Relentless roofing spam calls
Posted by TX_Farmer@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 38 comments
I’ve been getting calls from a roofing company everyday for a week. I’ve said I’m not interested twice and blocked each number they call from. But they seem to have endless numbers that only make outbound calls!? How do I get them to stop!
scottchr13@reddit
Often it's not even a roofing company (although roofing companies have call centers too), it's a lead generation company. They sell the leads to 2 or 3 roofers. Note to everyone: never say 'yes' to any of these calls!!! The telemarketing world marks leads 'qualified, non-qualified, and pending'. If you ever agree to one caller, you are marked as 'qualified' and they sell that data that you are a good person to call. Calls explode! If you ever are truly interested, say 'no', and hang up and call the company directly.
GeekyTexan@reddit
Those numbers are just fake. It's trivial for them to put whatever number they want.
PenSilent4246@reddit
ugh this happened to me last month but with some hvac company, they kept calling even after i told them my apartment doesn't have hvac that i control
what finally worked was answering and pretending to be super interested, then asking for their physical address so i could "stop by to discuss in person" - they hung up immediately and never called back lol
3Time4Eater3@reddit
I like leaving them on hold. Usually I just start speaking the little bit of Spanish or Hebrew and they hang up on me in no time .. it's funny
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
There’s a few videos on YouTube of people messing with scam calls like that. It gives me ideas.
TexasBaconMan@reddit
Why is that the case. Seems like there is something that can prevent that.
GeekyTexan@reddit
The basic system that allows spoofing was designed long ago. And it's gradually grown with things being added on. One major one being Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP. They didn't realize when designing it that people would actively try to fake the numbers and it would be abused. It was designed for trusted users.
And there are valid reasons for spoofing numbers. Big companies will have support lines that all show one number, despite having hundreds of people working in multiple locations, for instance. A doctors office may have 5 or 10 phone numbers, but they want to show their main number any time they place a call. Uber will act as a pass through and spoof numbers so that a driver and passenger can talk without either of them getting the others phone number. (For instance, if you left something in the drivers car.)
November77@reddit
Username checks out.
Spock_Nipples@reddit
Stop answering unknown numbers.
Sports_Lorry@reddit
I don't get any calls, but I get at least one text a week. Always some variation on "We're working in your neighborhood, would you like a free roof inspection?" I always report and block, even though I know that doesn't really accomplish anything other than make them use a new burner number.
Bobaganusch@reddit
I get this, but for tree trimming. I have no trees on my property lol
ilikedessert@reddit
Seriously the tree trimming! I get a text almost daily.
aeroluv327@reddit
Same, we literally had to cut down the only tree we had last summer. Yet somehow these tree trimmers really want our business. 🙄
Grizzly_Bears@reddit
“We are working in your area planting trees. Would you like a free quote?”
Pecan_Artist@reddit
I speak German to them and they hang up.
DerpVaderXXL@reddit
At first I would just hang up. Then they started calling every day.
I started answering the call and would get the company and person's name. Then I would tell them take me off your list. I am on the National Do Not Call List and I am going to report you for calling me and i will be happy to take his money.
The guy said he didn't know anything about that. I said if you are in the business of calling people, its your responsibility to know.
We have been on the national do not call list since 2011. The last three times they called, I went to the website and reported it and gave their info. I have not had a call in about 3 weeks.
mattgoldey@reddit
It can be tempting to answer to me with them, but that just confirms they have a working number that a person will answer. It's best to not answer unknown numbers. If your phone and/or cell provider have scam and spam protection services, you should use them. I have a Google Pixel phone that has call screening. I never get scam or spam calls because they hang up as soon as the call screener answers.
CatteNappe@reddit
Assuming the caller is a live person and not a robot it sometimes helps to firmly say "Take my name and number off your list. If you call me again I am reporting you to the Attorney General of Texas"
ice-eight@reddit
I do not miss that about owning a home. Back when I was working at home 5 days a week with 3 dogs in the house, and if we had so much as had 5 seconds of lentil sized hail, there would be roofing salesmen coming multiple times a day for weeks, always timing it so they rang the doorbell and made the dogs go nuts right as I got on a call.
iknowkungfoo@reddit
Your phone provider should have options for blocking spam calls. AT&T has a free service called Active Armor that does a great job of blocking calls like that. https://www.att.com/security/active-armor/
Someone else already mentioned that iPhone (iOS 26) has the ability to prompt unknown callers before allowing them to ring. https://support.apple.com/en-us/111106
My brother has had a great experience with the paid service Robo Killer. You can actually pit multiple spammers against each other and record their interaction if you feel like being particularly vindictive. https://robokiller.com/
thejohncarlson@reddit
Google has call screening as well. I never get spam calls on my phone. They all hang up when the screener picks up. My phone never rings.
civil_beast@reddit
u/TX_Farmer I'm just dropping by this thread to ask whether you know how many liabilities you currently are incurring by not engaging in your cars extended warranty. High time we get that resolved, pardner
EnvironmentalCrow893@reddit
You’re lucky you’re only getting phone calls. Several different companies come to my door every week offering a free inspection. Eighteen of them in the past 60+ days.
Spare_Ad_9657@reddit
Roofers in Texas are predatory. For six months after a hailstorm in my area, I had 2-3 roofers knocking on my door every day! I ignored them, but they would catch me any time I went outside and force me into a conversation. It got so bad I started loosing my cool with them. They can spot when a roof hasn’t been replaced and they drive around targeting those homes. I hate them. It’s driving up our insurance costs to an insane level.
Jedi_Hog@reddit
I would look in or ask the r/UnethicalLifeProTips sub
oakleafwellness@reddit
I got a text from a realtor last week about a house that my mom owned well over fifteen years ago asking if I would be interested in selling it and I have personally not lived in twenty-two years.
The scammers/sales people, don’t even bother doing research anymore. It’s all AI generated garbage.
Asleep-Ad-4822@reddit
You may not want to invest the time, but I know a guy who has learned how to hold these spam callers accountable, and he has made thousands of dollars over the last few years. I don't remember all of the details of his approach, but it is something like this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/passive_income/comments/1188viy/how_to_make_quick_and_easy_money_suing_robocallers/
TX_Farmer@reddit (OP)
I’m not a scammt
Asleep-Ad-4822@reddit
I'm super confused. I didn't say you are a scammer. Those companies are likely violating federal laws related to spam calls. You could potentially make money by documenting their calls and then either threatening to sue them, or actually suing them. See the link above.
I get these mostly via text and they are super annoying, but I haven't felt like investing the time to track the data and hold them accountable. But my friend who does this has settled for $2,000 - $10,000 per company making the calls.
TX_Farmer@reddit (OP)
Your suggestion seems to lack integrity and be a poor choice for how to spend my time. “My friend” earns $10,000 trust me bro” isn’t that compelling.
Asleep-Ad-4822@reddit
How does it lack integrity? They are likely violating a federal law. The federal government provides penalties for this illegal action. Here is a link to FCC.gov with pertinent info, and then below is a summary from Google. You don't have to do anything about it (like I said, I haven't done anything about it) but maybe you would be less annoyed if you took action and got paid for the illegal inconvenience they are causing to you. I thought I was helping you, not sure why you are attacking me. I really don't care what you do, "bro."
------------------------------
Federal laws, primarily the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), strictly regulate spam calls, requiring prior express consent for robocalls and allowing consumers to register for the National Do Not Call Registry. Key rules prohibit calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., mandate caller ID, and forbid artificial voices or autodialed calls without written permission. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/stop-unwanted-robocalls-and-texts
Key Federal Regulations on Spam Calls
Allowed vs. Prohibited Calls
How to Take Action
Would you like information on how to report a specific type of spam call, or perhaps tips on blocking them through your carrier?
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/stop-unwanted-robocalls-and-texts
[2] https://www.consumeradvocates.org/for-consumers/robocalls-telemarketing/
[3] https://www.fcc.gov/general/do-not-call
[4] https://www.classlawgroup.com/telephone-consumer-protection-act-lawsuit
[5] https://www.hekmatlaw.com/practice-areas/consumer-protection/telephone-consumer-protection-act-tcpa/
[6] https://www.fcc.gov/enforcement/areas/unwanted-communications
[7] https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/telemarketing-sales-rule
[8] https://www.donotcall.gov/
[9] https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-telemarketing-sales-rule
[10] https://www.nclc.org/new-rules-will-make-robocalls-impossible-to-stop/
[11] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/do-not-call-registry/robocalls
[12] https://lehrmanlaw.com/legal-vs-illegal-robocalls-understanding-the-difference/
[13] https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/stop-unwanted-robocalls-and-texts
StormForeign@reddit
They are insane. I got a call last week about a house I sold in 2011. They said it had hail damage. There hasn't been any hail in that part of town in years.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
I think if your name was ever connected to that address, like through the white pages, they’ll keep finding you.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
They make a ton of money during spring because of the storms. I don’t answer, don’t let them know this number belongs to a human. Your cell company should have a way to report spammers, since you’ve asked them to stop calling you. Also make sure your number is listed on the national do not call list. I think we have to put our number in every 5 years for it to stay active. That doesn’t block all spam calls, but it helps. Also when you’re online filling out forms, don’t mindlessly automatically check boxes. Read them. A bunch of companies are asking permission to sell your information to third parties. I even got one when I just filed my taxes with HR Block. I was allowed to opt out of them selling my information to India, but they worded it in a way that made it sound like I couldn’t proceed without checking that box. I didn’t check it anyway, and it still worked! So monitor who you are allowing to access your personal information.
ztcsdtx@reddit
Answer and just keep pressing 9. If it's a robot call, 9 will put you on the do not call list. If it's a person, a barrage of tones from pressing 9 will make them hang up.
Glad_Air8204@reddit
I get so many calls from all kinds of solicitors that I stopped answering my phone, I’m block 3 numbers a day 😂😅 I guess F me for comparing rates for health care insurance and auto insurance
AustinInDallasTx@reddit
I silence unknown callers (iPhone) and set my VM to dead air for two mins.
If I’m expecting an important call I turn it off temporarily
OleDirtMcGirt901@reddit
Don't answer.