Reply
Sun 11 Dec, 2016 02:50 pm
I'm avoiding my internet provider for the moment as getting through to a human there has long tried my limited patience. I will if I have to, but first - maybe someone on a2k is more knowledgeable about landline phones than I am re if an internet provider can trace quick hangup dialers, given I tell the IP about it.
History: ten years ago, when I moved to New Mexico and bought a half of a duplex and then moved in, adding this and that, including telephones, I soon started getting very short phone calls around five or six a.m.
Grrrrrrrrr.
The person would cut the call midway into the first ring. Then and now, the phone in the bedroom has no caller ID, but even if it did I wouldn't see it in time, asleep as I tend to be at those hours.
I figured this was a call to the previous owners, a failing in health mother and her middle aged son - a wake up call, probably for the son.
Eventually that stopped.
Now: About two weeks or ten days ago, this started again. In this episode, the times differ. Earliest so far was ~2:30 a.m.; most so far are from 3:45 a.m. to 6 something, but today it was closer to 7 a.m. Sometimes I can fall asleep again, other times, my sleep is over.
The difference between this and the last time was that back then they tended to be on possible work shift days. It still could be the same person (loon), with a new job.. but that doesn't make much sense.
Maybe this is all a routine for people fooling around, some kind of new fun.
So, I wonder if the IP or Phone Company (same) are able to trace that fast; do people ask for the IP/Phone people to trace re certain hours?
Maybe this is someone after my hummus recipe, after I included Farmerman's suggestion of our adding anchovies.
Could be robocaller equipment dialing your number to see if anyone picks up. That is a kind of reconnaissance call. It is easy these days for a computer to dial thousands of numbers and build a list of those that actually ring, and also, those who answer. Be on your guard if you end up speaking to someone. Phone fraud is on the rise. The FTC recommends that consumers "just hang up" on the robocalls.
"We don't want consumers to engage in any way with robocallers," they say. "A lot of times when you get a robocall you have the option of pressing 1 for more information or pressing 2 to ask to be removed from the list. And in either case, pressing 1 or 2 basically lets the robocaller know that it's a live person on the other line who's willing to engage and that could lead to additional robocalls."
However a single ring makes me wonder about faulty equipment at the phone company, maybe. Back in the days of 'dingaling' phones you could get weather conditions causing phones in a wide area to ring briefly. High winds causing wires to flap about and touch.
@contrex,
Glad to see your reply.
Maybe the first episode was real, or unrelated; I'm tilted toward real, re the people back then.
This one taunts me to think of ooooh, lots of goofballs.
Can an IP trace reconnaissance calls?
@ossobucotemp,
ossobucotemp wrote:Can an IP trace reconnaissance calls?
Your phone company could likely check logs of calls to your number, but it might not tell them (or you) very much. The caller ID can be "spoofed", for example, calls from anywhere in the world can show up as coming from a number in the USA, often showing as a number in your state or region (they are that cunning).
Check time zones. Could the earliest calls match the start of the working day in somewhere like India or the Phillipines? They are common locations for phone spammers.
Adds: it's actually a 1/2 or 3/4th ring, from what I can tell. Weird.
I will contact my IP, but I want to be smarter first.
@ossobucotemp,
ossobucotemp wrote:I will contact my IP, but I want to be smarter first.
Ignoring them is a pretty smart initial strategy. In fact the only sensible one. They use psychology to draw people in, and the first step is when you speak to them.
@contrex,
Ah. I now remember I've read that.
So, are we all now traipsing along on reconnaissance hell? This stuff (if it is reconnaissance in early morning hours) can mess up lives.
Meantime, I've turned the bedroom phone off. If there is a fire, I know where to switch it to call 911.
There actually was a fire at my very nearby neighbor's (old furnace), reported by me elsewhere. That was when I wouldn't open the door at 4 a.m. but the fist hammering and yelling made me open it.
Neighbors matter.
@contrex,
That may be the difference between the first episode and the second. Or, not. Maybe the first one was robo too? 2oo6.
We love them. They're free. They seem to work. It's easy to get it going.
https://www.nomorobo.com/
@jespah,
I haven't an iPhone, but I'm guessing that works for a regular phone? Thanks for the link.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace