Fighting back against spammers and telemarketers

[Beebo Brink]

Mrs. Beebo and I are drowning. Constant daily telemarking calls on our landline phone (yes, we still have one) and my inbox is overflowing with spam/phishing emails every hour. Time to start fighting back, so I'm looking for the best methods of taking a more proactive approach.

Surprisingly, my low-tech line of first-defense is having more impact than I expected. Instead of hanging up on telemarketers, I set my phone aside until the line is disconnected by the phone company. This is not the same as the telemarketer hanging up, because I can hear them trying repeatedly to do just that. Once they give up, it takes a few minutes for the line to clear, and apparently they really don't like having their line tied up. Telemarketing calls have dropped by at least 50% in the first few weeks after I started doing this.

Next, I signed up for a year's worth of data removal services from a company called Incogni. If they can make a dent in the assault we're under, the cost will be worth it.

I've also been pondering a VPN service, but I have no idea if that's overkill or not. Does anyone here use VPN for web browsing? Is it a good practice?

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

I've considered incogni.... let us know how that works out for you all and if it helps!

I've also thought about doing that more and more with telemarketers where you just leave the line open but don't say anything until they hang up. I've heard that works as you say.

My facebook getting deleted was maybe a blessing in disguise since I've heard many telemarketers scrap phone numbers and other stuff from that.

 

[Isabeau]

I don’t have a landline, but I have to answer all calls since they can be work related. Because of this, I was getting a lot of telemarketers and calls from China. I just realized though, that since I deleted my FB account, I don’t think I’ve gotten one spam call since. Could be just a coincidence , idk. Same thing with emails, mostly, but I use gmail, so I’m still prudent.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

I don’t have a landline, but I have to answer all calls since they can be work related. Because of this, I was getting a lot of telemarketers and calls from China. I just realized though, that since I deleted my FB account, I don’t think I’ve gotten one spam call since. Could be just a coincidence , idk. Same thing with emails, mostly, but I use gmail, so I’m still prudent.

Losing my facebook definitely cut down on the pure scam calls. I still get some annoying stuff but it's mostly people begging for donations that sounds like legit organizations. I definitely think many scammers scrape facebook.

 

[Noodles]

I've also been pondering a VPN service, but I have no idea if that's overkill or not. Does anyone here use VPN for web browsing? Is it a good practice?

I have used a VPN at least on my cell for like a decade now. I was on a paid PIA (Private Internet Access) plan but I found out I could get a paid Nord sub (via a code from a 3rd party) through a work perk, so I use that now.

I don't know if it helps against spam but I do get very few spam calls and not a lot of spam emails.

A few other things I also do, privacy wise, that probably help.

- I pay for NextDNS, its $2/month and filters ads and tracking. Useful on all devices, they also have a free plan.

- I also run a Pihole for DNS inside tge house for filtering, but thats a more technical solution.

- Run Ublock Origin Plug in (Specifically) for ad blocking in browser. I also use Firefox.

- Run Ghostery plug in as as well, to block more trackers.

- Run Privacy Badger plug in for more blocking of trackers.

- No script can be useful but it breaks a lot of the web so its not useful to always use.

- There are repositories of custom filters you can use on some of these services. I have some set up in Ublock to clean up Youtube.

- I use a plug in called FB Purity that cleans up Facebook.

- Turn on the Facebook Container tab in Firefox, it used to be a plug in but I think its built in now.

- Agressively manage your email, atleast for a while. Use Unsubscribe buttons, agressively, if they don't work, use email filters. Filter both precicely and genericly. Like just as an example, I filter some ebay emails, but others I want, so I can't filter on the from address, but filter based on common words in the headlines re ads and pushed stuff .

- Have more than one email address. I have one I use for house stuff, bills, etc, another for like, forums and such, and a few others.

- If youbrrally get desperate you can try having multiple phone numbers. They don't offer it anymore but Google used to give out free Google Voice virtual numbers. I have had one for ... a looong time now. I give it out for any and all contests that I assume will be selling my data.

Anyway, thats probably more than you werr looking for.

 

[Rose Karuna]

My email stuff is not too bad, I block every single spam email and that seems to have helped. The real problem for me are the spam calls and texts. Since my husband died they have increased by 50%. Scammers obviously hunt through obituaries. Also this time of year, there are a lot of medicare scams and that's probably 75% of the scam calls I'm getting now. I put myself on the "do not call" registry but I haven't seen much difference honestly. My best defense, is they call, I block the call and report them to AT&T (there is an option on my phone to block and report). I like the idea of just leaving the line open. I'm going to try that the next medicare scam call I get. Thanks Beebo!

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

I've had the same email (gmail) and cell phone number for 30 years. The email spam protection has been really decent. I get the occasional text but not as many as I used to.

Poor mom though... We had to disable messages on her phone because Dad (no cell phone) used her number to sign up on some maga garbage. Now Mom gets like a dozen texts a day, addressed to Dad. All from different numbers, so blocking does no good. I'm not an iPhone user, maybe there's a way to white list text messages... But I didn't see one.

 

[Isabeau]

I've had the same email (gmail) and cell phone number for 30 years. The email spam protection has been really decent. I get the occasional text but not as many as I used to.

Poor mom though... We had to disable messages on her phone because Dad (no cell phone) used her number to sign up on some maga garbage. Now Mom gets like a dozen texts a day, addressed to Dad. All from different numbers, so blocking does no good. I'm not an iPhone user, maybe there's a way to white list text messages... But I didn't see one.

Maybe this will help.

Settings -> Apps -> Messages - scroll down to Message Filtering, turn on "Filter Unknown Senders."

Then go back to Messages settings screen, scroll up and tap Notifications.

Scroll to bottom at Customize Notifications. Turn off notifications for Unknown Senders.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

Maybe this will help.

Settings -> Apps -> Messages - scroll down to Message Filtering, turn on "Filter Unknown Senders."

Then go back to Messages settings screen, scroll up and tap Notifications.

Scroll to bottom at Customize Notifications. Turn off notifications for Unknown Senders.

That helps with the notifications, and it's definitely on... But the messages still come in burying legitimate messages. She's "low vision", using a huge font, making it really difficult to deal with the mess. Basically texting on the phone is completely unusable for her.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

I use Cricket Wireless for my phone, and I do get a spam call now and then but Cricket seems to be really good about identifying them for me - the caller ID section will say "Spam Risk", and I just don't answer when that happens. Since I've been doing that, I can't easily remember the last time I answered the phone and it turned out to be an actual telemarketer or robocall. It HAS happened a couple of times, but very rarely.

I use ProtonVPN on my desktop. It starts up on boot and is always on. Although very lately - like just in last couple of days - sometimes Discord will not "connect" when I try to launch it, and I've found out it doesn't like some of the VPN's servers now for some darn reason. I have to go through and try a bunch of different servers until I find one that it's okay with. Not sure what that's all about. Other than that the service has worked fine for me, I also get email with Proton too. But I might be looking for a different provider sometime soon for reasons.

 

[Rose Karuna]

This just makes me furious. True proof that politicians are in it for the money and not the bullshit "service to their community". Honestly, I think lobbying congress should be against the law. Also, just don't use crypto ATMs. Just don't.

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2025/10/us/crypto-atm-scams-companies-profit-invs-vis/

 

[Caete]

I used to work for Verizon for many years until I left them to handle my Dad's estate and take care of my stepmom. Six months after leaving is when I started getting spam calls. At some point, Verizon started flagging unknown numbers as potential spam so that helped me filter out the spam. After my stepmom passed away, I just don't answer my phone as I never hear it ring as the ringer is on very low. I just operate under the premise of anyone who has my cellphone will leave a message otherwise they are added to the ignore pile. I still get 2 calls per week from unrelated numbers I don't recognize that call back tto back and never leave a message.
PC wise, I have Proton VPN installed but rarely use it. I do use NordVPN often though and it works great. I use Kaspersky as well and while not allowed to update directly from the US locations, it updates flawlessly from the Japan servers I usually connect to for browsing and file sharing.

 

[Casey Pelous]

I don't know if it is a nationwide plague, but here I get a lot of a) various contractors whose "crews will be in the area" and this would somehow benefit me in a very vague way should I choose to employ them and b) "We really want to buy your house."

For a), my standard response is now, "Let me stop you right there, cupcake. I would never, and I do mean NEVER, hire a contractor who is so terrible that they have to cold-call for business, so you never need to call me again. Are we clear?" They almost invariably hang up at that point. Some bail out at "cupcake."

For b), my standard response is, "Yes. Very interested. The price is [number that is about 2x market value] in cash and you must close within 30 days. $20,000 earnest money which must be put in escrow before we continue this conversation. There will be no negotiation. A counteroffer takes the deal off the table. Pick an escrow company in [closest city with an escrow office.] Call me when that earnest money is handled and not until. Good day,." If you don't know, their hustle is to pressure distressed sellers into a lowball contract-to-sell, then immediately sell the contract to an investor. It's legal but ugly. They usually depart from my phone right after they hear "earnest money."

I figure you never know when you'll get a live one, and meanwhile, I'm mildly amused.

 

[Caete]

I don't know if it is a nationwide plague, but here I get a lot of a) various contractors whose "crews will be in the area" and this would somehow benefit me in a very vague way should I choose to employ them and b) "We really want to buy your house."

For a), my standard response is now, "Let me stop you right there, cupcake. I would never, and I do mean NEVER, hire a contractor who is so terrible that they have to cold-call for business, so you never need to call me again. Are we clear?" They almost invariably hang up at that point. Some bail out at "cupcake."

For b), my standard response is, "Yes. Very interested. The price is [number that is about 2x market value] in cash and you must close within 30 days. $20,000 earnest money which must be put in escrow before we continue this conversation. There will be no negotiation. A counteroffer takes the deal off the table. Pick an escrow company in [closest city with an escrow office.] Call me when that earnest money is handled and not until. Good day,." If you don't know, their hustle is to pressure distressed sellers into a lowball contract-to-sell, then immediately sell the contract to an investor. It's legal but ugly. They usually depart from my phone right after they hear "earnest money."

I figure you never know when you'll get a live one, and meanwhile, I'm mildly amused.

Ah, we get the occasional plague of actual people ringing our doorbell who all have been working in our area repairing and putting in new roofs and a) could see some missing shingles on my roof or b) are willing to climb up on my roof and "inspect it" (or claim injury for an insurance claim). I just say no, I'm renting (a lie just like theirs) and do not have the power to make those decisions. They sulk off to the next neighbour to try their pitch. No one with a view to my roof has had any shingle work done in the last five years and I know these people.

 

[Isabeau]

I just say no, I'm renting (a lie just like theirs) …

Great way to cut a conversation off. No use in wasting time.

 

[Beebo Brink]

We get "We want to buy your house", too, but mostly calls from Medicare Advantage plans. Open enrollment starts soon so the calls are back again in force.

 

[Lexxi]

I get those 'we want to buy your home' type emails/calls as well.

Is weird. Since I don't own a home. heh.

 

[Anya Ristow]

I no longer have a phone number, but until recently I'd had the same phone number for thirty-ish years. I almost never got spam calls. I don't know why. It used to be that if you googled my real name you'd find my phone number pretty easily, another name I'd gone by, my home address, and my previous home address, and some obfuscated versions of my email address, which because I was using a vanity domain, contained enough information for you to learn another thing about me, even if you didn't actually have my email address. I have no idea why I didn't get spam calls.

EDIT: You'd have to google my real name AND city, because I have a common name. And even with name and city, and it's not even a big city, there were more than one. Possibly this worked to my advantage.

Here are a few things I've done for DECADES to avoid being contacted...

When asked for my birth date, I gave one of two dates that were not correct, but that I remembered, and they were "old enough" for things that were filtering for "old enough."

I never used my real phone number for just anyone asking for it. The supermarket loyalty card did not need to contact me. This has caused me some trouble, as sometimes when they try to contact you and they fail they deactivate your account. I make a judgment call. Do they have a legit need for my phone number? It is becoming more difficult in the age of 2-factor authentication to avoid giving them your phone number.

Since I had (past tense) my own vanity domain, I used a different email address for every single entity asking for one. I had a greymatter algorithm for generating them on the fly, so I could come up with the same address for the same entity when I needed it again, without recording anything. This way, when they shared it I'd know who shared it and I'd start sending that one to /dev/null. You'd be surprised how many "legitimate", large companies leaked their customer data to spammers. And I don't mean "legitimate" spammers. I mean fraudsters and fly-by-night operators. But another thing this did for me is that even if they leaked my account info, the email address couldn't be used to guess my login credentials elsewhere. And I had a greymatter algorithm for passwords, too.

I use ad blockers, and have as long as they've existed, and now the browser Brave. Ad networks, even "legitimate" ones, are malware vectors.

Facebook has my phone number, but it is private. It'll only leak through facebook if facebook leaks it.

None of this really explains why I didn't get spam calls. I haven't had a landline since early 2000's. It used to be cell phones were more protected, but that obviously isn't still true.

I was on the "do not call" list many years ago. You need to keep updating that, as far as I know, but I never did.

I don't use a VPN.

I think key to no email spam is to not use the same address for everything. That's not easy to accomplish, though. I now use a gmail address, and their spam filter seems okay. I still never get the complete scam type spam. Not even to the spam folder. I think they discard the stuff that is obviously unsolicited and broadcast to many people.

If the service is free, YOU are the product. Consider if the service is worth your privacy and sanity, and don't sign up for things that aren't actually important.

I'm curious if anyone else is in the "I don't receive many calls" camp, and has a common name.

 

[Anya Ristow]

Here's how I think the common name thing helps. Entities often "share" your information with anyone willing to pay for it, but possibly your phone number isn't one of the things they are willing to share. "For your protection", that is, to avoid regulatory scrutiny. They'll share your name and state, maybe even city, because they don't think that's worth protecting, if they don't also provide a way to contact you. So, the purchasers of this info googles your name (in an automated process), and if they get a small list of phone numbers, they call them all. They want to be able to use your name when they get you on the phone.

If you have a common name, they have too many phone numbers to call, so they don't.

The objective is to tie a phone number to a name, starting from not having both.

That's a guess.

For Medicare Advantage plans, I figure I'll start receiving those when I'm old enough, because age IS googlable. If you google my name you do get a list of people who are retirement age, but not yet including me. Beebo, I bet that's why you are receiving those. I don't know if incogni is able to remove you from all the "people search" google results, as I doubt they are all legit. All I know about incogni is that they are a frequent "influencer" sponsor, and that's never a good sign.

Here's what google's AI says about incogni and google people search results...

"Incogni does not directly remove your data from Google search results; instead, it removes your personal information from data brokers and people search sites. Since Google compiles its search results from these external sites, removing your data from them will eventually cause it to disappear from Google's index as well. Incogni automatically sends data removal requests on your behalf and tracks down new sources over time to keep your information from reappearing."

And here's why I think that is bunk...

The internet is mostly full of ripped content, and sites would love you to find them in google and pay them a visit, either to sell you something, or to sell your visit to advertisers, or to get you to download some malware. Surely there are "people search" sites that simply scrape their data from other "people search" sites. Once you've been listed and scraped, you are beyond the reach of incogni, because there's no way they are going to honor incogni's request to remove you.

Maybe google keeps on top of those. I see about ten of them, though, when I google my name.

 

[Noodles]

If you have a common name, they have too many phone numbers to call, so they don't.

I could actuallynsee this being a thing. Mostly because for my part, I am pretty sure both my first and last name are "top ten common", I have not actually looked it up recently, and I get hardly any spam calls.