TMobile prepaid: Anyway to block unwanted calls?

Not seeing anything on TMobile prepaid site abt a way
to block unwanted telemarketer calls

Can someone confirm that?

me@privacy.net wrote:

> Not seeing anything on TMobile prepaid site abt a way
> to block unwanted telemarketer calls
>
> Can someone confirm that?

What phone? Some phones have a setting to block anyone not in your
phone book, for others there are apps such as Call Control which allows
you the same thing. Google will find you plenty of such apps. If
you're running Android or Blackberry search the market.



--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
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XS11E <xs11eNO@SPAMyahoo.com> wrote:

>What phone? Some phones have a setting to block anyone not in your
>phone book,


sorry abt delay getting back

It is a prepaid Samsung SGH T349

And yes the phone does have a "block" option from
within the phone itself but does this just keep the
phone from ringing? Or does it actually keep the
unwanted call from the SYTEM? I am unsure what this
option really does.

me@privacy.net wrote:

> XS11E <xs11eNO@SPAMyahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>What phone? Some phones have a setting to block anyone not in your
>>phone book,
>
>
> sorry abt delay getting back
>
> It is a prepaid Samsung SGH T349
>
> And yes the phone does have a "block" option from
> within the phone itself but does this just keep the
> phone from ringing? Or does it actually keep the
> unwanted call from the SYTEM? I am unsure what this
> option really does.

If it works like the phones I've had, it'll not ring and send the calls
directy to voice mail.

That works well because most spammer won't leave any message to use
your minutes but friends who aren't in your phone book will probably
leave messages so you can call them back and add them to your contacts
if you want to do so...




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XS11E <xs11eNO@SPAMyahoo.com> wrote:

>
>If it works like the phones I've had, it'll not ring and send the calls
>directy to voice mail.
>
>That works well because most spammer won't leave any message to use
>your minutes but friends who aren't in your phone book will probably
>leave messages so you can call them back and add them to your contacts
>if you want to do so...

OK thanks

That will work ok I think

>>>Some phones have a setting to block anyone not in your
>>>phone book,

>If it works like the phones I've had, it'll not ring and send the calls
>directy to voice mail.
>
>That works well because most spammer won't leave any message to use
>your minutes but friends who aren't in your phone book will probably
>leave messages so you can call them back and add them to your contacts
>if you want to do so...

You can't block undesirable callers but you can set their ring tone to
silent.

If you use a free Google Voice number that forwards to your T-Mobile
number, you can set GV to block any undesirable caller before they
reach your T-Mobile phone. However, you'll need to get all undesirable
callers to use your GV number instead of your T-Mobile number. I
simply stopped giving out my T-Mobile number.

M.L. <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:

>If you use a free Google Voice number that forwards to your T-Mobile
>number, you can set GV to block any undesirable caller before they
>reach your T-Mobile phone. However, you'll need to get all undesirable
>callers to use your GV number instead of your T-Mobile number. I
>simply stopped giving out my T-Mobile number.


I have a GV number but the spammers are calling my
direct number.... probably using an automated dialer

Per me@privacy.net:
>
>I have a GV number but the spammers are calling my
>direct number.... probably using an automated dialer

+1

With added twist that they're spamming my voicemail when I don't
answer.
--
PeteCresswell

>>I have a GV number but the spammers are calling my
>>direct number.... probably using an automated dialer
>
>+1
>
>With added twist that they're spamming my voicemail when I don't
>answer.

That will eventually stop when you stop giving out your T-Mobile
number.

Per M.L.:
>That will eventually stop when you stop giving out your T-Mobile
>number.

Doesn't compute. My number, one way or another, has gotten out
there into the wild..... So it's still going to be out there no
matter what I do or don't do.

Or do numbers get "old" in the context of telemarketing?

... like maybe some of these calls (like the ones that ask the
user to press "1" to do this or "2" to do that....)
probing/validating the numbers on the telemarketer's list?

I'm thinking the analogy to email spam isn't so good bc the
spammers' cost per message sent is essentially zero - whereas the
telemarketer has a cost per call - even if it's only one or two
cents.
--
PeteCresswell

M.L. <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:

>>>>Some phones have a setting to block anyone not in your phone
>>>>book,
>
>>If it works like the phones I've had, it'll not ring and send the
>>calls directy to voice mail.
>>
>>That works well because most spammer won't leave any message to
>>use your minutes but friends who aren't in your phone book will
>>probably leave messages so you can call them back and add them to
>>your contacts if you want to do so...
>
> You can't block undesirable callers but you can set their ring
> tone to silent.

Yes, you probably can block them, see above. If your phone doesn't
have such a setting there are apps available for BlackBerry, Android,
WinMo and probably iPhone and Windows Phone 7 that will do exactly the
same, block anyone not in your contacts list and send the call directly
to voice mail. If someone isn't in my contacts list I'm fine with the
call going to voice mail, I can review it later and decide if I want to
add the caller to my contacts list.


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M.L. <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:

>However, you'll need to get all undesirable
>callers to use your GV number instead of your T-Mobile number.


So how do you do that if they have automated demon
dialer that dials in sequential manner?

M.L. <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:

>That will eventually stop when you stop giving out your T-Mobile
>number.


<face palm>

On Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:29:08 -0500, me@privacy.net wrote:

>M.L. <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
>
>>That will eventually stop when you stop giving out your T-Mobile
>>number.
>
>
><face palm>

FYI, M.L. did not make that foolish quote.

>>However, you'll need to get all undesirable
>>callers to use your GV number instead of your T-Mobile number.
>
>
>So how do you do that if they have automated demon
>dialer that dials in sequential manner?

It won't help for abusers calling your current number but will
mitigate problems with future abusers. If you stop providing your
T-Mobile number to marketing venues, the abuse will eventually stop,
allowing you to filter future abusers with GV.

Placing yourself on a government Do Not Call list should help too. The
automated dialers are supposed to avoid those on the banned list. I
really don't have a problem with telemarketers using my GV number.

One way or another you'll need to find a way to separate your trusted
from your untrusted contacts, and GV is a good start.