin and Twitch. So either they found it there somehow or just sending SMS and calls to a range of numbers. I can block every single number. But it's not helping since this garbage is using a different number each time. I don't have a smartphone. Just an ordinary cell phone. Anyone knows if there is a way to block this permanently? Like entire +178 range of numbers?



If you have an Android phone there are plenty of apps which can filter any numbers and spammers. If you have an iPhone - you're SoL.

Blocking numbers one by one might become a nightmare if you really leaked your number.


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## Bill_Bright (Mar 31, 2020)

birdie said:


> If you have an Android phone there are plenty of apps which can filter any numbers and spammers.


This is true, but none are anywhere near 100% effective. Most rely on other users reporting those numbers - which means they are not immediately be filtered/blocked. And the problem is, the bad guys know this so they use one number for a few minutes, then use another. 

What we need is for the carriers to hurry up and implement caller ID verification. But I recognize this is a challenge as many companies have legitimate reasons to spoof a different name and number. A large medical clinic, for example, may have 100s of numbers but want all outgoing calls to display one clinic name and the number to the receptionist on caller IDs. 

Probably the best solution for us users to set up our phones to only let through calls from our contacts. But that can be a real pain keeping our contacts list current.


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## neatfeatguy (Mar 31, 2020)

I get spam calls that go in spurts. They spoof numbers to match your local phone numbers in hopes you'll answer because the call shows up as local.

Any number that shows up on my phone that I don't know,  I let it go to voicemail. 99.9% of the time no message is left, then i block the number. 

I can go a few weeks without a spam call, then one day I'll get 4 or 5 spam calls and it'll be like that for a week or so. Then no calls for a while. The do not call list doesn't stop these calls.

I think the most entertaining calls i got for a while were ones out of New York. Claiming  that I had warrants out for me and to call them back to pay, otherwise they would send the NYCPD to my house to arrest me.....I sure am glad I've never been to NY and that the NYCPD has no jurisdiction in MN. I got these spam calls over the course of 5-6 months.

Hopefully they'll slow down for you.


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## Bill_Bright (Mar 31, 2020)

Yeah, the Do Not Call list is really a farce. It started out with good intentions. But it really works on the honor system. So only the good companies would honor our do not call requests. The badguys, spammers and scammers are going to ignore, and laugh at those lists. If anything, the Do Not Call list is a list of legitimate numbers!  And the other problem is many (if not most) of the spam calls and texts actually originate in other countries where the US has no jurisdiction to stop those offenders.  And the local authorities either don't have the resources, or their pockets are getting lined to turn a blind eye.


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## Kursah (Mar 31, 2020)

Do what I do. Troll them. It is more fun, and constructive (in a sense) than to get angry and try to block them. I don't ever expect federal or provider services to filter this crap correctly, apps, sign-up services, whatever. I've made it a game to where I look forward to the next call and am sad when I have to go days or weeks in between now.

*Note: Trolling is not condoned on TPU forums, this statement does not stand by any official backing from TPU or its owners, this is my individual experience and opinion for spam call handling.*

Its more enjoyable if you waste their time too. I usually put them on speakerphone, and pick at random how I'll respond. Car warranty extension? If they can warranty my, say... 07 Camry with 180k miles with the $69 package, I'm game, otherwise I'll have to go to the other guys. I'm not buying into this pay too much for a warranty I've never used crap, I want a cut-rate deal for my primo 13 year old car, and I won't pay a dime over what I'm telling you I'll pay. Sometimes they'll hang up, sometimes they'll argue, oftentimes they'll "forward" me to their "manager". HA.

I had one guy call me last week pretending he was my grandson (I'm not even old enough for grandkids yet lol, though one of my sons is nearing adulthood), he claimed to get in this accident that landed him in jail. He was using this one call to reach out for bail money and that his lawyer would call me back in a few minutes. I played along and said to have his lawyer call me sonny. LOL. The "lawyer" calls from the same number, same dude with a slightly different tone, states that he's calling on behalf of the "other" dude to seek bail assistance. I say okay, he asks if he can speak to my wife. I exclaim that "WHY WOULD YOU ASK THAT?! She's been dead for five years now. Do you not have any decency?!", as I'm standing next to my wife in our kitchen trying not to laugh out loud. Silence for a moment, I say "HELLO?!", he says "I'm here", I continue, "Well then, explain yourself. Any half-assed lawyer would have known this information. Do I need to find you a job at your local grocer's?!"... click.

I had another guy call me trying to sell me DirecTV, I strung him along for a solid 25 minutes while I worked away. He had my parent's old address, so I used that, pretended to be easily confused about options and really nervous about being scammed. He reassured me over and over and over that he wasn't a scammer, didn't have time to scam folks, just trying to give good deals. For a spam caller, he was one of the better spoken ones, which made it more fun to string him along. After 25 minutes of this, I ended with "Before I go, I want to ask just one more question to ease my mind.", "Sure, go ahead" he replied. I said "What do you do for real work outside of scamming folks? I mean, you gotta have bills to pay too." Click.

Debt/refinancing...these are fun as well. I target the 6.9% interest rates, when they say "Oh sir, we can do better, we do 0.9%!" I choose to get excited, indifferent or angry and play it randomly from there. Sometimes I'll pretend to be old, or impatient.

Many times the really lazy or inexperienced ones hang up often and early. Though it is fun to ask them what they used to do for a day job. I even had one argue with me, saying the reason he scams folks is because its better money than working. I said yeah, but you'll never get enough to bail yourself outta jail for fraud, at least if you worked a real job you'd have something to say and show for yourself that helped society instead of ripping it off. That for some reason pissed him off something fierce.

I had a text scammer claim to be the VP of Facebook a couple months ago claiming that I'd won a raffle for one million dollars (queue Dr. Evil). I strung him along for about 30 texts over the course of two hours. He used a picture he took a picture of from a Google search with a shitty smartphone camera, still had the watermark on it from the media site it was stolen from. I forget who it was, but they had a completely shaved head. So I focused on that. The picture of this dude was a white guy. So after this dude stopped texting me, I said "What's the deal?", he went on about how I wasn't taking this seriously and he was tired of the games. I said, okay, if you're serious, then call me. HE DID! And it was a black dude down in Boise, I laughed and told him that made my day that he didn't even try to sound white! Is that why he was scamming instead of working an honest job? HAHA! He of course hung up. I called back, left a VM of my wife and I laughing. I troll texted a him few more times because he was lazy and didn't mask his cell number, then I later reported it to Boise authorities (not sure what good that actually did). That dude was super lazy and I mean if you're gonna play the game, at least be smart enough to mask your true number. LOL!

Me trolling scam callers has actually reduced my overall number of calls. I've pissed off as many as I can, and constantly finding different stories to come up with. If they call and ask for someone that's not me, I play along with a "Who's askin? Sure been a long time since I heard that name...". It is ironic how many of these folks have little tolerance for being trolled. They do it for $$$, I do it for laughs.


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## Bill_Bright (Apr 1, 2020)

Following up on my comment in post #23 above, I got notification of this article in my inbox this morning:

FCC tells US telcos to implement caller ID authentication by June 30, 2021

I wish it was this coming June 30th, but better late than never. Of course it won't stop all spam calls. And no doubt there's a clause in there that will allow politicians to still hound us with robocalls.  But at least the caller ID should show who's calling.


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## R2DSF (Apr 6, 2020)

DuxCro said:


> I don't have a smartphone. Just an ordinary cell phone. Anyone knows if there is a way to block this permanently?


Which phone? Manufacturer and Model. On some simple phones you can ban numbers by prefix via engineer mode.


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## Vayra86 (Apr 16, 2020)

Kursah said:


> Do what I do. Troll them. It is more fun, and constructive (in a sense) than to get angry and try to block them. I don't ever expect federal or provider services to filter this crap correctly, apps, sign-up services, whatever. I've made it a game to where I look forward to the next call and am sad when I have to go days or weeks in between now.
> 
> *Note: Trolling is not condoned on TPU forums, this statement does not stand by any official backing from TPU or its owners, this is my individual experience and opinion for spam call handling.*
> 
> ...



Sounds awfully familiar, I've had great fun with this stuff some 10 odd years ago...  Oh yes so many stories. The spam calling and telemarketing, too, seems to have really gone down a lot ever since. I barely ever get called nowadays. A big part of that is probably that we don't have a land line anymore, just mobile phone and copper for internet alone.


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