Voice Mail Left but Phone Never Rang

[agp2176]

We keep getting voice mails from a company spamming a septic tank service. They say 'This is not a sales call...'. These come in as many as 3 times a week, The company changes phone number as reported (no doubt spoofed) at least once a week. Latest number used was 1-(604)-229-1652. In the past 6 weeks they have also used : 1-(604)-229-1596, 1-(604)-229-1652, 1-(604)-229-1667, and 1-(604)-229-1702. Somehow they are able to leave a voice mail even though the phone never rings. The company never identifies itself.

We have both Spam Call Blocking and Anonymous Call Blocking set in our privacy features.

Can something be done to completely reject these annoying calls.

[rstra]

There are a few methods to send directly to someone’s voicemail, not sure if call blocking would affect that, but since they are changing their number it wouldn’t matter. Have you added your number to the National Do Not Call List?

https://lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/en

That may not help, but you could submit a complaint about the company. You could also contact the company and ask to be removed from their list.

[mdk]

@agp2176 -- Somehow they are able to leave a voice mail even though the phone never rings.

Many modern electronic (not the "plain old" rotary-dial) telephones do not sound on the first ring.

Instead, they collect the Caller-ID information, which follows the first ring, and you hear the second ring, and can see the Caller-ID details.

So, it is possible that they are calling your number twice -- once just long-enough to let your telephone collect the Caller-ID, and become "busy", and then within a few milliseconds, placing a second call to your number.  Since your phone-line is "busy" with the first call, Shaw routes the second call to your voice-mail, where the message is left. The caller ends the first call before the second ring; thus, you don't hear anything.

I have noticed this on my mobile-phone, when my phone reports "1 missed call" (the second call left the voice-mail).

If you do a search (via Google, or through www.Canada411.ca ) for those telephone-numbers, do you get results which indicate that the number is out-of-service, or "unknown" ?  Telephone-spammers often deliberately spoof such "out-of-service" numbers.

[agp2176]

My research shows that they are not necessarily in area code 604 or in Canada for that matter as spam calls reports using the same script are being noted in the USA from the recipient's area code. The company never identifies itself and attempts to unsubscribe are ignored.

The numbers they spoof are not in use

I am in the Do Not Call list, but these guys totally ignore it

[rstra]

@agp2176 Odd that the company doesn’t identify itself, would be nice to submit a complaint. 

[agp2176]

I did submit a complaint yesterday. They don't mention the company name during the pre-recorded message. I have not clicked through to speak with someone as I do not want to further my number being used by them thus establishing an assumed customer relationship.

[mdk]

@agp2176 -- A while ago, I had a similar telephone-call. It turns out that a reputable Realtor hired a less-than-reputable company to make "cold calls" to what the Realtor was told were "verified contacts", to ask me "what's your address, and what price do you want for your house". No name of the Realtor was given to me.

When I talked to the Realtor, he learned that he had been misled about the "services" provided by that company, and he vowed to never use them again.