re: "Black box"

That "law" is virtually irrelevant, since i cannot find out who it is doing this crap.

I _have_ caller ID and it is useless for most of the callers (zero info).

I would think that finding out who is making harrassing calls would be a function of the police, who would seek the assistance of the telco.

Sylvia.

Why would they assume it was marketeers?

Sylvia.

Robert Baer Inscribed thus:

Yup ! I also have caller ID, and I look at it before I answer. If I see no number "Number Withheld" or "Out of Area" I just let it ring.

BT (UK) will put an internal trace on these numbers if you can get to the right department to do it.

Unfortunately I've discovered that some of these are basically "Skype" over the Internet, type calls injected into some internal company PBX, and have nothing to do with the company that owns the PBX. The PBX is used as an open relay.

Sylvia Else Inscribed thus:

The Police are not in the slightest bit interested unless you can hand the perpetrator to them on a plate.

Its the same with the "I have $25 million your relative has left you" scam letter !

You can take the letter to them, its evidence, but they don't even bother to look at the letter other than to have a laugh ! Even though the letter has a return address on it.

The telephone company has facilities to trace these calls. Absolutely, it's required. They ONLY release the information to law enforcement. Call your phone company and ask that a trap be put on your line. Then contact local law enforcement and inform them of the situation. When the event happens, tell the local law enforcement, they will then contact the telephone company and the information will be in their hands.

Robert, where are you located?

I suspect that it may not be...

Is "Reject on No Info" difficult for you? ...Jim Thompson

Change to ex-directory and select no inclusion in any public catalogues. This will make you invisible to all but the most determined random number phone spammer systems. It stops friends finding you too.

If you are getting a high proportion of dead air calls then take it to whoever regulates telecoms in the USA. There must be some standards of telecom provider performance even in the land of the free spammer.

Dead air calls count as harassment in many jurisdictions.

Regards, Martin Brown

There are some protocols they're required to follow. If the frontline people won't act, then escalate it to their superiors. The situation isn't the same as the scam letter, because there are mechanisms in place to identify the source of harrassing phone calls.

I found

Note the manual trace requirements. You need a law-enforcement case number, etc. You don't require that the police actually to have done anything about it at that point. Make enough fuss, and demand a case number, and I'm sure the police will create one just to shut you up.

Sylvia.

Sylvia Else Inscribed thus:

Thanks for the info. I'm in the UK. BT (British Telecom) are the primary provider here.

I hadn't grasped that I was talking to two separate people with a similar problem.

The same point about escalating to higher authority applies in the UK.

See

Never accept a refusal from the person you first talk to about a problem like this. Always ask to speak to their supervisor if they won't assist. If you still get no joy, put your complaint in writing, and send it to the head-office by registered post. Put a note in the letter mentioning that it was sent by registered post (stops them putting it into the two hard basket with the intent of denying receipt later).

Sylvia.

Strange...you seem to think the police are supposed to "uphold the law". Their only true function is to use traffic violations to collect money for the city. It is a fact that in some cities the officers are TOLD (daily) to earn their pay by writing tickets.

Maybe that is one of their parrot answers?

The conditions are that a given caller must make at least 3 calls in (i think) a week. Normally you would say this is a slam dunk in that they call so many times a day and almost every day in a week period. BUT. They _stop_ as soon as i try this, i get peace for maybe a week, and then they slowly start up again. Been there, tried that.

In Portland Oregon; what difference does it make?