• Re: is there a way to

    From Computer Nerd Kev@3:770/3 to David Higton on Sun Aug 14 09:18:26 2022
    David Higton <dave@davehigton.me.uk> wrote:
    In message <td5vo8$2huqj$1@dont-email.me>
    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    If the device already has an internet connection (wifi), have a look at
    using MQTT to connect to a Node Red server (on a Pi for example) which can >> send a Telegram message for free. Because sms usually requires a mobile
    connection and costs money. See Andreas Spiess YouTube channel for some
    mqtt/nodered videos https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreasSpiess/videos

    Prompted by your posting, I spent a couple of hours this afternoon
    getting a Raspberry Pi running RISC OS to send a Telegram message via
    the Telegram API. As you say, Telegram is free, where SMS may not be.

    Having just checked the Wikipedia page about Telegram to see that
    it doesn't offer any SMS-forwarding feature itself, I'm not sure
    why it would be a better alternative to SMS than simply sending
    emails.

    --
    __ __
    #_ < |\| |< _#

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From David Higton@3:770/3 to Computer Nerd Kev on Sun Aug 14 12:12:56 2022
    In message <62f83142@news.ausics.net>
    not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) wrote:

    David Higton <dave@davehigton.me.uk> wrote:
    In message <td5vo8$2huqj$1@dont-email.me>
    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    If the device already has an internet connection (wifi), have a look at using MQTT to connect to a Node Red server (on a Pi for example) which can send a Telegram message for free. Because sms usually requires a mobile connection and costs money. See Andreas Spiess YouTube channel
    for some mqtt/nodered videos https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreasSpiess/videos

    Prompted by your posting, I spent a couple of hours this afternoon
    getting a Raspberry Pi running RISC OS to send a Telegram message via the Telegram API. As you say, Telegram is free, where SMS may not be.

    Having just checked the Wikipedia page about Telegram to see that it
    doesn't offer any SMS-forwarding feature itself, I'm not sure why it would
    be a better alternative to SMS than simply sending emails.

    Notification within seconds.

    It depends what the OP wants. He asked for SMS, sure, but the suggestion
    is that Telegram works just as fast as SMS, and notifies the user in the
    same way as SMS. Email is often quite quick, but rarely as fast. Also
    SMS may not be free to send, even from a SIP account.

    So Telegram appears to some of us to offer a functional equivalent to
    what was originally requested.

    Of course the rest of us are not so intimately acquainted with the OP's requirements, so we may have misjudged the situation.

    David

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From A. Dumas@3:770/3 to A. Dumas on Fri Sep 9 18:14:18 2022
    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    <scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us> wrote:
    Getting [...] devices to send email is trivial;

    Increasingly less so. Email providers are putting up more & more barriers
    in the battle against spam, which also makes delivery less & less reliable. There's a reason people are switching to instant messaging: email is
    failing.

    https://hackaday.com/2022/09/07/the-era-of-distributed-independent-email-servers-is-over/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From The Natural Philosopher@3:770/3 to A. Dumas on Sat Sep 10 14:17:22 2022
    On 09/09/2022 19:14, A. Dumas wrote:
    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    <scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us> wrote:
    Getting [...] devices to send email is trivial;

    Increasingly less so. Email providers are putting up more & more barriers
    in the battle against spam, which also makes delivery less & less reliable. >> There's a reason people are switching to instant messaging: email is
    failing.

    https://hackaday.com/2022/09/07/the-era-of-distributed-independent-email-servers-is-over/

    Which is why I am starting to receive spam on whatsapp and SMS


    --
    There’s a mighty big difference between good, sound reasons and reasons
    that sound good.

    Burton Hillis (William Vaughn, American columnist)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Richard Falken@1:123/115 to A. Dumas on Mon Sep 12 18:21:14 2022
    Re: Re: is there a way to
    By: A. Dumas to A. Dumas on Fri Sep 09 2022 06:14 pm

    A. Dumas <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> wrote:
    <scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us> wrote:
    Getting [...] devices to send email is trivial;

    Increasingly less so. Email providers are putting up more & more barriers in the battle against spam, which also makes delivery less & less reliable There's a reason people are switching to instant messaging: email is failing.

    https://hackaday.com/2022/09/07/the-era-of-distributed-independent-email-ser

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3

    Spam is killing telephones faster than email. I have not found much issue experimenting with small email services (though I admit that any independent server which is itself not extremely small has a high chance of making it to a blacklist). However, phones have reached a point in which if you phone some grandpa to tell him to show up at the Doctor's office asap because of some urgent issue, the grandpa won't pick the phone up because he will believe you to be a Mexican spammer selling car insurance of Internet subscriptions.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (1:123/115)
  • From Charlie Gibbs@3:770/3 to All on Tue Sep 13 02:44:20 2022
    On 2022-09-12, Richard Falken <nospam.Richard.Falken@f1.n770.z11166.fidonet.org>
    wrote:

    Spam is killing telephones faster than email. I have not found much issue experimenting with small email services (though I admit that any independent server which is itself not extremely small has a high chance of making it to a
    blacklist). However, phones have reached a point in which if you phone some grandpa to tell him to show up at the Doctor's office asap because of some urgent issue, the grandpa won't pick the phone up because he will believe you to be a Mexican spammer selling car insurance of Internet subscriptions.

    This is where call display is worth its weight in gold. If we don't
    recognize the caller - or it's one that can't possibly be good (e.g.
    area code 800, 888, etc. or "BLOCKED"), we ignore it. It's quite
    effective, since few telemarketers will leave a message.

    In the case of your grandpa, he'll see your name and phone number
    on the display and know it's safe to pick up. (Yes, there are
    some lowlifes who are spoofing caller IDs, but that's rare.)

    It might be a chargeable feature in your area, but IMHO it's
    well worth a few bucks a month to be able to filter out spammers.

    --
    /~\ Charlie Gibbs | Microsoft is a dictatorship.
    \ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | Apple is a cult.
    X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | Linux is anarchy.
    / \ if you read it the right way. | Pick your poison.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Richard Falken@1:123/115 to Charlie Gibbs on Tue Sep 13 02:46:08 2022
    Re: Re: is there a way to
    By: Charlie Gibbs to All on Tue Sep 13 2022 02:44 am

    In the case of your grandpa, he'll see your name and phone number
    on the display and know it's safe to pick up. (Yes, there are
    some lowlifes who are spoofing caller IDs, but that's rare.)


    Not if you are calling from a clinic's call center and the grandpa does not recognize the number.

    THAT is the problem: having to call from an unrecognized number and having the call rejected. Even people expectig calls from random people falls for this sooooo often (ie. you tell some grandpa that a secretary will phone him with the "details" next morning, and the grandpa does not pick the phone up next morning because he fears she is a spammer).

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (1:123/115)
  • From Ahem A Rivet's Shot@3:770/3 to Charlie Gibbs on Tue Sep 13 09:11:00 2022
    On Tue, 13 Sep 2022 02:44:20 GMT
    Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:

    In the case of your grandpa, he'll see your name and phone number
    on the display and know it's safe to pick up. (Yes, there are
    some lowlifes who are spoofing caller IDs, but that's rare.)

    All the phone spam I get has spoofed caller IDs, it's very easy to
    do. When I was using the phone enough to need a VOIP account I spoofed the caller ID to my landline number. I had to ask for the feature to be enabled
    and was told that if there were complaints of abuse it would be turned off.

    It might be a chargeable feature in your area, but IMHO it's
    well worth a few bucks a month to be able to filter out spammers.

    Really a chargeable feature - that's absurd in this day and age.

    --
    Steve O'Hara-Smith
    Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Charlie Gibbs@3:770/3 to nospam.Richard.Falken@f1.n770.z1116 on Tue Sep 13 21:29:30 2022
    On 2022-09-12, Richard Falken <nospam.Richard.Falken@f1.n770.z11168.fidonet.org> wrote:

    Re: Re: is there a way to
    By: Charlie Gibbs to All on Tue Sep 13 2022 02:44 am

    In the case of your grandpa, he'll see your name and phone number
    on the display and know it's safe to pick up. (Yes, there are
    some lowlifes who are spoofing caller IDs, but that's rare.)

    Not if you are calling from a clinic's call center and the grandpa does not recognize the number.

    THAT is the problem: having to call from an unrecognized number and having the
    call rejected. Even people expectig calls from random people falls for this sooooo often (ie. you tell some grandpa that a secretary will phone him with the "details" next morning, and the grandpa does not pick the phone up next morning because he fears she is a spammer).

    That is a problem. However, a legitimate caller will leave a callback
    number and often have a recognizable voice or mannerisms. Spammers seldom
    go to that effort (but never say never...).

    --
    /~\ Charlie Gibbs | Microsoft is a dictatorship.
    \ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | Apple is a cult.
    X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | Linux is anarchy.
    / \ if you read it the right way. | Pick your poison.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Charlie Gibbs@3:770/3 to Ahem A Rivet's Shot on Tue Sep 13 21:29:30 2022
    On 2022-09-13, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:

    On Tue, 13 Sep 2022 02:44:20 GMT
    Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:

    In the case of your grandpa, he'll see your name and phone number
    on the display and know it's safe to pick up. (Yes, there are
    some lowlifes who are spoofing caller IDs, but that's rare.)

    All the phone spam I get has spoofed caller IDs, it's very easy to
    do. When I was using the phone enough to need a VOIP account I spoofed the caller ID to my landline number. I had to ask for the feature to be enabled and was told that if there were complaints of abuse it would be turned off.

    I was beginning to suspect that. :-(

    It might be a chargeable feature in your area, but IMHO it's
    well worth a few bucks a month to be able to filter out spammers.

    Really a chargeable feature - that's absurd in this day and age.

    s/absurd/profitable/

    --
    /~\ Charlie Gibbs | Microsoft is a dictatorship.
    \ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | Apple is a cult.
    X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | Linux is anarchy.
    / \ if you read it the right way. | Pick your poison.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From alister@3:770/3 to Richard Falken on Wed Sep 14 21:29:20 2022
    On Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:03:42 +1200, Richard Falken wrote:

    Re: Re: is there a way to
    By: alister to Richard Falken on Wed Sep 14 2022 06:43 pm

    So why would a legitimate caller not then leave a message (assuming
    heline has some kind of answering machine)


    Because so many people does not have voicemail enabled or cares to check
    it out if they do have it. Meaning you may call and leave a message and
    still make no difference.

    It is impossible to make any system foolproof because fools are too
    ingenious.

    if you let a call go to VM because you don't recognise the number it does
    not make sense to not check the message afterwards. if this is the case
    then this solution is not for you.




    --
    Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Joe Beanfish@3:770/3 to alister on Thu Sep 15 13:48:04 2022
    On Wed, 14 Sep 2022 21:29:21 +0000, alister wrote:

    On Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:03:42 +1200, Richard Falken wrote:

    Re: Re: is there a way to
    By: alister to Richard Falken on Wed Sep 14 2022 06:43 pm

    So why would a legitimate caller not then leave a message (assuming
    heline has some kind of answering machine)


    Because so many people does not have voicemail enabled or cares to check
    it out if they do have it. Meaning you may call and leave a message and
    still make no difference.

    It is impossible to make any system foolproof because fools are too ingenious.

    if you let a call go to VM because you don't recognise the number it does
    not make sense to not check the message afterwards. if this is the case
    then this solution is not for you.

    The point is that people have already been trained to not leave vm because it's usually ignored anyhow. And often times, they get stage fright or
    just don't want to be bothered to explain why they called and figure on
    calling again some other time.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Ahem A Rivet's Shot@3:770/3 to Joe Beanfish on Thu Sep 15 16:05:30 2022
    On Thu, 15 Sep 2022 13:48:05 -0000 (UTC)
    Joe Beanfish <joebeanfish@nospam.duh> wrote:

    The point is that people have already been trained to not leave vm
    because it's usually ignored anyhow. And often times, they get stage
    fright or just don't want to be bothered to explain why they called and figure on calling again some other time.

    It is odd isn't it that in the days when only some people had tape based answering machines they tended to get used but now that everyone has
    a voice mail service it's almost completely unused. Familiarity breeds
    contempt I suppose.

    --
    Steve O'Hara-Smith
    Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From alister@3:770/3 to Joe Beanfish on Thu Sep 15 19:29:40 2022
    On Thu, 15 Sep 2022 13:48:05 -0000 (UTC), Joe Beanfish wrote:

    On Wed, 14 Sep 2022 21:29:21 +0000, alister wrote:

    On Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:03:42 +1200, Richard Falken wrote:

    Re: Re: is there a way to
    By: alister to Richard Falken on Wed Sep 14 2022 06:43 pm

    So why would a legitimate caller not then leave a message (assuming
    heline has some kind of answering machine)


    Because so many people does not have voicemail enabled or cares to
    check it out if they do have it. Meaning you may call and leave a
    message and still make no difference.

    It is impossible to make any system foolproof because fools are too
    ingenious.

    if you let a call go to VM because you don't recognise the number it
    does not make sense to not check the message afterwards. if this is the
    case then this solution is not for you.

    The point is that people have already been trained to not leave vm
    because it's usually ignored anyhow. And often times, they get stage
    fright or just don't want to be bothered to explain why they called and figure on calling again some other time.

    if it is a professional calling with a legitimate reason then they will
    leave a message.

    if you are not happy to accept this then answer the call & live with the
    fact that many are going to be fraudsters (personally I like to waste
    their time & see how long I can keep them going)





    --
    The only rose without thorns is friendship.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Richard Falken@1:123/115 to alister on Thu Sep 15 18:44:50 2022
    Re: Re: is there a way to
    By: alister to Joe Beanfish on Thu Sep 15 2022 07:29 pm

    if you are not happy to accept this then answer the call & live with the fact that many are going to be fraudsters (personally I like to waste
    their time & see how long I can keep them going)

    It is easy to know if a call is coming from a call center as soon as you pick it up. I usually just hang up as soon as I realize it is a robocall. Legitimate callers calling from a call center
    will think the connection was cut due to bad coverage and redial. Spammers just move on to their next victim.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (1:123/115)
  • From Ahem A Rivet's Shot@3:770/3 to alister on Fri Sep 16 00:21:24 2022
    On Thu, 15 Sep 2022 19:29:41 -0000 (UTC)
    alister <alister.ware@ntlworld.com> wrote:

    if it is a professional calling with a legitimate reason then they will
    leave a message.

    Not necessarily, if the subject of the call is confidential
    (medical, legal or business) then they probably shouldn't.

    --
    Steve O'Hara-Smith
    Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Charlie Gibbs@3:770/3 to All on Fri Sep 16 17:19:34 2022
    On 2022-09-15, Richard Falken <nospam.Richard.Falken@f1.n770.z11179.fidonet.org>
    wrote:

    Re: Re: is there a way to
    By: alister to Joe Beanfish on Thu Sep 15 2022 07:29 pm

    if you are not happy to accept this then answer the call & live with
    the fact that many are going to be fraudsters (personally I like to
    waste their time & see how long I can keep them going)

    Try typing "scamming the scammers" into YouTube. You'll find some
    hilarious accounts by people who are masters at wasting telemarketers'
    time. The really good ones turn the tables on the callers who pretend
    be security personnel trying to frighten you into giving them control
    of your machine by claiming it has a virus.

    It is easy to know if a call is coming from a call center as soon as you
    pick it up. I usually just hang up as soon as I realize it is a robocall. Legitimate callers calling from a call center will think the connection
    was cut due to bad coverage and redial. Spammers just move on to their
    next victim.

    A good tipoff is that delay before an agent comes on the line.
    Many call centers use a dialer which they feed a list of numbers;
    it works down the list and when a prospective victim picks up it
    transfers the call to the next available agent. This takes several
    seconds, during which the called party hears dead air. I realized
    how reliable this is when I noticed that whenever my wife picks up
    the phone and says hello twice, her next words are an angry demand
    to be left alone.

    My policy now is that if I do pick up and say hello, the party at
    the other end has two seconds to say something or I hang up.

    --
    /~\ Charlie Gibbs | Microsoft is a dictatorship.
    \ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | Apple is a cult.
    X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | Linux is anarchy.
    / \ if you read it the right way. | Pick your poison.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Computer Nerd Kev@3:770/3 to Ahem A Rivet's Shot on Sat Sep 17 08:13:14 2022
    Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
    On Fri, 16 Sep 2022 17:19:34 GMT
    Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:

    A good tipoff is that delay before an agent comes on the line.
    Many call centers use a dialer which they feed a list of numbers;
    it works down the list and when a prospective victim picks up it
    transfers the call to the next available agent. This takes several
    seconds, during which the called party hears dead air. I realized
    how reliable this is when I noticed that whenever my wife picks up
    the phone and says hello twice, her next words are an angry demand
    to be left alone.

    Some of them wait until they hear a voice before transferring the call, if you pick up the phone and stay silent they hang up in a few
    seconds.

    Yep, that's what I do and they almost always hang up on me. The
    delay varies a lot though, sometimes it's long enough that a real
    human waiting for an answer is likely to become confused. I do
    still wait that long, but people who call me hate it. Some have
    keyed into the fact that I deliberately pick up during a ring so
    that it's obvious when they should announce themselves, but that
    seems to take people a while to learn.

    My guess is that the system waits until all the available workers
    have been assigned a call. Hence sometimes it hangs up before I'd
    even have a chance to say something if I wanted to.

    --
    __ __
    #_ < |\| |< _#

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Lew Pitcher@3:770/3 to Charlie Gibbs on Fri Sep 16 23:24:12 2022
    On Tue, 13 Sep 2022 02:44:20 +0000, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

    On 2022-09-12, Richard Falken <nospam.Richard.Falken@f1.n770.z11166.fidonet.org>
    wrote:

    Spam is killing telephones faster than email. I have not found much issue
    experimenting with small email services (though I admit that any independent >> server which is itself not extremely small has a high chance of making it to a
    blacklist). However, phones have reached a point in which if you phone some >> grandpa to tell him to show up at the Doctor's office asap because of some >> urgent issue, the grandpa won't pick the phone up because he will believe you
    to be a Mexican spammer selling car insurance of Internet subscriptions.

    This is where call display is worth its weight in gold. If we don't recognize the caller - or it's one that can't possibly be good (e.g.
    area code 800, 888, etc. or "BLOCKED"), we ignore it. It's quite
    effective, since few telemarketers will leave a message.

    In the case of your grandpa, he'll see your name and phone number
    on the display and know it's safe to pick up. (Yes, there are
    some lowlifes who are spoofing caller IDs, but that's rare.)

    It might be a chargeable feature in your area, but IMHO it's
    well worth a few bucks a month to be able to filter out spammers.

    FWIW, I took an old computer, installed a $80 telephone interface
    card in it (a TDM410P clone with a single FXO and 3 FXS ports),
    and loaded it with Asterisk (https://www.asterisk.org/).

    This now sits between my POTS landline and my home telephones,
    filtering out unwanted calls, and providing me with both PSTN
    and VoIP telephony service.

    With call display, the Asterisk server can determine the caller's
    phone number, and filter out the calls I do not want to take. It
    also grades the calls on how familiar I am with the caller, and
    blocks or allows callers based on their grade, and an associated
    schedule. Thus, some special personal callers can call at any time,
    while most personal callers get shunted to voicemail between
    9:30PM and 9:30AM, and business callers get shunted to voicemail
    between 5:00PM and 9:30AM.

    While the number of spam calls that I get hasn't dropped all that
    much, most don't even last long enough to ring my home phones.

    --
    Lew Pitcher
    "In Skills, We Trust"

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Lew Pitcher@3:770/3 to Lew Pitcher on Sat Sep 17 00:28:06 2022
    On Fri, 16 Sep 2022 23:24:12 +0000, Lew Pitcher wrote:

    On Tue, 13 Sep 2022 02:44:20 +0000, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

    On 2022-09-12, Richard Falken <nospam.Richard.Falken@f1.n770.z11166.fidonet.org>
    wrote:

    Spam is killing telephones faster than email. I have not found much issue >>> experimenting with small email services (though I admit that any independent
    server which is itself not extremely small has a high chance of making it to a
    blacklist). However, phones have reached a point in which if you phone some >>> grandpa to tell him to show up at the Doctor's office asap because of some >>> urgent issue, the grandpa won't pick the phone up because he will believe you
    to be a Mexican spammer selling car insurance of Internet subscriptions.

    This is where call display is worth its weight in gold. If we don't
    recognize the caller - or it's one that can't possibly be good (e.g.
    area code 800, 888, etc. or "BLOCKED"), we ignore it. It's quite
    effective, since few telemarketers will leave a message.

    In the case of your grandpa, he'll see your name and phone number
    on the display and know it's safe to pick up. (Yes, there are
    some lowlifes who are spoofing caller IDs, but that's rare.)

    It might be a chargeable feature in your area, but IMHO it's
    well worth a few bucks a month to be able to filter out spammers.

    FWIW, I took an old computer, installed a $80 telephone interface
    card in it (a TDM410P clone with a single FXO and 3 FXS ports),
    and loaded it with Asterisk (https://www.asterisk.org/).

    This now sits between my POTS landline and my home telephones,
    filtering out unwanted calls, and providing me with both PSTN
    and VoIP telephony service.

    With call display, the Asterisk server can determine the caller's
    phone number, and filter out the calls I do not want to take. It
    also grades the calls on how familiar I am with the caller, and
    blocks or allows callers based on their grade, and an associated
    schedule. Thus, some special personal callers can call at any time,
    while most personal callers get shunted to voicemail between
    9:30PM and 9:30AM, and business callers get shunted to voicemail
    between 5:00PM and 9:30AM.

    While the number of spam calls that I get hasn't dropped all that
    much, most don't even last long enough to ring my home phones.

    To bring my post back to topic, on a Raspberry Pi, you could
    install an OAK PRO module
    https://switchpi.com/product/oak-pro-raspberry-pi-module/
    which gives you one FXO and one FXS port, then install Asterisk
    and have the same POTS telephone filtering as I described above.

    --
    Lew Pitcher
    "In Skills, We Trust"

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Ahem A Rivet's Shot@3:770/3 to Computer Nerd Kev on Sat Sep 17 08:42:04 2022
    On 17 Sep 2022 08:13:14 +1000
    not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) wrote:

    Yep, that's what I do and they almost always hang up on me. The
    delay varies a lot though,

    There is another scam that involves calls that only ring for a
    short time and hang up or hang up almost immediately if answered. These are call back bait - if you call back to find out about your missed call it
    goes to a high rate premium number. You find out how badly you've been
    scammed when the bill comes in.

    --
    Steve O'Hara-Smith
    Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Deloptes@3:770/3 to Ahem A Rivet's Shot on Sat Sep 17 20:17:12 2022
    Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:

    There is another scam that involves calls that only ring for a
    short time and hang up or hang up almost immediately if answered. These
    are call back bait - if you call back to find out about your missed call
    it goes to a high rate premium number. You find out how badly you've been scammed when the bill comes in.

    This is the “One Ring” or “Wangiri” scam
    Interestingly I receive such calls after using WhatsApp and talking/chatting with specific friends. I suspect they have installed some kind of mall ware
    on their mobiles, so that the scammers get their contacts.
    Fortunately I was not so stupid to answer such call anyway :)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Computer Nerd Kev@3:770/3 to Ahem A Rivet's Shot on Sun Sep 18 08:55:04 2022
    Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
    On 17 Sep 2022 08:13:14 +1000
    not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) wrote:

    Yep, that's what I do and they almost always hang up on me. The
    delay varies a lot though,

    There is another scam that involves calls that only ring for a
    short time and hang up or hang up almost immediately if answered. These are call back bait - if you call back to find out about your missed call it
    goes to a high rate premium number. You find out how badly you've been scammed when the bill comes in.

    Huh, I didn't know about that one. My landline phone doesn't do
    Caller ID though, so it wouldn't work on me that way. On rare
    occasions automated scam and political advertising messages have
    been left on my answering machine though (I guess they detect the
    beep). A convincing message left there could probably trick me into
    calling back.

    --
    __ __
    #_ < |\| |< _#

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Charlie Gibbs@3:770/3 to Computer Nerd Kev on Sun Sep 18 00:22:08 2022
    On 2022-09-17, Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote:

    Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:

    On 17 Sep 2022 08:13:14 +1000
    not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) wrote:

    Yep, that's what I do and they almost always hang up on me. The
    delay varies a lot though,

    There is another scam that involves calls that only ring for a
    short time and hang up or hang up almost immediately if answered. These are >> call back bait - if you call back to find out about your missed call it
    goes to a high rate premium number. You find out how badly you've been
    scammed when the bill comes in.

    Huh, I didn't know about that one. My landline phone doesn't do
    Caller ID though, so it wouldn't work on me that way. On rare
    occasions automated scam and political advertising messages have
    been left on my answering machine though (I guess they detect the
    beep). A convincing message left there could probably trick me into
    calling back.

    "This is the Canada Revenue Agency. Please call back immediately
    regarding your tax return. Be aware that failure to reply, or
    not replying truthfully, can result in severe penalties."

    Yeah, right.

    --
    /~\ Charlie Gibbs | Microsoft is a dictatorship.
    \ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | Apple is a cult.
    X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | Linux is anarchy.
    / \ if you read it the right way. | Pick your poison.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Ahem A Rivet's Shot@3:770/3 to Charlie Gibbs on Sun Sep 18 08:29:00 2022
    On Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:22:09 GMT
    Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:

    "This is the Canada Revenue Agency. Please call back immediately
    regarding your tax return. Be aware that failure to reply, or
    not replying truthfully, can result in severe penalties."

    Yeah, right.

    That would be a skilful spammer, most assume you're in the USA.
    I've had no end of issues with my First National and Bank of America
    accounts, also problems with my amazon.com prime account, the FBI seem to
    have lost interest they were after me by email some years back.

    Perhaps these spammers think Ireland is a suburb of Boston.

    --
    Steve O'Hara-Smith
    Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From The Natural Philosopher@3:770/3 to Ahem A Rivet's Shot on Sun Sep 18 14:21:50 2022
    On 18/09/2022 08:29, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
    On Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:22:09 GMT
    Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:

    "This is the Canada Revenue Agency. Please call back immediately
    regarding your tax return. Be aware that failure to reply, or
    not replying truthfully, can result in severe penalties."

    Yeah, right.

    That would be a skilful spammer, most assume you're in the USA.
    I've had no end of issues with my First National and Bank of America accounts, also problems with my amazon.com prime account, the FBI seem to have lost interest they were after me by email some years back.

    Perhaps these spammers think Ireland is a suburb of Boston.

    Joe Biden seems to think it is...


    --
    "Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and
    higher education positively fortifies it."

    - Stephen Vizinczey

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Charlie Gibbs@3:770/3 to Ahem A Rivet's Shot on Sun Sep 18 16:15:58 2022
    On 2022-09-18, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:

    On Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:22:09 GMT
    Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:

    "This is the Canada Revenue Agency. Please call back immediately
    regarding your tax return. Be aware that failure to reply, or
    not replying truthfully, can result in severe penalties."

    Yeah, right.

    That would be a skilful spammer, most assume you're in the USA.

    Yup. In the e-mail version, they even attach Government of Canada logos
    to make it look more convincing.

    I've had no end of issues with my First National and Bank of America accounts, also problems with my amazon.com prime account, the FBI seem
    to have lost interest they were after me by email some years back.

    For a while I was getting bogus notices of outstanding traffic tickets.
    They did a good job of sounding threatening while omitting minor bits
    of information like location, licence number, etc. One of them attached
    a photo of a street I've never seen, complete with a time stamp stating
    that it was UTC+2. Since our time zone is (currently) UTC-7, that was
    a bit of a giveaway.

    Perhaps these spammers think Ireland is a suburb of Boston.

    I don't even know what street Canada is on.
    -- Al Capone

    --
    /~\ Charlie Gibbs | Microsoft is a dictatorship.
    \ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | Apple is a cult.
    X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | Linux is anarchy.
    / \ if you read it the right way. | Pick your poison.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Jeff Jonas@3:770/3 to All on Mon Oct 24 01:39:34 2022
    A good tipoff is that delay before an agent comes on the line.

    Some of them wait until they hear a voice
    before transferring the call

    NEVER say "hello". The predictive dialer listens for that.
    I always say "good morning/evening/...".
    That usually gets silence.
    --

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)
  • From Jeff Jonas@3:770/3 to All on Mon Oct 24 01:38:06 2022
    It is odd isn't it that in the days when only some people had tape
    based answering machines they tended to get used ...

    And the tapes were easy to archive.
    Try to save/download voicemail. No such option.
    --

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)