Two weeks ago, I told you how crooks take advantage of the payment system for caller ID by robocalling people randomly for hang-up calls. (Click here if you’d like to read that article.)
A ready wanted to know if there’s anyway to beat their system?
“Do the shysters still get paid if my answering machine or voicemail picks up?”
Unfortunately, yes. As long as the call is answered by someone or some thing and the caller ID detected, they make their fraction of a cent. Which is why they keep doing it.
However, help could be on the way soon. Phone companies are working on technology to filter out these calls before they ever get to you much in the way a spam filter can dump potentially unwanted messages in your spam folder. Some companies already block potential spam calls and give you a notice about them. Of course, that doesn’t keep these creeps from getting paid their fraction of a cent. And there’s always the issue of crooks coming up with their own new tech to beat these spam filters.
Right now, it’s an annoying problem with no easy solution.