So this is well-intentioned but weird. Telstra is selling a phone which is designed to stop scam callers, by requiring them to say who they are before you actually answer.
If you install the $72 Telstra Call Guardian 301, then each caller will be required to announce their identity before they ring you, and you’ll hear that information when the phone rings. You can specify the numbers of friends and family on a contact list so they get straight through. Most scam callers hang up when they encounter an answering machine, and we’d imagine most of them won’t be able to tell the difference between this and a standard answering machine.
This certainly isn’t the worst idea we’ve heard, but in an era where landlines are being abandoned in favour of mobiles, it’s something of a throwback. And really, it’s still more fun to string out those calls as long as possible, thus wasting the scammers’ time.
Tired of nuisance calls on your home phone? [Telstra Exchange]
Comments
8 responses to “Telstra Is Selling A Home Phone Designed To Stop Scam Callers”
I might suggest this to my grandparents. Do you have to be on a Telstra phone line or is it just a regular phone with answering machine filtering, like the good old days?
My personal solution is just not to give my number to anyone. If it rings, it’s a scam or charity, so I know to pick up and hang up on them. I only have it set up because it’s cheaper for 1800 and 13 calls than using my mobile.
We only have the landline on at our house for our adsl connection (can’t get a naked line). We never give our landline number out to anyone, everyone rings us via our mobiles. So if the landline rings we know its either a scam or telemarketer.
I can see this being useful to people that still use a landline though.
Why… don’t you just unplug the phone from the wall, given you don’t use it ?
My phone has caller ID so I know if it’s someone from the phone list on there. If it’s a number I don’t recognise then I let the machine pick it up.
If we see ‘overseas’ as the caller ID on our phone it get’s ignored.
It became too much for me when after hanging up, the man called again and asked “WHY YOU HANG UP ON ME” followed by a deafening screech. With persistent calls at meal times, I am now using my answering machine as a filter to screen calls. Changed the setting on the answering machine from 9 rings before the system answers to the shortest time (Toll Saver).
Most of the home phones have caller IDs feature so I am thinking how much they can sell relying upon this feature.
We only retain a landline since it came as part of the broadband package. The only physical device it sees is a fax machine (antiquated I know, but some of the wife’s clients still insist on fax).
Before that we also had a phone connected but never really used it since we both have unlimited call/text work mobiles. So any incoming calls were invariably cold/scams and became a nuisance hence ditching the phone. Especially since this continued despite having an unlisted number and being on the DNC register.
Fortunately they don’t seem to have moved onto mobiles (or at least maybe we’ve just been lucky so far).
Regarding detecting scammers before picking up – some use VOIP services so can appear to have an on-shore number even though based overseas. Others block their number so it’s impossible to tell where they are.
And on stringing the caller along – this is a waste of everyone’s time and doesn’t really achieve anything. The drone on the other end is just one bod trying to earn some money and keeping them on the line won’t deter the predatory behaviour of the parent company.