Can you prevent spam calls to landline?

[dakotamar]

so 3 calls today alone from 'VISA security'.   I have no call display and this is getting annoying.  we get this call regularly and also 'microsoft'.  I was hoping this was going to stop after reading bell was putting in new software to stop this but I guess that was only on their mobile network as it hasn't made a difference on my landline. (still twisted pair).

any solutions to put a stop to these calls?  it would be nice if bell at least offered free call display if they can't regulate their network.

[BellPatricia · Accepted solution]

Hey there @dakotamar. Thanks for your post and welcome to the Bell Community 🙂

Our Call Privacy feature offers Selective Acceptance which screens incoming calls against a list of numbers you specify and then accepts calls from only those numbers on the list. All other calls from unknown/private numbers that are not on the list will be directed to voicemail. Check out How to use Call Privacy on my Bell Home phone to learn more.

- Patricia

[User1637]

Today , once per hour, we've had three robocalls from "Service Canada" saying my social insurance number has been locked and to press 1 for more details. 3 different source numbers have been generated so far of which none are in operation after each call finishes: 1-***-***-4785, 1-***-***-5613, 1-***-***-8498.  I will painstakingly report these and BELL isn't their anything you can be doing to pre-empt this spam activity?

[dakotamar]

these calls are from scammers that are not going to follow a do not disturb list.   If bell is un-willing to tackle the problem to protect their customers, I may just have to give up my land line.  at least my cell phone comes with FREE call display and I can choose not to answer it...

[Art]

How do you block and report scam on a home phone.

[User3679]

We've gotten at least 20 robocalls (Olivia from Amazon, $600 charge) in the past two hours. Is there anything we can do to stop it?

[BAM]

We go through days where there are six to twelve calls to our fax line or home phone from a series of numbers beginning 613-74x-xxxx.  Never the same.  Fairly close together.  Think numbers are being spoofed.  Is there anything we can do to stop this?  Blocking a number doesn't help when it just changes for the next call.  And the scammers don't care about the do not call list.

[Pickering1]

In the past hour I have received 10 spoofing calls. Those answered were from "Olivia at Amazon" To block these numbers is a waste of time as they are not coming from the number displayed. Can Bell not figure out how to stop this harassment of its customers?

[brogaduce]

Bell's solution is to charge you 8.95 a month more for Call privacy service, which can be used to block calls from unknown number (such as my wife's doctor's office) or let you block everything outside a list of approved numbers (once again, blocking calls that you may want from people that rarely call you)

I am a computer programmer with experience in programming telephone systems that accept incoming calls. There are clear patterns to the spam calls that could easily be exploited to block or flag these calls.

The most common pattern right now is for their systems to loop through the phone numbers in an exchange and use the out-of-service numbers or ones who did not answer to call the next potential victim. A simple check on using out of service numbers would block most of these. Another pattern is that the caller name is some sort of hash that looks like V0563aabcle or something similar. Since bell is selling the call privacy service and making money connecting incoming calls, there is no financial incentive to fix the problem.

It is worth it to subscribe to caller id and caller name service. If you get a call from an unfamiliar number or name, answer in a language other than English, even if you have to learn a few words.

e.g. in spanish "Bueno" is commonly used instead of hello, and "I don't understand" is "No entiendo"

"Bueno"

"This is Kim from Home Comfort"

"No entiendo"

Usually they hang up quickly, otherwise, just keep repeating "No entiendo"

[brogaduce]

Also, never use the word "yes". They can use a recording of your conversation to fake a yes, as part of another scam.

[Chowtime]

I agree with poster that said Bell should offer this spam call service with an option for allowing certain calls through . Get with the times

[Grsierra]

I had 5 spam calls in a row seconds apart this evening (from "BMO cancelling my card") and usually have several others every day. Like others in this discussion Bell needs to do something about these calls! I'm not paying extra to get call display and block these #s or whatever other "option" Bell suggests I will need to pay extra for! I kept my land line in case my parents called but now yey are gone so am seriously considering getting rid of it.

[Laurentian]

I receive unwanted incoming calls to my landline two or three times daily. It is always the same two or three numbers.

If I answer no one is there and the line goes dead. If I do not answer a message is never left.

Can I block specific incoming phone numbers?

[WelshTerrier · Accepted solution]

You can block calls with Bell Home phone. If you have Bell Home phone Choice, you can choose up to 8 calling features that are included. One of these features is Call Screen. This allows you block up to 12 numbers. You have the flexibility to add, change or delete any of these blocked numbers at any time.

How to use Call Screen on my Bell Home phone

https://support.bell.ca/home_phone/calling_features/how_does_call_screen_on_my_bell_home_phone_work

If you have Home phone Lite, it does not include these calling features. If you wish to change from Home phone Lite to Home phone Choice you can do this on MyBell. You can also add, change or delete the 8 calling features on the MyBell web site.

If you need further assistance, you can contact Bell Customer Service billing & orders at: 1-866-310-BELL or *611 from any Bell mobile device.

Another option is cordless phones. There are also any number of cordless phones on the market that also include a Call blocking feature. E.g. Panasonic, Vtech, etc. These can also be purchased at the The Source, a division of Bell, on their online web store or in one of their store locations across Canada.

These can be pricey & will not necessarily stop callers from leaving a voicemail message.

My preferred solution for you would be the Call Screen feature.

[mizzq]

how do I activate call privacy ? followed instructions to no avail