When the Solution is Part of the Problem

I have received 3 robocalls on my cell phone within the last hour. My policy for the last several years has been that the cell phone doesn’t get answered unless the incoming caller is identified through the contact list. Looking up these suspected numbers as they dial in reveals that they have been identified at the very top of the search results with “Phone Scam Alert”. Visiting the website produced by the top search entry shows statistics as to how proficient this “anti-spam” app seems to be and lists all of the positive feedback by those victims who have used the app to fight back against phone spam abuse. But could it be that these “victims” are only being led into another, more underhanded scam? It seems clear to me, that the owners of this app (I won’t mention any names but the initials are “Nomorobo”), may actually be a part of the problem. They’re likely, or probably, perpetrators themselves and the initiators of these “robo spam calls” in order to get individuals to search the number and inevitably visit their website, thereby getting drawn into another sort of scam. Since installing a work-related land-line earlier this year, over 90% non-work calls coming in are spam, in addition to the bombardment already being received on the cell phone. And the frequency of these spam calls seems to be increasing every week in spite of all of the alleged “cracking down” claimed to have been initiated by regulatory agencies. And I don’t think I’m being paranoid, or at least, overly so. If fear or apprehension is experienced due to the presence of valid phenomenon, then it’s not really paranoia, is it? Anyway, just had to get up on my soapbox today.