We all get them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
You know, those calls that you answer only to hear dead air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Since most of us have cell phones instead of hardwired land lines. These calls come in at all hours of the day & night and we, the owners of the cell phones are available to spam or scams 24\/7. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Normally, I don\u2019t answer unknown calls, they go straight to voicemail. Then the caller doesn\u2019t leave a message and I block them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Sometimes I do answer them, especially since my job<\/em> now days is to look for a job<\/strong>. I hate that I can\u2019t simply direct any call not in my contacts list directly to voice mail and never be troubled by the phone ringing at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n The trouble is, no HR department from any company ever calls from the company\u2019s published main number. If they did, I could maintain my defenses and any company I was actively applying to would be in my contacts list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n So I have to run with my defenses down. Equally frustrating is that no HR representative ever leaves a message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n That means that if I get a weird call from a number in some state that I remember a company has corporate offices in, I\u2019ll answer. Usually on the first or second ring. Hoping, against all reason and experience, that it\u2019s going to be the golden ticket to a job interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n But if I answer to dead air, I\u2019ll say \u201cHello\u201d a few times waiting for the inevitable hiss and clicks saying that the call is being routed either through a slow corporate phone system or that the person is momentarily distracted, I understand that sometimes you\u2019re at your desk and a person walks in to ask a \u201cQuick\u201d question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n If however, all I hear is\u2026 nothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll hang up and my next move is to hit block and report spam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n This results in a \u201cBlocked\u201d list that is crazy long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve wondered sometimes if I\u2019m too quick hitting the \u201cBlock\u201d button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Since my \u201cBlocked\u201d list is obscenely long, and spammers eventually move on to a new set of phone numbers, I\u2019ve also wondered if maybe I should occasionally clear my blocked caller list. If I don\u2019t, at some point, at least in theory, I\u2019ll have blocked every single phone number on the planet and then\u2026 What reason would there be to have a cell phone at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve also noticed that the majority of actual phone calls I receive are complete BS, even if there is a person on the other end. Lately, I\u2019ve wondered how many of those \u201cpersons\u201d are actually AI chat bots. It\u2019s getting more difficult to tell all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n With changes in our cultural norms most of the time my phone is \u201cdinging\u201d with text messages, a surprisingly high number of those are \u201cJunk\u201d of various forms. I tend to block the junk text messages too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n This reality has made me question the value of having a $1000 phone and phone plan altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n In my insane world, the reason to have a phone is to communicate with people I actually have some kind of business or relationship with. If the phone is no longer serving that function, then what\u2019s the point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I find myself thinking along the lines of getting a land line with an answering machine. If said land line was cheaper than cellular service. It would be simpler. No texts. No expectation to be available 24\/7. It might not change the number of spam\/scam calls but if it was half the cost of cellular service and I wasn\u2019t having to incur $1000 expenses every few years it might be worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I remembered back to the days when each and every cell phone call cost you. .45 \/ min during the day, and .20 \/ min after 7 pm. People were much less likely to be yakking on their cell phones for hours on end. They\u2019d call, say what they had to say, and hang up. That was a time when people had some decorum and brevity was appreciated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n That led me to think maybe a way to curb the spam\/scam calls would be to charge the unknown caller .20 \/ call or text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n If you think about it, since many of these call centers are using automated dialing \/ texting systems, the expense could rack up very quickly. Once they were spending more to make<\/em><\/strong> the calls than they got in payouts, spam\/scam texts & phone calls would rapidly become a thing of the past. You can be sure that everyone who was not a scammer would carefully maintain their contacts list. You wouldn\u2019t want your friends to get stuck with a charge just because they weren\u2019t in your contacts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Getting .20 a call deposited instantly towards my cellphone bill wouldn\u2019t do much to offset the cost, but I\u2019d smile at the monthly bill, if having a cellphone was earning me a couple bucks. I\u2019d smile even more knowing the scammers were being bankrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Before you ask, I\u2019ve been on the national \u201cDo not call\u201d list for at least a decade. I renew my listing every couple of years. It\u2019s made no difference whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Since government has failed to control the problem, (big surprise), Maybe a private sector solution is the way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Until someone comes up with a viable solution, I\u2019ll keep up with my philosophy of, \u201cYou only get one shot\u201d then you\u2019re blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Maybe I\u2019m not too harsh in my blocking after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all get them. You know, those calls that you answer only to hear dead air. Since most of us have cell phones instead of hardwired land lines. These calls come in at all hours of the day & night and we, the owners of the cell phones are available to spam or scams 24\/7. … <\/p>\n