Another annoying Apple scam call (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Guys, nothing to really say except that it’s been annoying to be getting repeated calls from a local number claiming to be Apple on my iphone. I never picked up because it wasn’t a number I knew. The voicemail left said something about calling Apple at 312-232-8257 to talk to an Apple Support advisor. Upon checking this with a web search, I saw it’s a very common scam.

These scammers don’t do themselves any favors calling me every 10 minutes last night 4 times in a row. Then starting at 8:30 this morning they’ve called me eight times! Each time I just ignore it.

 

[DaveF]

Yep.

I get student loan calls. Car warranty calls. Social Security calls.

Modern life.

 

[Nelson Au]

Yeah, I’ve gotten the car warranty one too which I think is a hoot. My cars are 20 and 54 years old. Kind of past the due date.

But yes, it’s part of modern life. I just feel bad for the people who may fall for them.

 

[Malcolm R]

I just feel bad for the people who may fall for them.

I don't, really. The fact that there are enough gullible people out there that do fall for them is what keeps them calling the rest of us.

 

[Yeoman007]

Guys, if you have an iPhone with one of the newer versions of iOS, you can alleviate that situation by going into

Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers and turning on Silence Unknown Callers.

There's an explanation there as to exactly how it works. Your iPhone won't ring as the call is silenced and the caller is sent to Voicemail. It won't stop the spammers from leaving a voicemail, but at least you won't be interrupted by their calls. You can eat your meals and watch your movies in peace.

My apologies to those who already know this, but to this day, I still encounter iPhone users who don't know they have this feature.

 

[DaveF]

I used that for a while, but it causes new problems: I can’t get phones from unknown numbers. Doctors office. Restaurant. Coworkers. I don’t have an exhaustive phone book.

And it doesn’t block the callers. So there’s still voicemails to delete.

It’s a good feature if it suits you. But it’s too all-or-nothing for me.

 

[dpippel]

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I just generally keep my phone on “do not disturb” mode but then have the “do not disturb” setting adjusted to allow most of my contacts to make it through that setting. If I have reason to expect a unlisted call I’ll turn it off. The other thing I like about do not disturb is that if the same number calls twice in a row, it lets it in - so if it’s someone trying to reach me in an emergency they can still do that.

 

[B-ROLL]

I don't, really. The fact that there are enough gullible people out there that do fall for them is what keeps them calling the rest of us.

My mom did. She was able to have them put the money back into her account. Unfortunately because they put the money back in her account Phoenix PD said there wasn't a crime committed. They would have got $2K plus whatever they would have done with the card number she gave them.

 

[Yeoman007]

I used that for a while, but it causes new problems: I can’t get phones from unknown numbers. Doctors office. Restaurant. Coworkers. I don’t have an exhaustive phone book.

And it doesn’t block the callers. So there’s still voicemails to delete.

It’s a good feature if it suits you. But it’s too all-or-nothing for me.

You have a point there about the unknown callers. I do add doctors, coworkers, and anyone else I might expect to call to my Contacts. Just select their call and click to add to Contacts. You have to do this only once per caller at most. If you keep Contacts up-to-date like this, it works great. If the unknown caller goes to voicemail and leaves a message, and it was some person or business I want, I add them to Contacts immediately and then give them a call back. Even if you don't add them to your Contacts, the fact that you called back is in your call history and they'll be allowed the next time they call. If anyone calls and doesn't leave a voicemail, I ignore them. It's been very rare for me to get a voicemail from a spammer.

The point is eventually you have the ones you want in your Contacts or call history, so then their calls will ring through. It's the only way for the phone to learn whom to let ring or not. It least it cuts down on some of the calls and interruptions.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, a lot of great suggestions to try to filter out the phishers! Thanks.

 

[Mark-P]

You have a point there about the unknown callers. I do add doctors, coworkers, and anyone else I might expect to call to my Contacts. Just select their call and click to add to Contacts. You have to do this only once per caller at most. If you keep Contacts up-to-date like this, it works great. If the unknown caller goes to voicemail and leaves a message, and it was some person or business I want, I add them to Contacts immediately and then give them a call back. Even if you don't add them to your Contacts, the fact that you called back is in your call history and they'll be allowed the next time they call. If anyone calls and doesn't leave a voicemail, I ignore them. It's been very rare for me to get a voicemail from a spammer.

The point is eventually you have the ones you want in your Contacts or call history, so then their calls will ring through. It's the only way for the phone to learn whom to let ring or not. It least it cuts down on some of the calls and interruptions.

Not my experience. Most of the businesses I get calls from have multiple phone numbers they call from. Adding all possible phone numbers for each contact can be a real pain. Generally I just have “silence unknown callers” engaged unless I’m expecting a business call.

 

[Thomas Newton]

A few of these criminals discovered my cell phone number. One pretended to be from the phone company; another from the electric company – with the old "you are behind on payments" (I wasn';t) "and we're going to cut you off unless …" scam,

The third claimed I was named in a lawsuit and would be liable unless … another lie!

I think that most or all of them used really bad computer-synthesized voice … I guess putting a real scammer or recording on the other end of the line was too much trouble, Not that it would have done them any good with me.

"I really don't mind; in fact I wish them well. 'Cause I'll be laughing my head off when they're burning in Hell." – Weird Al, "Amish Paradise"

 

[DaveF]

You have a point there about the unknown callers. I do add doctors, coworkers, and anyone else I might expect to call to my Contacts. Just select their call and click to add to Contacts. You have to do this only once per caller at most. If you keep Contacts up-to-date like this, it works great. If the unknown caller goes to voicemail and leaves a message, and it was some person or business I want, I add them to Contacts immediately and then give them a call back. Even if you don't add them to your Contacts, the fact that you called back is in your call history and they'll be allowed the next time they call. If anyone calls and doesn't leave a voicemail, I ignore them. It's been very rare for me to get a voicemail from a spammer.

I’ve done all that. It became more trouble than benefit for me.

Currently almost every spam call I get leaves voicemail.

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's a financial inconvenience, but I love "Robokiller" app.

 

[Thomas Newton]

There was Rick's solution in M. Night Shaym-Aliens! (Rick and Morty, Season 1, Episode 4).

Spoiler

After insedt-like aliens have apparently scammed Rick out of his spaceship fuel recipe, the aliens mix the recipe at a big celebration. When they add the last ingredient, there is a huge explosion. Jerry: "What was that?" Rick: "Why don't you ask the smartest people in the Universe? Oh, you can't. They blew up."

 

[Nelson Au]

Today, I got another call from what I suspected was the same phishing caller. A friend suggested pressing the red button on the Apple Watch to decline the call. He said it would go to voicemail. So I pressed the red button to decline the call. The caller didn’t leave a message.

Interestingly, I had the TV on this morning and on a talk show there was discussion of these calls. It was suggested that on smart phones, you can set the phone to send unknown caller numbers straight to voicemail. If it’s important, they will leave a message. Or just let the call go to voicemail which is what I’ve been doing.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It's a financial inconvenience, but I love "Robokiller" app.

I am not sure if it's available for an iPhone, but I use the app "Stop Call Me" on my Android phone. It's free.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Rumor has it that if you put the three-tones from “the number you are trying to reach is no longer in service” message at the beginning of your voicemail greeting, robocallers will flag your number as not in service and stop calling it. I haven’t tried this myself but it sounds interesting.

 

[Nelson Au]

Clinton, that sounds like an interesting trick!