2018-01-14 18:13:15.429921+01 by Dan Lyke 7 comments
How robo-callers outwitted the government and completely wrecked the Do Not Call list. The meat of the article is in the first section, where they describe the guy with the $25k/month mansion near Laguna Beach who, eventually, ended up happily paying a $2.7M penalty to the FTC for telemarketing. And probably didn't stop.
Damn but we need some hard criminal penalties against robocallers.
[ related topics: Nature and environment moron ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: wrecking the Do Not Call list made: 2018-01-15 13:09:42.446533+01 by: DaveP [edit history]
Hmm. That link doesn't seem to go anywhere new.
#Comment Re: wrecking the Do Not Call list made: 2018-01-16 23:50:51.415495+01 by: Dan Lyke
Doh. Fixed it.
#Comment Re: wrecking the Do Not Call list made: 2018-01-17 13:03:24.307169+01 by: DaveP
Thanks for fixing the link. I'm pretty sure I'll be dropping my last phone number entirely due to the spammers. And there will be hassles with the clinic, who insist on having a number to robodial to "remind me of my appointment" and the delivery and ecommerce companies who want a number "in case there's a problem with delivery" etc. But at this point, having a phone number at all is more hassle than it's worth, except that it seems impossible to get cellular data access without having a number, just like it used to be impossible to get DSL without a landline or cable internet without paying for cable TV.
#Comment Re: wrecking the Do Not Call list made: 2018-01-20 18:50:37.646253+01 by: concept14
A lot of tablets have cellular data but no voice or text capability. I wonder if a carrier would let you have that as the only device on an account.
But what we really want is a pocket-sized device that won't ring, not a tablet. The calling app and the messaging app at some level are just like any other app on your phone. If you root the phone I imagine it would be possible to disable them. I don't know if the carrier would be able to find out. Maybe it impacts their business model about charging overage for excess minutes.
#Comment Re: wrecking the Do Not Call list made: 2018-01-21 13:24:33.621833+01 by: DaveP
I can make a phone not ring. Just set the default ringtone to "silence." But why should I even pay for voice service if I only want data?
It's still a highly imperfect world. My cable internet would be $5-10 cheaper per month if I had some form of TV as part of the "package," even if I never used it. A "naked" DSL line will almost certainly get cut off by a technician who listens for dial tone, and hearing none, assumes the pair is unused.
#Comment Re: wrecking the Do Not Call list made: 2018-01-22 23:15:14.436673+01 by: Dan Lyke
There are also nuances of various tariff schedules which make it more advantageous for an ISP to provide voice than not. Despite the overwhelming desire by customers to not have voice.
#Comment Re: wrecking the Do Not Call list made: 2018-01-30 03:20:48.325657+01 by: concept14
I was overthinking the technical parts of the question and underthinking the financial aspect.