We still have a landline - getting tons of annoying calls

[sheryl]

We have mobiles, yes.   They are not on 24/7 b/c we do still have a landline.  This past fall we saw an increase in calls/robo calls/scams, etc.  It slowed down over Nov and Dec and has picked up again this week.  I counted 16 unwanted calls this past M or T.  

I added our numbers "again" to the DO NOT CALL registry the end of Nov.  It takes 30 days and I was hoping/thinking that with Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year that about "now" we'd see a slow down.  NO!  Monday or Tuesday was 16.  Next day was 8 and day after 7 or 8.    Today we've received 4 and it's not even 11:30 am yet.  

We did registry all of our numbers (landline and mobiles) with FTC and it's been 6 weeks but the calls are still coming in.

We do not want to drop our landline.  It is not voip.  Any recommendations on what we can do to stop or lower the amount of unwanted calls we are getting?

Thanks!

 

[Katy]

There’s nothing to be done. The calls are coming from overseas and they don’t care about violating US law. Maybe pay for caller ID and stop answering unless you know the person.

[KatieJ]

We had a Panasonic phone system in out last house. It has a feature to block all calls. When someone calls, they get a wierd computer voice asking them a question…can’t remember , some like if this is this who you want to  talk to, press 1.. and then the call will ring in your house. Once that call rings thru, says it’s your mom, the system will automatically let it ring thru every time after that. We did have many confused callers at first wondering what the wierd computer voice was..and as I recall they were able to stay on the line and leave a voicemail so we could call them back.

 

When a computer calls you, it doesn’t have the ability to press 1, so it doesn’t ring thru. Most of the computer calls you from a Drs office with an appointment , we don’t hear the ring but they would get thru and leave a voicemail. That was the only drawback…we just checked the messages frequently. Spam  phone calls were gone! 

We actually still have the system, but we only have cell phones now so we don’t use it.

 

[KatieJ]

You can set up this system to accept your cell phone calls as well. I never quite got that figured out. 😜

[Bambam]

We still have a landline as well (poor cell service in our area). We get several robo calls but no where that many! I just don't answer the phone unless I know the person who is calling. Most folks don't call our landline any more, so that makes it somewhat easier. But it is super annoying.  Often the Caller Id identifies someone as "real last name, real first name", and if you fall for that and actually answer it, it is Spectrum or TV Services. 

[PeterPan]

We have digital phones and were able to add a menu system to handle that. Now my home is blissfully quiet. Not sure how you do that with a traditional phone line.

 

[PeterPan]

1 minute ago, Bambam said:

Caller Id

Ours was constantly showing local numbers and making it look legit. It would even say legit business names while being spam. These spammer things are using the tech to change what is shown so nothing is legit. 

[sheryl]

10 minutes ago, KatieJ said:

We had a Panasonic phone system in out last house. It has a feature to block all calls. When someone calls, they get a wierd computer voice asking them a question…can’t remember , some like if this is this who you want to  talk to, press 1.. and then the call will ring in your house. Once that call rings thru, says it’s your mom, the system will automatically let it ring thru every time after that. We did have many confused callers at first wondering what the wierd computer voice was..and as I recall they were able to stay on the line and leave a voicemail so we could call them back.

 

When a computer calls you, it doesn’t have the ability to press 1, so it doesn’t ring thru. Most of the computer calls you from a Drs office with an appointment , we don’t hear the ring but they would get thru and leave a voicemail. That was the only drawback…we just checked the messages frequently. Spam  phone calls were gone! 

We actually still have the system, but we only have cell phones now so we don’t use it.

 

So, did you successfully stop/decrease those calls on your landline?  

[GailV]

BTW, my understanding of the Do Not Call registry is that it gives the option to prosecute if you still receive calls. Few people bother to prosecute, so it's a bit meaningless.

[sheryl]

3 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

We have digital phones and were able to add a menu system to handle that. Now my home is blissfully quiet. Not sure how you do that with a traditional phone line.

 

Digital phone?  We have a traditional landline but our phones aren't rotary.  LOL!   Is that what you mean?

[PeterPan]

1 minute ago, sheryl said:

So, did you successfully stop/decrease those calls on your landline?  

We get NO spam anymore with the menu system. The robots I guess just hang up. And it's simple enough that even my 80something aunt with parkinsons can use it.

[KatieJ]

2 minutes ago, sheryl said:

So, did you successfully stop/decrease those calls on your landline?  

Completely. 

[PeterPan]

Just now, sheryl said:

Digital phone?  We have a traditional landline but our phones aren't rotary.  LOL!   Is that what you mean?

You get digital phone service through your internet service provider or cable company.

[sheryl]

So our 5th or 6th call just came in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   NOW!  Reported yet another one to FTC but this is time consuming.  

[sheryl]

2 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

We get NO spam anymore with the menu system. The robots I guess just hang up. And it's simple enough that even my 80something aunt with parkinsons can use it.

Would you give details again? 

[sheryl]

2 minutes ago, KatieJ said:

Completely. 

Do you have voip?   Would you give details again please?  I need to understand this. 

[sheryl]

2 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

You get digital phone service through your internet service provider or cable company.

You're talking voip?

[73349]

I stopped answering and turned off the ringer. If people leave a message, I can call them back. It helped quite a bit, but DH for some reason still picks up if he's home, so that has made it harder to extinguish them entirely.

[sheryl]

7 minutes ago, 73349 said:

I stopped answering and turned off the ringer. If people leave a message, I can call them back. It helped quite a bit, but DH for some reason still picks up if he's home, so that has made it harder to extinguish them entirely.

Right, I guess I'm stubborn.  I just don't want to have to turn off ringer.  Looking for another solution.  The FTC suggests not answering the phone but when I file these numbers individually I might add one of the questions is something like "nature of call" - what it was about.  Can't do that if we don't answer so that doesn't make total sense.

[PeterPan]

If there are places that call you at that number urgently, like for medical emergencies for a loved one, you can update that number to your cell. Then you can turn off the ringer, knowing anything else is nonurgent.

[sheryl]

44 minutes ago, KatieJ said:

We had a Panasonic phone system in out last house. It has a feature to block all calls. When someone calls, they get a wierd computer voice asking them a question…can’t remember , some like if this is this who you want to  talk to, press 1.. and then the call will ring in your house. Once that call rings thru, says it’s your mom, the system will automatically let it ring thru every time after that. We did have many confused callers at first wondering what the wierd computer voice was..and as I recall they were able to stay on the line and leave a voicemail so we could call them back.

 

When a computer calls you, it doesn’t have the ability to press 1, so it doesn’t ring thru. Most of the computer calls you from a Drs office with an appointment , we don’t hear the ring but they would get thru and leave a voicemail. That was the only drawback…we just checked the messages frequently. Spam  phone calls were gone! 

We actually still have the system, but we only have cell phones now so we don’t use it.

 

Did you have to manually enter a phone number each time?

[kbutton]

48 minutes ago, sheryl said:

You're talking voip?

I don’t know if it’s considered VOIP when it’s from the cable company, but it’s like VOIP in that if the electric is down, you don’t have service. 

[KatieJ]

47 minutes ago, sheryl said:

Do you have voip?   Would you give details again please?  I need to understand this. 

We did not have at first, but I believe we did later on when we bundled our cable and phone service. We did not have service when the power was out.  Voip vs phone service was no different in how the phone system worked.

Our system was a base with the answering machine it, and 4 extra handsets that just need a charging base.  We used them all of our house, including the basement, as my cell phone didn't work down there.

 

What is Panasonic Smart Call Blocking?

 

 

With automated call block, the unit screens incoming calls before ringing for allowed calls, or ends the calls without ringing for calls identified as robocalls, telemarketing calls, or other undesirable calls.

 

When a call comes thru, the unit screens the calls...

I believe what it did was, it decided if it was a robo/computer call or a real phone number.  It would cut off the robo/computer call and your phone never rings.

 

   When a "real" phone number would call for the first time, my phone would ring, caller ID would show up and I could then answer the phone.  If I wasn't home, or didn't recognize the number, I would ignore the phone call and they would be prompted to leave a voice mail by pressing a button...

I could answer the phone at any time while they were leaving their message.

At some point the system knows I have accepted that phone number and those people never hear that wierd computer voice again. Your phone will ring when those callers call again.

 

I don't recall that I ever had to enter a number unless I wanted it in my favorites for speed dialing.

 

I don't have the manual for that exact system ...

When we got the phone and were setting up the answering machine, DH decided to just "block all calls" in the menu..and we went from there.  Yes, it was amazing.

 

 

Robocallers, etc. are automatically cut off and you never hear the phone ring.

 

But all those callers that the system has cut off, will show up in your missed calls.  You can scroll thru them, and see if there are any  phone numbers that you recognize, but they didn't leave a message.  Those would be from maybe a Dr. Office appointment reminder or Drug store reminder..etc.  something that you need to call back. 

 

BTW..my 84 yr old Aunt and Uncle very recently bought a similiar phone system to what I have, and use the call blocking feature. They are thrilled.

I believe their's is a panasonic as well. 

[Kassia]

This is such a timely thread.  We have a regular landline and it was on autopay and we discovered that the price doubled last July and we've been paying almost $70/month for it and will be looking at voip. 

Edited January 12 by Kassia

[Lucy the Valiant]

2 hours ago, sheryl said:

You're talking voip?

We use a voip service that we run off of our wifi, and it's been excellent. We pay around $6 / month, and the initial setup device thingy was like $90-100. It's worked well for several years. 

We used to keep a landline in case of power outages (because we do get those), BUT when the power outage is because of trees taking out lines, the landline goes, too (same poles). We needed a phone at home, and this worked out great, PLUS has the customizable blocking of robocalls.

Another thing that helped us a lot was switching our registered political party from Independent to one of the registered parties . . . I'm guessing that this is more applicable to folks who live in a swing state. YMMV, of course.

[Katy]

Idk if it’s true in every state, but in the states I’ve lived in you can call 911 even if you don’t have phone service. Kind of like how you can call 911 from deactivated cell phones. 

[sheryl]

3 hours ago, KatieJ said:

We did not have at first, but I believe we did later on when we bundled our cable and phone service. We did not have service when the power was out.  Voip vs phone service was no different in how the phone system worked.

Our system was a base with the answering machine it, and 4 extra handsets that just need a charging base.  We used them all of our house, including the basement, as my cell phone didn't work down there.

 

What is Panasonic Smart Call Blocking?

 

 

With automated call block, the unit screens incoming calls before ringing for allowed calls, or ends the calls without ringing for calls identified as robocalls, telemarketing calls, or other undesirable calls.

 

When a call comes thru, the unit screens the calls...

I believe what it did was, it decided if it was a robo/computer call or a real phone number.  It would cut off the robo/computer call and your phone never rings.

 

   When a "real" phone number would call for the first time, my phone would ring, caller ID would show up and I could then answer the phone.  If I wasn't home, or didn't recognize the number, I would ignore the phone call and they would be prompted to leave a voice mail by pressing a button...

I could answer the phone at any time while they were leaving their message.

At some point the system knows I have accepted that phone number and those people never hear that wierd computer voice again. Your phone will ring when those callers call again.

 

I don't recall that I ever had to enter a number unless I wanted it in my favorites for speed dialing.

 

I don't have the manual for that exact system ...

When we got the phone and were setting up the answering machine, DH decided to just "block all calls" in the menu..and we went from there.  Yes, it was amazing.

 

 

Robocallers, etc. are automatically cut off and you never hear the phone ring.

 

But all those callers that the system has cut off, will show up in your missed calls.  You can scroll thru them, and see if there are any  phone numbers that you recognize, but they didn't leave a message.  Those would be from maybe a Dr. Office appointment reminder or Drug store reminder..etc.  something that you need to call back. 

 

BTW..my 84 yr old Aunt and Uncle very recently bought a similiar phone system to what I have, and use the call blocking feature. They are thrilled.

I believe their's is a panasonic as well. 

Katie, THANKS!!  Yes, we also have a Panasonic system (base and 2 extensions) but it's over 20 years old!  I am now going to let dh know we need to buy another set.   Our current one is acting funky in other ways so it's time.  I REALLY appreciate this.   Something I look forward to check in to!!! 🙂 

[sheryl]

3 hours ago, KatieJ said:

We did not have at first, but I believe we did later on when we bundled our cable and phone service. We did not have service when the power was out.  Voip vs phone service was no different in how the phone system worked.

Our system was a base with the answering machine it, and 4 extra handsets that just need a charging base.  We used them all of our house, including the basement, as my cell phone didn't work down there.

 

What is Panasonic Smart Call Blocking?

 

 

With automated call block, the unit screens incoming calls before ringing for allowed calls, or ends the calls without ringing for calls identified as robocalls, telemarketing calls, or other undesirable calls.

 

When a call comes thru, the unit screens the calls...

I believe what it did was, it decided if it was a robo/computer call or a real phone number.  It would cut off the robo/computer call and your phone never rings.

 

   When a "real" phone number would call for the first time, my phone would ring, caller ID would show up and I could then answer the phone.  If I wasn't home, or didn't recognize the number, I would ignore the phone call and they would be prompted to leave a voice mail by pressing a button...

I could answer the phone at any time while they were leaving their message.

At some point the system knows I have accepted that phone number and those people never hear that wierd computer voice again. Your phone will ring when those callers call again.

 

I don't recall that I ever had to enter a number unless I wanted it in my favorites for speed dialing.

 

I don't have the manual for that exact system ...

When we got the phone and were setting up the answering machine, DH decided to just "block all calls" in the menu..and we went from there.  Yes, it was amazing.

 

 

Robocallers, etc. are automatically cut off and you never hear the phone ring.

 

But all those callers that the system has cut off, will show up in your missed calls.  You can scroll thru them, and see if there are any  phone numbers that you recognize, but they didn't leave a message.  Those would be from maybe a Dr. Office appointment reminder or Drug store reminder..etc.  something that you need to call back. 

 

BTW..my 84 yr old Aunt and Uncle very recently bought a similiar phone system to what I have, and use the call blocking feature. They are thrilled.

I believe their's is a panasonic as well. 

Katie, confirming that this is a landline!  ????   You mention base and 4 handsets.  Just reread it so it must be a landline.   🙂 

[sheryl]

3 hours ago, Lucy the Valiant said:

We use a voip service that we run off of our wifi, and it's been excellent. We pay around $6 / month, and the initial setup device thingy was like $90-100. It's worked well for several years. 

We used to keep a landline in case of power outages (because we do get those), BUT when the power outage is because of trees taking out lines, the landline goes, too (same poles). We needed a phone at home, and this worked out great, PLUS has the customizable blocking of robocalls.

Another thing that helped us a lot was switching our registered political party from Independent to one of the registered parties . . . I'm guessing that this is more applicable to folks who live in a swing state. YMMV, of course.

OK, I'm becoming more encouraged thinking I/we can tweak this situation and hopefully all or most unwanted calls will disappear!   That's interesting about the political party thing.  I do know that we'll still get some because political phone calls are exempt "do not call" requests.   ????  Everybody wants that vote I guess.  Thanks Lucy, much appreciated!

[Lucy the Valiant]

18 minutes ago, sheryl said:

Katie, confirming that this is a landline!  ????   You mention base and 4 handsets.  Just reread it so it must be a landline.   🙂 

(I'm not Katie, but our voip/ digital line uses handsets and looks like a regular cordless phone. We didn't even have to get new handsets and just used our old ones.)

Edited January 12 by Lucy the Valiant

[KatieJ]

35 minutes ago, sheryl said:

Katie, confirming that this is a landline!  ????   You mention base and 4 handsets.  Just reread it so it must be a landline.   🙂 

Absolutely it was a landline. The base needs a phone line and power. Handset just needs power.

Honestly if we had not moved and had to give up our landline, I would  still be using this phone. 
I really dislike doing “business” on my cell phone.

Edited January 12 by KatieJ

[KatieJ]

37 minutes ago, sheryl said:

Katie, confirming that this is a landline!  ????   You mention base and 4 handsets.  Just reread it so it must be a landline.   🙂

 

Edited January 12 by KatieJ

[Ellie]

We have an old answering machine that allows us to screen incoming calls, so we can either ignore them or answer them. Because we never reply to those calls, we drop off the lists, so we rarely get them any more.

[Ellie]

9 minutes ago, KatieJ said:

Honestly if we had not moved and had to give up our landline, I would  still be using this phone. 
I really dislike doing “business” on my cell phone.

A girl after my own heart. 🙂 I hate giving out my cell phone to businesses, but more often, if there's a web site and I have to log in, it wants to send a code to my phone, and you can't send a code to a landline (my phone is similar to yours). So I've had to break down and add the cell phone instead. And it isn't always easy to do that, so...bummer.

[Kassia]

36 minutes ago, KatieJ said:

Absolutely it was a landline. The base needs a phone line and power. Handset just needs power.

Honestly if we had not moved and had to give up our landline, I would  still be using this phone. 
I really dislike doing “business” on my cell phone.

same.  I only give my cell number to my kids and close friends.  I use our landline for as much as possible and then DH's cell number otherwise since he doesn't mind getting calls/texts there.  I hate using my cell phone for anything other than family/friends.  

[Carol in Cal.]

We also have a Panasonic system with a main phone and handsets for our landline.  (Not VoIP — I don’t consider that as reliable in an emergency)

It has a button you can push during a call to block that number from calling again.  The scammers use so many numbers that I didn’t think this would help, but it has actually reduced the number of spam calls that we get tremendously.  I do still answer them occasionally to tell them to never call me again, which is supposed to be a thing.  I figure it can’t hurt.  But a lot of them don’t have a live person that you can even get to.

What is VERY annoying is that sometimes legit callers ask for personal information, which of course could easily be phishing, and so I will never get that out to someone who calls ME. And usually they won’t tell me what they are calling about, so it’s a stalemate unless I can figure out what company they are calling from.  We had a weird mix up a year or two ago where we got out bill paying mixed up and inadvertently missed a mortgage payment.  We paid the next bill and the one after that, but finally they called us and wanted us to pay the missed one (naturally) but wouldn’t tell us who they were or why they were calling until we gave them a bunch of personally identifiable information that I would never give out to an incoming caller.  Finally they called from a number that popped up on my home phone with the name of the company, so I called that company and asked whether they were trying to reach me.  But it’s gotten very complicated to even conduct business calls with everyone being so careful in unison and the overwhelming number of phishing and scam calls.

[sheryl]

2 hours ago, KatieJ said:

Absolutely it was a landline. The base needs a phone line and power. Handset just needs power.

Honestly if we had not moved and had to give up our landline, I would  still be using this phone. 
I really dislike doing “business” on my cell phone.

Wow, Katie, thanks!!!  Ours is an ancient Panasonic.   It has a call block feature BUT I have to "manually input" the number and save each unwanted number.   This call block seems to be "automatic" from what I read.  The internal software (?) just "knows" what the incoming scams, spams, robos, etc and doesn't even let it ring in. 

My dh just now said, "how on earth is it updated"?  Arg! You or another pp mentioned that fact.  Or, maybe I read it.   I'm going to "chat" with Panasonic next week.   Wish I could find a local sales rep for the company.  

Appreciate the photo.  Will use it as reference!  

[sheryl]

2 hours ago, Ellie said:

We have an old answering machine that allows us to screen incoming calls, so we can either ignore them or answer them. Because we never reply to those calls, we drop off the lists, so we rarely get them any more.

Well, hi, Ellie.  On that note, I haven't seen you here for a few years and think of you now and then.  Hope all is good for you!  So, I'm not sure what you mean by your description.   We have caller i.d. on our old Panasonic and we can screen that way.   BUT, I'm getting 1-2 doz unwanted calls a day!  One just came in NOW at 8:00 est pm Friday.  20 calls ringing in and hanging up.  No thanks!  And, there is no let up.  It's not a prank b/c each number is different.  It's a call center.  Outgoing.  Did you have 1-2 dozen calls "ring" in daily?  I'm trying to understand. 

[sheryl]

1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

We also have a Panasonic system with a main phone and handsets for our landline.  (Not VoIP — I don’t consider that as reliable in an emergency)

It has a button you can push during a call to block that number from calling again.  The scammers use so many numbers that I didn’t think this would help, but it has actually reduced the number of spam calls that we get tremendously.  I do still answer them occasionally to tell them to never call me again, which is supposed to be a thing.  I figure it can’t hurt.  But a lot of them don’t have a live person that you can even get to.

What is VERY annoying is that sometimes legit callers ask for personal information, which of course could easily be phishing, and so I will never get that out to someone who calls ME. And usually they won’t tell me what they are calling about, so it’s a stalemate unless I can figure out what company they are calling from.  We had a weird mix up a year or two ago where we got out bill paying mixed up and inadvertently missed a mortgage payment.  We paid the next bill and the one after that, but finally they called us and wanted us to pay the missed one (naturally) but wouldn’t tell us who they were or why they were calling until we gave them a bunch of personally identifiable information that I would never give out to an incoming caller.  Finally they called from a number that popped up on my home phone with the name of the company, so I called that company and asked whether they were trying to reach me.  But it’s gotten very complicated to even conduct business calls with everyone being so careful in unison and the overwhelming number of phishing and scam calls.

yes, that's what we're going through.  a lot of calls!  So, Carol, question.  You do NOT answer the call but as the phone is ringing you push the call block button?  I also thought I read on one of these newer phone models that the call block internal functionality just "knows" spams, scams, robos and doesn't even allow it to RING in in the first place.  I need to hunt that down again.  Just read this afternoon.

[sheryl]

Well, that was fast.  I found it.

Panasonic Cordless Phone with Advanced Call Block, Link2Cell Bluetooth, One-Ring Scam Alert, and 2-Way Recording with Answering Machine, 3 Handsets - KX-TGF973B (Black with Silver Trim)

 

---

 

 

 

$149.99$149.99

 

• Calls Are Blocked Before They Happen: 14,000 pre-installed call block numbers* are your first line of defense against nuisance calls. *Robocall database is supplied from YouMail Inc.

[Kalmia]

2 hours ago, KatieJ said:

Absolutely it was a landline. The base needs a phone line and power. Handset just needs power.

Honestly if we had not moved and had to give up our landline, I would  still be using this phone. 
I really dislike doing “business” on my cell phone.

We had that phone! I have a newer model Panasonic, now. They are the perfect size to hold between your shoulder and ear so you could work in the kitchen while talking on the phone with some privacy (without speakerphone on). Try washing a sink full of dishes with a cell on your shoulder... 

[Melissa in Australia]

We have a VoIP phone and still get some. I am now at the stage of giving the caller a " piece of my mind" to borrow a phrase from my Nan.

I am now telling the callers that they aught to be ashamed of themselves trying to scam people. That they need to get a real job and their mother is so ashamed of their behaviour. Mostly they hang up

[sheryl]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

We have a VoIP phone and still get some. I am now at the stage of giving the caller a " piece of my mind" to borrow a phrase from my Nan.

I am now telling the callers that they aught to be ashamed of themselves trying to scam people. That they need to get a real job and their mother is so ashamed of their behaviour. Mostly they hang up

Don't know if that would do any good.   How many do you get in a day.  Average?

[Melissa in Australia]

Probably 4 a week that have a person at the other end. All the bot ones hang up after a few rings

[KatieJ]

3 hours ago, sheryl said:

Wow, Katie, thanks!!!  Ours is an ancient Panasonic.   It has a call block feature BUT I have to "manually input" the number and save each unwanted number.   This call block seems to be "automatic" from what I read.  The internal software (?) just "knows" what the incoming scams, spams, robos, etc and doesn't even let it ring in. 

My dh just now said, "how on earth is it updated"?  Arg! You or another pp mentioned that fact.  Or, maybe I read it.   I'm going to "chat" with Panasonic next week.   Wish I could find a local sales rep for the company.  

Appreciate the photo.  Will use it as reference!  

I do not believe it is an updated data base, rather somehow it knows they are computer generated  calls, but I certainly don’t know for sure. I just know it worked great for years!

[Scarlett]

I don’t understand why you turn your cell phones off just because you have a landline.  I have a landline and I never turn my cell phone off.

Edited January 13 by Scarlett

[Carol in Cal.]

5 hours ago, sheryl said:

yes, that's what we're going through.  a lot of calls!  So, Carol, question.  You do NOT answer the call but as the phone is ringing you push the call block button?  I also thought I read on one of these newer phone models that the call block internal functionality just "knows" spams, scams, robos and doesn't even allow it to RING in in the first place.  I need to hunt that down again.  Just read this afternoon.

No, I answer it and then push it as soon as I realize that it’s one of those fake calls.

But sometimes, occasionally, if I have a bit of extra time, I will listen through until I get to a live person and then tell them to put me on their never call here again list.

Edited January 13 by Carol in Cal.

[Eos]

19 hours ago, KatieJ said:

We had a Panasonic phone system in out last house. It has a feature to block all calls. When someone calls, they get a wierd computer voice asking them a question…can’t remember , some like if this is this who you want to  talk to, press 1.. and then the call will ring in your house. Once that call rings thru, says it’s your mom, the system will automatically let it ring thru every time after that. We did have many confused callers at first wondering what the wierd computer voice was..and as I recall they were able to stay on the line and leave a voicemail so we could call them back.

We got this for my mom's landline and it works like a charm.  We did warn some of her elderly friends about it before getting it going.  If she "accepts" a number it won't ask again. When you're an accepted caller and she's not there to pick up it send you to a normal recording of her voice saying leave me a message.  It has a feature we don't love which is a loud computerized voice announcing the name of the caller, which is often quite mis-pronounced.  But she got used to it and it can be funny.

Before we got this kind, she just used the caller ID feature with a little warning that said "spam".  She would still answer it and try to talk the person on the other end out of being such a bad person!  We were all losing our minds telling her DO NOT PICK UP THE SPAM CALLS.  The new device is great.

Edited January 13 by Eos

[sheryl]

10 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Probably 4 a week that have a person at the other end. All the bot ones hang up after a few rings

Oh, got it.  That's manageable. We get 1-2 doz a day.   It's just annoying to hear that many calls in a day to eventually hang up.

9 hours ago, KatieJ said:

I do not believe it is an updated data base, rather somehow it knows they are computer generated  calls, but I certainly don’t know for sure. I just know it worked great for years!

Well, I'm looking at these phones now.   Thanks!   I'm wanting to live chat with Panasonic to find out the difference b/t a couple models.   Right, I think it's just the way the phone is wired (maybe, hopefully) that knows when one of those calls is coming in.  But, if we need to buy a new phone every 5-10 years to keep these calls away then that's ok with me!   🙂

[sheryl]

9 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I don’t understand why you turn your cell phones off just because you have a landline.  I have a landline and I never turn my cell phone off.

Because family and close friends know our landline.  If they need to reach us they know to call the landline.   No need to have mobile on 24/7.  And, it "overall" will preserve the life of the phone, imo,  It's personal preference.  If our landline isn't working for some strange reason then I can reach over and turn on the mobile.  Not a big deal!