HUGE increase in spam/scam calls in the last 2-4 weeks!

[whitedavidp]

I live in the USA and have been using and very thankful for CA - especially in the last 2-4 weeks. We are not getting at least 60 calls per day - with at least 95% being blocked. I don't know if this is because of our being in yet another election cycle, the recent huge hack of social security (and other) data, or the phase of the moon. But it is nerve wracking - even with CA picking up and immediately hanging up! Are others experiencing this as well? Anyone know the cause?

[b-morgan]

We are not getting at least 60 calls per day

I assume "not" should be "now".

Fortunately, I'm not seeing any increase in activity. I get one ring per call so 60 single rings per day would drive me nuts.

[whitedavidp]

Crazy! I am at the point where I am considering turning off the ringers on all my landline handsets. Maybe all but one somewhere in the house.

[b-morgan]

Are there any landline phones that have a suppress first ring(s) feature?

[whitedavidp]

I looked a bit before adopting CA. I only saw some wireless systems that offered that. I actually purchased and returned a couple models after determining they wouldn't work well for us. I also sought out devices like this which might have helped - don't know as I could not find one to purchase. Would love to try something like that.

[roycewilliams]

@whitedavidp Did we already talk about my suggestion to switch to phones that have the "silence first ring" feature (Panasonic wireless phones, etc.)?

They have this feature because they have their own on-phone filtering lists, so that filtered calls are silent. But turning this feature on helps callattendant, too . My installs never hear the phone ring unless it's a call that callattendant allows.

There used to be a couple of separate little inline devices that added a "delay first ring" feature to a POTS line, but they appear to have vanished from the market. So the only options are either swapping out phones that don't have this capability, or accepting that a phone or two might still ring that you don't swap.

[whitedavidp]

Yes, we did. And I tried a Panasonic and another maker's model as well. They didn't work here. My wife rejected them immediately. Didn't like the ergonomics, etc. Suffice it to say that I was going to engage in that battle :-)

This discussion did prompt we to look again for a first ring suppression solution. My google search landed me on this page. And in a comment near the bottom from John David, he mentions using a Digitone Call Blocker Plus! (the old version which can be bought on Ebay) with all functions turned OFF except First Ring Suppression.

So I looked on EBay. I wanted to be sure I avoided the later models that the writer said were no good. So I found the Digitone web site and photos of their various offerings. It turns out to be fairly easy to distinguish. There is only one called Call Blocker Plus, it is white in color, and says 2014-2015. I was also able to get a pdf of the manual there. In the manual, page 6, it describes "First Ring Suppression™ – Caller ID Pass Thru Mode" and it seems like just what I need to both suppress the 1st ring AND to pass info along to CA. And it sits in the RJ-11 between our VOIP gateway and all the phone extensions in the house.

On EBay, I was able to get a new unit shipped from the US for $30. Given the hell we are going through now, it seems worth the money and effort to try it. I don't care for having to plug in yet another device. But this is just crazy! Like the writer, I will turn off all but 1st ring suppression.

I will report back here with results. Cheers!

[whitedavidp]

Well, after several days with junk calls off-the-chart, things appear to be back to a "normal" level of junk calls. So that's good.

Even better is that the Digitone Call Blocker Plus! I ordered off EBay arrived today and I have it reset, configured how I want it, and in place. At least in my early testing, it works GREAT!

So here is the setup...

1. Our land line is a VOIP service that comes in over the fiber optic connection along with our internet. So there is an RJ-11 jack on the back of the fiber modem (they call it an ONT).
2. I put a 1 into 2 splitter into that RJ-11 jack.
3. One output from the splitter goes to the USB Modem for use by CA.
4. The other output from the splitter goes into the Call Blocker Plus! "line" jack.
5. The telephone jack of the Call Blocker Plus! feeds a nearby wall jack that back-feeds the line signal to all of the extensions in our home.
6. I plug in the power supply to the Call Blocker Plus!

Setting up the Call Blocker Plus is easy. I got the manual here. The following is all I did to program the unit (at least so far):

1. Clear all call list info (if yours is new - mine wasn't - this is not needed) - Code 98#*
2. Clear all user settings (if yours is new - mine wasn't - this is not needed) - Code 99#*
3. Turn off flashing LED - Code 29
4. Set Standard Mode - Code 30
5. Turn OFF blocking of Anonymous, Out Of Area, Private, and Unknown callers showing no phone number - Code 72
6. Turn ON "Global Invite" - Code 96#*
7. Turn ON 1st ring suppression - Code 70

Items 5 and 6 are basically to be handled by CA and I do NOT want the Call Blocker Plus! doing anything.

Note that 1st ring suppression is said to "DCB Plus will suppress the first ring to the TEL phone port to prevent it from ringing and receiving Caller ID". So to make sure that CA's operation is NOT affected, it is important to split the signal going to CA from that going to the Call Blocker Plus! and any downstream handsets - as I did above.

So now when any call comes in on the VOIP, I hear no 1st rings at all. CA handles the blocking and screening by eventually hanging up. Permitted calls are heard on the 2nd ring. You might wish to make modifications to how many rings you want to occur BEFORE your service provider's voice mail kicks in to account for that missing 1st ring.

Also note that since blocked and screened calls never make it past the Call Blocker Plus!, you might never hear any ring at all for screened and blocked calls. Their caller id info will also not make it to any of your handsets to be recorded/displayed. They will be shown on the Call Blocker Plus! but in my case it is located in an out of the way location and so I will not be using that. So this will make CA my main (perhaps only) way to know if calls came in and were blocked/screened. And this will have to be checked regularly for false positives. I can easily do this from my desktop computers and smart phones. So not a problem for me.

If any other changes are required, I will post back here.

[whitedavidp]

FYI some small issues cropped up with the Call Blocker Plus! and one of my handsets. It is an older, Panasonic cordless unit. And with my configuration for blocked calls (just answer and hang up) I was getting a single ring on this handset - even though no other handsets in the house (none of them cordless) experienced none. I went looking for a cause and a hack work-around. I am not sure I can speak to the former. But I found a fairly simple answer to the latter.

[whitedavidp]

The install and configuration of the Call Blocker Plus! has made a huge difference (even though the dramatic increase in junk calls has subsided for some reason). The only ring we hear is from permitted calls. And, with the MQTT function, we can see who is calling, even then, in real time on our PCs and smartphones - and decide if we want to answer. Thanks again!