Telemarketing Researchers and caller ID

[Tammi K]

I've been getting calls that my caller ID labels as the local military base where my husband works but when I answer the call it is a marketing research company.

 

Does anyone know how caller ID determines the name to display?

 

It's really beginning to annoy me because I see the name and think it is DH calling ( I know it's not his office number but he could be somewhere else on base) so I answer it only to find a researcher.  It happens with 2 different numbers, both identifying themselves as the military base.

 

It has happened 7 times in the last two weeks with the most recent one an hour ago. Even Sunday morning isn't safe anymore.

 

[readwithem]

My caller ID once said it was MY NUMBER calling :glare:  So I did a little research and found this.

 

With many people rejecting calls from unfamiliar numbers, scammers are increasingly posing as familiar businesses, government organizations or people. Scammers purchase lists of phone numbers and use spoofing technology to trick potential victims into picking up the phone. Posing as your own phone number is great for shock value and for ensuring the number isn’t blocked.

 

 

[Sharpie]

Agreeing with readwithem.  Within the last couple of months telemarketers are calling more frequently, despite being on the no-call list, and the caller ID identifies them as local numbers or other businesses that I would typically answer.  I'm finding it frustrating but have learned not to answer any calls that I don't immediately recognize & let them go to voice mail.  If I could just figure out how to block ALL the calls coming from "This is your last chance to lower your credit card interest rate" .  I really wish it was my last chance & they'd STOP calling me! 

[hornblower]

There's a huge problem here with phone number spoofing.
Someone in the local hs community - her phone # was being spoofed & used by a really aggressive telemarketer/borderline fraudster. It looked like the calls were coming from her # though they weren't.
People were calling her number back & complaining, asking to be taken off the list etc, but of course she had nothing to do with it.
I think she ended up having to change her ph # so she wouldn't have to deal with the barrage of complaints. Phone co couldn't do anything as it was most likely happening overseas... Call display is not 100% anymore.

[G5052]

Yes, I'm thankful for caller ID, but it isn't reliable any more.  

 

And the volume of spoofed calls from overseas is insane.  I talked to a local friend of mine in law enforcement who deals with fraud, and he says the volume of fraud cases originating from overseas has gone through the roof.  And there's very little that can be done to stop them.

[amyco]

What's weird here is that we'll get calls from local numbers and no one is ever there...ever.  And when you call them back you get the number has been disconnected recording.  Seriously, two or three times a day.  It's a local number that says "unknown name."  We finally turned off our ringer, and only hear it if it goes to the answering machine (which they hardly ever do).  I feel like at this point we're paying for a home number to take these calls whereas real calls will go to our cell phones which (at least for now) do not get these stupid calls.