Update: we do not have a true landline, but we do get phone service through our cable provider bundled with the internet. 🙂
The discussion in the comments of the previous post veered into receiving spam telemarketer calls, which at best are annoying and at worst trying to scam you out of your money.
We’ve been receiving a huge number of these and I’m happy to let you know we unintentionally found a solution.
I present to you AT&T CL82307 DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone with Answering System & Smart Call Blocker, Silver/Black with 3 Handsets.
Say that three times fast.
Our old V-tech phones refused to hold the battery charge, so I would be in the middle of a very important discussion with Jeaniene Frost about the particulars of being a vampire in ancient Mesopotamia, and the phone would start beeping to let me know the battery was going. Finally, after much annoyance, I decided, in a fit of Christmas spree buying, to purchase new phones.
I was looking at something that had a decent battery life and noticed that this one offered the ability to block numbers. Sometimes we get 3-4 calls from the same scammer in a day, so that seemed like a good idea. I ordered it. We got the phone, hooked it up, everything seems to be working, so yay.
The next day, the phone rings. I can see in the window it says Jeaniene Frost. I am like, “Oh goodie, I can bitch to her about this crazy crap someone said.” I grab the phone.
Phone, in a manly baritone: You have a call from “Jeaniene Frost.”
Me: O_O
Phone: If you want to answer, press 1.
Me: Ehh. ::press 1::
Jeaniene: HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Apparently, this is what happens when you dial our number.
Hello, calls to this number are being screened by Smart Call Blocker. Please say your name after the tone and then press pound. BEEP!
Haven’t gotten a single spam call in three days.
You too can have this awesome phone for about $50-60 from a retailer of your choice. Here is the link to Amazon and Best Buy. Best Buy is pricier but it price matches. I’m not using the affiliate account for this link, so I have no financial stake in you buying it. 🙂
That would almost make it worth getting a land line. 🙂
That’s what I said!
Go you!? Have to have a live person to get through. And if you get a live telemarketer then you can mess with them. My cousin got the credit card people to quit calling by thanking them for offering him a card. Said they were the first to offer after he filed for bankruptcy. No more calls from them after that!?
Lol ive done that too! Ive turned the tables and tried selling them something. Ive also given the phone to my 2yr old when she was learning to talk. She loved the phone at that age. Id hang close and 1min in i
Could hear dial tone lol
We have this! It is awesome. You can pre-approve automated numbers you *want* to go through, such as doctor/ pharmacy reminders, so they don’t require a live person. You can also input numbers of friends/ family so it skips the recording and puts the call straight through.
Oh, thank you so much for the info!!! We still have a landline as we are very rural and our cell tower can be unreliable. We receive so many robocalls during the day it is unbelievabl:-)
Have the exact same issue as Authors with bundled service and dying batteries. May have to give this a try.
Could someone please transcribe it to me? (I’m deaf)
“Hello. Calls to this number are being screened by Smart Call Blocker. Please say your name after the tone, then press pound. *tone*”
Thank you.
Hello, calls to this number are being screened by Smart Call Blocker. Please say your name after the tone and then press pound. BEEP
thank you!
Thank you.
Reminder to self, transcribe audio files from now on.
Oh, that’s quaint! You have a landline!!! I haven’t had one of those in over ten years. Since everyone in the house has cell phones it seemed ridiculous to have a landline. I still remember the 50 foot cord with the phone on the wall. I do not miss those days. Except that I don’t really have sn excuse to NOT answer the phone anymore. And the spammers! I’ve tried apps, I’ve tried not answering unrecognizable calls. I still get hit with then on an almost daily basis. Oh well. The joys of technology.
It’s not a true landline. It’s voice over network through the cable company. 🙂
I got that also in my cable and internet bundle to get a lower price, it would also flash the caller ID on the tv. Only thing is we never bought a phone to plug in and I did not memorize the number lol Occasionally we would get quick flashes of someone calling on the tv and id think we’ll thats not someone that I know so it’s ok.
I’m not sure who your cable provider is, mine is Spectrum and if you’ve registered your account, you can log in and activate “nomorobo” – I love it, have had it active for two years now. Love my home phone, I don’t have to be connected to my cell all the time and has great features.
There are apps that will let you block on cell phones. I use Hiya – free to get and free to block if that’s all you want to do.
Land lines are quite handy if you live anywhere the power is prone to go out as they do not require electricity, provided, of course, one has an old wired phone to use. Sometimes older is better!
Can you guys have broadband without a landline in the states? Here in the U.K. you HAVE to have both. You can get them from different companies but no broadband provider will hook you up if you dont have a landline and I really don’t understand why that is!
Our services are separate here in the US. For example, I have high-speed internet through Spectrum, which also offers premium TV channels and phone service, but I don’t have a land line anymore, or even a house phone. My only phone number is my cell.
I live in South Africa and we have fibre with no required land line. Costs me R1200 so about $83 a month for 100M up and down
Another UK person here, you can get internet without a landline just think of your mobile phones and laptops but it’s not always reliable.
I’m actually the opposite to most people in that I don’t use a mobile much. I have a pay as you go phone I carry on long trips and if I’m expecting an urgent call but rarely have to top up more than £20 per year I’ve actually lost my number one time as I did not use it for over 6 months and they decided it was lost or stolen.
I do use my landline maybe its a family thing but we all have free calls at evenings and weekends on the landline and use that time for weekly hour long conversations since we live at opposite ends of the country.
We’re in the US, have fiOS, and it’s cheaper to keep the landline. Otherwise we’d get rid of it.
Do you guys have a legit landline or is it through an internet provider or something like magic jack? We just gave up our magic jack because of all the robo calls and well everyone calls my cell.
We have to maintain high speed internet for work, and our cable company offers phone service bundles with the internet.
My cell labels such calls as “suspected spam” or “scam or fraud” so I needn’t even answer them.
My phones have the same issue of not holding a charge. I was just thinking today that I should get new phones.
I pretty much keep the land just to have a number to give out when I order something so if someone buys my number, that’s the one they buy instead of my cell phone. It’s a spam magnet. As a result, I get very few spam calls to my cell. A few more have started to call the cell, but waaaaay less than the landline gets.
We took our phone to Radio Shack to replace the battery. But since they don’t exist anymore, BatteryPlus or Amazon may have replacements.
I have to say, this new one holds the charge like a champ.
Very interesting- I didn’t know they made phones with this feature. I gave up a landline but duly noted if I ever end up adopting a similar set up through by cable company with internet bundling!
For the record you deserve the affiliate kickback for this recommendation. My android phone has a similar feature. I can chose answer, screen or ignore an incoming call. The screening is the same except instead of state you name it says “go ahead and say why you’re calling” which I love because it has an “I dare you” tone. And they hang up instantly.
Most of the spam calls are instantly recognizable because my phone has an area code from where I lived 20 years ago and any legitimate calls from there I will know the number. However local calls from my own area code I always pick up because I have kids in school, one with medical issues, and teachers sometimes use their own phones to call.
I have that too. I love to listen to the hang-ups!
What app is it? I would love to be able to screen calls!
Read the post.
We have the same deal – landline bundled with internet (through Verizon Fios). I don’t know if this is available to everyone but our service provider offers Nomorobo. You have to log into Nomorobo and then into your account online to set it up but once it’s up, it detects spam calls. They only ring once, then don’t ring again. Real calls keep ringing and will get picked up by voicemail if you don’t pick up. The number of spam calls we get per day has dropped drastically since I started using this. Here’s the website. But for it to work, your service provider has to be on board. http://nomorobo.com/
I LOVE my NOMOROBO, which I get from Comcast. It rings once, doesn’t ring again, and I chortle “Hah! Got another one!”
+1!
+1
I started to read the comments to ensure that nomorobo was mentioned. I also have a voip line and it helps. It doesn’t get everything, but it certainly helps.
We don’t have Nomorobo, but our LL is on Verizon, and it labels some calls SPAM? on the caller ID screen. Not all of them, though.
I got OOma phone system (internet system) back when they first came out. I pay the $10 a month in fees that cover all taxes AND their blacklist, which filters out calls for me. Plus, I can add my own numbers on my own private blacklist.
I can have more than one phone number one it.
It forwards calls from my home phone to my cell phone, when I want it to. Been worth every penny for over a decadel
Yep, Ooma user here too. No spam calls; in fact, you can block or send to voicemail all callers who aren’t in your contacts. I get way more spam on my cell phone than I do on my home phone.
I just recently got a new phone – a Google Pixel 3 (a huge upgrade from my iphone 6s!) and it does the exactly same thing!! When i get a call from an unknown number. Google lets me know it might be spam and I can choose to screen it, at which point, Google will let the caller know they’re being screened before I choose to take the call, and inevitable the spam calls never come through. And then, I even get the open to, from then in, block that number! <3 🙂
We still have a landline because of medical issues in our household. Three ambulances this year. Using a cell for that is much more time consuming-one ride using cell and two landline. Landline was faster by far. Plus we are bundled. Direct tv and internet and phone. We talk about changing and then remember the emergencies. Good to know on these phones. My sets are old, and slowly being pitched. They don’t make the replacement batteries anymore. Even got generic last time, but that is no longer an option. As for spam-these new phones look awesome!!
I have a landline, but it has caller ID. If there is a nuber I don’t recognizr, I just don’t pick up. If it’s someone who want’s to talk to me, they will leave a message. Most of my day is a lot of hang ups.
Hmmm….. I’d buy that phone too, but only if Jeanine Frost calls me right after.
?
This is indeed an awesome phone.
Make sure to populate the phone book with all your friends, family and business contacts.
Everyone in the phone book gets through without the hassle of the message.
Very cool. I have a somewhat different system. I set up a Google Voice number. It’s the only number I give out. It rings both the house phone and the cell phone. If I get a spam call I can go to the Google Voice app and block it. I have about 150 blocked numbers. And, if the call only comes in on the house phone or the cell phone, I know it’s a junk call. I’m waiting for a system that let’s you white list, grey list and black list numbers. “these numbers are good, these numbers are not, and the rest of these are I don’t know.”
The annoying calls to Kate and Curran’s house now sound like art imitating life ?. But I’m guessing you haven’t found the “businesse’s” location so you can roar at them?
I thought that, too. I wondered if Sunshine Realty has an office in Texas. LOL
No. But if I could have :shakes fist:. It is incredibly annoying to get 5 calls every night asking you to please sell your house.
Vampires in ancient Mesopotamia? Man, you two have waaay better work discussions than anyone else I know of!!
My dad just never answered the phone when he was living by himself. It interrupted his reading schedule…. The phone existed for calling his kids and grandkids, old army buddies, and the pharmacy to check on the status of his prescriptions.
I was thinking the same thing about the work discussion, Jean.
My elderly parents only have a landline as mobiles are a mystery to them, they used to get nusiance calls daily, I bought a gizmo on Amazon, if just plugs to the phone jack- if it’s a call you don’t want you just press a button, the call is disconnected and stored on the device and permanently blocked- it has 2000 of the most common offenders numbers in the UK preprogrammed into it- since having it they rarely get a spam call and we’re having at least 10 a week before- it’s one button, easy to fit and easily managed by two 86 year olds.
Not sure if it’s the same in the States but here in the UK if my phone shows a number I don’t know I will answer the phone but not say anything for about 5 seconds. If it’s an automated sales call this pause is usually long enough for the dialling algorithm to hang up rather than connect me the call to a sales person. Otherwise I tend to hear a confused voice saying ‘Er… hello?’ and it’s usually someone who does need/want to talk to me! 😀
I say hello once but don’t repeat and usually get the same thing.
I say “hello”, but if I don’t get a response, then I hang up before the automated machine on the other end can put me through to a real person. My philosophy is that if you can’t be there to say hello to me, then I’m not going to be there to say hello to you. Again.
I do that too on my cell phone. It’s funny when I do that and all of a sudden I hear a “click”.
Thank you!! I have a landline in case of emergencies for my kids, and the robocalls are so frustrating!
I have a landline primarily for my parents but it is bundled with cable so it is 20 dollars a month. The answering machine picks up after 5 rings by which point most robodialers hang up. Also if they ask for Mrs (insert name here) it’s not for me. If they do i like to mess with their head. Lead them on, have a voice in the background announce theyve traced the call and notify the RCMP.
For free I recorded the “I’m sorry, you have reached a number that is no longer in service” along with the tone. Halfway through I come on and say JK, still here. Most robocalls hang up and put our number in the invalid list. My friends know is just a ploy. I figure in a couple more months we’ll be free from spam.
Mmm, Mencheres. <3 <3 <3
Last week I had three calls in a row from our own number. ( Comcast with Nomorobo enabled)
Today I had four calls in a row from calls that appeared to be local, including a local convent.
I will be buying those phones. My current Panasonics only have one single handset that still rings. They are all on mute and can’t be fixed. Apparently a known problem with this set. Grr.
Thank you!
Sometimes I get in a mood . . . like when I invite the god salesmen in, offer them tea, and argue comparative religion with them.
One day I was in a mood and got a call from someone wanting to sell me siding for my house.
me: “It sounds nice but I actually prefer indoor outdoor carpeting.”
salesman: “No, I meant on the WALLS of your house.”
me: “I know, me too.”
salesman: “Uhmmm? . . . O . . .K?
me: “But thanks for calling.” (click)
This is great! Totally great! LMAO
Hmmm…wonder if the indoor outdoor carpet would help with insulation and weatherproofing? 😀
Also, soundproofing!
Thank you! Appreciate the info. I can only ask the universe “why”…. before the election would have so much more useful!
Don’t worry; another election is coming next year. You can be ready!
Oh! Amazing! I really wish there was a cell phone app that would do that!!!!
My daughter likes to mess with the spammers. She actually made one guy cry.
It’s a thing of beauty. Every time.
My phone service also comes through cable with my internet.
I signed up for Nomorobo, but it doesn’t work as well as expected.
I checked both websites, and noticed that another benefit for using Amazon that I did not see with Best Buy is that Amazon gives you the option to only buy the number of handsets you actually need. Since I only need 2, that works out better for me. And, I thank you so very much for sharing this information with us!!
I did the same – just two handsets for this house. I’m so excited – I have nomorobo on the voip line which is better than nothing but not as good as it used to be, and voyage only allows the user to block 50 numbers – I hit max a VERY long time ago. It’s too bad you didn’t have an affiliated link to amazon Ilona – you’d have made a good penny with this tip! Thank you!
Oh THANKS. Spam calls are way up and husband is getting louder with every call.
We have a landline, ours looks similar to the ones pictured but without the
spamsmart call blocker. If you’re on my list I’ll answer the phone, if not you go through to the answering machine. Amazing how many hang ups I get 😀 And of course if you’re legit you’ll leave a message, which I can usually get to before they hang up 🙂On my mobile phone, if I get an unknown number I’ll look it up on the web then block it if its a scammer.
Love how the annoyances of life get turned into art by the ALs!!
Thank you so much for sharing this! Spam calls are really becoming the bane of my existence, and something MUST be done about it before I go off the deep end!! I am going to show this to my husband and see if this is something we can use through our bundle from our internet provider. I am not the best at understanding how all this works, but I hope we can get these and have this feature as well! I love it!! ?
The option to screen/block callers like this was exactly why I got a Google Voice number years ago. Also, it was free, which is really important to my thrifty nature. Sending calls to whatever phone I feel like, the do not disturb feature, and having voicemail messages emailed to me were some of the other perks of the service I’ve enjoyed. It’s a pretty badic service, but again free, so if there are folk bugging you and you’re not ready to buy a new phone just yet, it might make a good stopgap measure. I haven’t actually been in my account in a while so there may be more or less features at the moment. Just thought I’d mention it for my fellow Penny Pinchers out there.?
This is a perfect gift for my parents for Christmas! They have a land line only and get a ton of robocalls which my Mom rants about all the time. Thank you for the suggestion and product recommendation! Happy Christmas to you and your family!
Have you seen the TED Talk by a 12 year old (going on 35) who talked to over 500 adults about why she deleted facebook? It’s really worth watching. Also,
because as you’ve seen in the news lately, you can’t trust Facebook not to sell your personal info, so now would be a great time hit delete! You have just made your own argument for deleting it based on the garbage they take up your valuable time with.
I’m always amazed by people who tell me that they would love to take up knitting ( or some other hobby) that they remember liking years ago, but just don’t have the time for now. But they squander hours a day on s***** media.
End of rant.
I liked Kate and Curran’s solution to this problem. RAWR!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the info. I have a landline that gets tons of robocalls to the point that I never use it. I have it because my phone company is also my ISP and I get DSL from them. So since I’m not in a position to order this right now, it’s on my Amazon wish list.
Aahhha, wonderful – and useful !
In Norway you can register to not have spam-calls (inside the country). I’ve still gotten some from outside the country, mostly India (or Pakistan ?), wanting to help with my Windows. After telling them I have the elusive Windows Excel 95-7 Office Powerpoint version of Windows they usually tell me it’s EXTRA exposed to viriuses and malware.
Have had some fun conversations with them – some lasting up to an hour before they hang up. Apparently it’s only that many times you can say…”wait, what did that box say again ? I pressed OK but now my computer is thinking and the thingy is spinning, I’m gonna have to reboot” (which coincidentally takes about 10 minutes, old hardware and windows version you know).
Unfortunately in the ende they usually catch up with me 😀