Just How Safe Are We? The Demise of the Web? Part Four

First published in November 2016


Forget about the "Do Not Call List" protecting you much, it's "almost" useless these days. The responsible places won't call you, unless by mistake, but they aren't the problem, the real criminals could care less about any such law; that's why they're criminals! And please don't think that relying only on this list will stop the avalanche of telephone calls. That's not going to happen. Also, going to online sites to report receiving illegal calls, and then begging the callers to stop, will not give them a scare, but it is likely to give them a thrill. (see below for more on this) In the 1920s and the early 1930s there was a law in the U.S. prohibiting the making and distribution of alcoholic beverages. What happened was an outbreak of violence led by gangsters, as millions of people violated the law on pretty much an every day basis. Laws have to be able to be enforced in a practical and effective way; "Prohibition," as it was called, was not able to be enforced in such a way. It ended with the repeal of the law. The Do Not Call List is just not really enforceable either, as calls are often times routed from outside the country. Still, while not effective against illegal calls, the Do Not Call List WILL help stop calls from legit businesses, so DO register; otherwise, they will have the legal right to call you. Not to scare you, but then again, who is to say hackers won't break into the Do Not Call List data bank? What is needed is to rework the Internet and the telephone systems, but I'm not exactly hanging by my thumbs, as there is so much money invested in the current system, those heavily involved will resist, BIG TIME! And to be fair, we in the public likely will resist some of the necessary changes to make things safer, because they may make things less convenient for us.

For those unaware, and even for some who are aware, there are websites you can go to to see if others have reported a particular number there. By "report," I mean only that the number was entered there by one or more people and they may have left a comment about it. Understand, some numbers are so frequently reported, there may be hundreds of comments. Further, just because a number is listed there doesn't necessarily mean it is the number of criminals, it could be a legit business or charity. These sites are purely public comments on these numbers, they don't block anything. The thing is, some people seem to think that if they go there and comment on a particular number, that they will no longer get calls from that number. The other thing to remember is, because it is public, the scammers are going to be posting there too! Some examples are better than trying to explain the sites: I get a call from area code (0-0-0) and number, 1-2-3-4-5-6- ah, don't tell me.... ah... 7. See I CAN count! Just don't ask me what the next number is. So I enter that number in the search box there. If others have entered information about that number, it will display those posts, indicating the area from which the number comes (as mentioned above, where the number is from and where the call came from can be two DIFFERENT things, and the area code and number exchange may indicate that the number is from "Ponatoomie Kitchagoomie," but the call may have come from the North Pole, because the scammers often re-rout calls nowadays, so they can't be traced easily) and then a poster might have said, for example: "This number has called me 5 times in the last few days, but there is no name showing for it." (DING! DING! DING! First clue, legit companies are supposed to show their name on your caller ID, although some probably don't, BUT even a name on there does NOT mean the call is for some legit purpose, as technology now allows scammers to put anything on there, although many do not have a name showing. So, even if it shows, "Children's Hospital of Ponatoomie Kitchagoomie," that does not necessarily mean the call is valid. I told you, the whole system has been corrupted and you cannot trust ANY call just by looking at your caller ID, which may show YOUR own name and phone number as calling you, or online, that you are receiving an email from yourself!) Now another post by someone on that example number, "When I  answered, it was a credit card offer." (DING! DING! DING! Another clue: legitimate banks or credit card companies will NOT call you, if you are on the Do Not Call List, unless perhaps by mistake, which I'm sure happens on occasion, or unless you already have some kind of account with them, but chances are, this call is a scammer.) Another example post: "I answered after a ring or two, but there was silence." (DING! DING! DING! Another clue: likely a computer dialed number, which may have made 2000 other calls just then. The people who talk to those who answer were all busy, so there was no one to talk to you, and likely it will hang up, if you haven't already. ON THE OTHER HAND, it may be a "scouting" sort of call. No one was intended to talk with you, only to find out if the number dialed is active. Once you answer, or even your voice mail or answering machine, BINGO, they have an active number. Expect many more calls, because you've got a hot number! It likely will be sold to others ....LOOK OUT! And another example: "I got a call from this number and the person asked my name, so I hung up." (DING! DING! DING! Clue: by getting your name, they will have that to go along with your phone number. By using other public resources, they will be able to compile a profile of you for the creation of a phony identity.) A post commenting on the previous: "Oh no, I got a call from that number and the guy just wanted to verify my name. The call was legit and they were just soliciting to help the survivors of firefighters killed in the line of duty." (DING! DING! DING! Clue: maybe true, probably not, and assume it is NOT true. The comment could be a plant used to make calls seem legit, thus reassuring some naive folks into answering, and we all love firefighters and want to help, so they'll use your emotions.) Checking these sites is not foolproof, as you can't be sure of the truthfulness of the comments, but they can help give you some info, especially if  some posters claim to have actually talked to someone from the number. They might then post: "Credit card offer," or, "Person said I won a trip" (watch out for that one!!!), so you have to make judgments about what you read there.

Recently raids were conducted on so called "call centers" in India which were implicated in call scams and several people were arrested. Afterwards came arrests in the U.S. too, but if you think this will stop the calls, or even lessen the calls much, I seriously doubt it, as this is likely a tub of water in the ocean. Just yesterday, starting in the morning, I received three calls from the same entity, which showed on my caller ID. I blocked the first, so about an hour later a second call came from the same name, initials actually, this time from a different number. I blocked it, and ... you guessed it, the third call came from the same place, but with another number. NEVER ENDING!

As the whole situation developed over the years, there have been articles and television reports advising us how to stay safe online and how to avoid telemarketers. While well meaning, and even true, in many respects, especially AT THE TIME, essentially what it has come down to is, DON'T ANSWER YOUR TELEPHONE and DON'T OPEN SUSPICIOUS EMAILS! Why? Because as I've said in these articles, the "bad guys" now know how to disguise their calls, fooling your caller ID into believing the call is from some totally harmless company or charity, even inserting REAL business or charity names and numbers, while keeping their true number hidden. As also noted, they can even use YOUR number to hide their own. Well, that sure shoots answering the phone in the ass. And another thing, in the past, the scammers or telemarketers generally had to have a number to call, as it was done manually. Now, computers dial numbers in sequence, so even if you've only given your number to your dog, and it is unlisted, eventually "your number will be up," to coin a phrase, although it may take awhile for you to start receiving regular calls from your friendly scammer. Then too, maybe your dog is a blabbermouth.

As to opening "suspicious emails," all emails are now potentially suspicious! The same general process can be used as with phone calls, as they can use other names to hide their identity. Your email may have never been hacked, but one or more of your contacts, and it doesn't have to be a regular contact, got hacked, and the bad guys and girls got your email address and name from that. You may get an email showing your daughter's name, so you naturally open it, BUT it's NOT from your daughter. Her name was used, but unless you actually catch the signs that it is not legit, you may open your computer or mobile device to all sorts of bad things, which will collect info on you and YOUR contacts, who will now likely get emails showing YOU as the sender, only to have them open the emails, and well, you know, the process goes on. So now, that shoots using email in the ass. Folks, this is supposed to be about communication, but if you can't answer the phone or open emails, it tells you the system is broken ... TOTALLY!     

WORD HISTORY:
Reason-This is for the verb form, which goes back to Indo European "reh," which had the notion of "to reason, to figure, to reckon." This gave Latin "reri," which meant, "calculate, reckon," thus also, "judge," and its participle form was "ratus," which produced "ratio," meaning, "calculation, a reason for." This gave Latin "rationare," meaning, "to discuss, to converse," and this gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "raisoner," with similar meaning. This was borrowed by English circa 1300, "seemingly" at first with the meaning "to pose questions to someone, to ask for answers," but then, influenced by the previously borrowed noun form of the word, the verb came to mean, "to think through in a rational way, to use a sense of logic to determine something," then also, "to use a sense of logic to persuade someone;" as in, "to reason with someone."