Ask HN: Most calls I get on my phone are bots/spam. What are my options?

Posted by ysilver on Wednesday March 23, 2016 @11:55AM
from the ask-hn dept.

Over the past few years, I have gradually been receiving more and more spam calls. Some are robo ads trying to sell me something ("I'm your local Google specialist...") and other times there is nobody on the other end (which I've heard is one way spammers check to see if a number is active).

Things have reached the point where I would estimate that the substantial majority of my phone calls are now bots.

What are my options for fixing this?

( 3 comments | 4 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Most calls I get on my phone are bots/spam. What ... by smt88 on Wednesday March 23, 2016 @12:00PM (#11345614)

TrueCaller claims to help with this, but their app seems risky to me in terms of permissions/privacy. Google Voice does help with this, but I don't know that you could port your number at this point.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Most calls I get on my phone are bots/spam. What ... by eip on Wednesday March 23, 2016 @12:42PM (#11346027)

It's easy. Just never answer your phone unless you recognize the number.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Most calls I get on my phone are bots/spam. What ... by nmcfarl on Wednesday March 23, 2016 @03:20PM (#11347408)

I've gone further than this – my default ringtone is silent. Contacts that are important enough get a ringtone. Everyone else goes direct to voicemail and I don't even know they called, unless they leave a message.

[ Parent | on HN ]