Dialing douchery
Spoofing Caller ID has been routine for various thieves enterprises for several years now. One variation on this theme I’m seeing more often these days is the sending of the caller’s alleged location instead of their actual name: it might say, for instance, DENVER COLO, followed by a number in area code 303, which you presumably immediately recognize as Denver and therefore this is not, they conclude, a deceptive practice.
They conclude wrong. Be it noted that I am decidedly disinclined to answer any call in which this ploy is used, and if you’ve somehow persuaded yourself that this practice is okay, I consider it prima facie evidence that your ethics aren’t everything they could be.
Aside to the Senate: The House has already passed a measure to outlaw Caller ID spoofing generally; what’s slowing you down?
fillyjonk »
15 July 2010 · 11:18 am
Now if they could just outlaw the political robo-calls, or the “I’m taking a survey” calls.
ak4mc »
15 July 2010 · 12:07 pm
“Good evening, Prospective Donor’s Name, how are you? I’m calling on behalf of the Committee to Re-Elect Senator D. Bagg Foghorn. Can we count on your help in this grueling election year?”
fillyjonk »
15 July 2010 · 12:15 pm
I generally just hang up the phone on people-who-aren’t-people-in-my-life calling me, but if a politician were calling me to request donations I’d be tempted to say a few words of Anglo-Saxon derivation before ringing off.
fillyjonk »
15 July 2010 · 12:17 pm
Actually, it occurs to me that a big part of my phone hatred is that most of the calls I get are actually undesirable calls. I don’t really have many friends who do the “just called to say hi” thing so outside of family calling to talk, phone calls I get are either:
1. “Please take this survey”
2. “Send us all of your money”
3. “Don’t vote for my opponent because he eats boogers”
or
4. Someone asking me to do something, or telling me they’re going to crap out on the volunteer work they agreed to do, or that they NEED me for something.
Nicole »
15 July 2010 · 12:26 pm
If a city calls me, I’m assuming it is proof of Sky Net and I’m headed for the bunker.
Teresa »
15 July 2010 · 6:41 pm
I don’t answer any calls unless I know the caller. If the person dialing has their number blocked – I let it go to the answering machine then call them back or pick up as they leave a message. Saves lots of irritation.
The jerkwads doing this know they can get away with it. Even “a law” won’t stop them all. Enough people will have to complain before anything is even attempted by way of stopping them. So once again Congress puts out reams of paper as a bill that these phone spammers will simply laugh at. *sigh*