Is it true that back then there were not many spam or robo calls?

[Amol S.]

Is it true, that when landline used to be pay by the minute or when cellphone calls used to be pay by the minute, there were a lot less spam or robo calls? Was making unlimited talk time like opening Pandora's box to the realm of spam and robo calls?

 

[Fritzo]

Cheap PC automation and VOIP opened Pandora's box. Back in the old days you had to buy sophisticated calling equipment, numbers were expensive, and took a long time + paperwork to secure. Now virtual telcos can pop in blocks of numbers in minutes and software can be loaded up to blast calls out in the same day.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Cheap PC automation and VOIP opened Pandora's box. Back in the old days you had to buy sophisticated calling equipment, numbers were expensive, and took a long time + paperwork to secure. Now virtual telcos can pop in blocks of numbers in minutes and software can be loaded up to blast calls out in the same day.

This, plus with landline phone or even cell phones for that matter even an outbound calling machine was capped at one call per phone number. Admittedly they could get special numbers that allowed more calls but there still was a cap and on top of the cap if it was perpetual spam calls the telco would shut them down for pooping on the network.
VoIP has made multiple calls easier, multiple numbers easier, changing numbers easier plus literally 1/100th of the cost.VoIP provider could care less if you poop on the network because it’s capacity is close to unlimited and they do not receive the complaints about people phones ringing 24/7

 

[Pablo30]

One of the biggest reasons that we’re experiencing a huge increase in robocalls is that the technology to call millions of phones every day has gotten extremely cheap and easy for just about anyone with a minimal amount of tech skills. It doesn't hurt to register your phone number(s) with the Do not call registry, but don’t expect it to do much for you. Only legitimate marketing companies that are willing to follow the rules will comply with the registry. Click here to know more. A growing number of junk calls and text messages are coming from scammers that are operating outside of the U.S. through VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) so they’re not going to bother paying attention to the registry.

 

[UsandThem]

One of the biggest reasons that we’re experiencing a huge increase in robocalls is that the technology to call millions of phones every day has gotten extremely cheap and easy for just about anyone with a minimal amount of tech skills. It doesn't hurt to register your phone number(s) with the Do not call registry, but don’t expect it to do much for you. Only legitimate marketing companies that are willing to follow the rules will comply with the registry. A growing number of junk calls and text messages are coming from scammers that are operating outside of the U.S. through VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) so they’re not going to bother paying attention to the registry.

A year old, but now we know. And......

 

[Red Squirrel]

I remember back as a kid we still had telemarketters on the landline but robocalls were super rare, if, never. I used to enjoy having fun with them and doing stuff like playing along with their marketing but constantly interrupting or putting them on hold randomly, just to tie them up for nothing, then at the end just saying I'm not interested and hang up after wasting like 20 minutes of their time.

I had a landline at home for a while since I just got one kind of by default when I bought the house since I work for the phone company. But over the years I found I could really do without it so I just have the cell now.

 

[herm0016]

we had a rotary phone. we could not dial 1 for whatever for the longest time when I was a kid. and i'm not that old. ill just be in my early 80s when the asteroid hits.

 

[MtnMan]

I used to war dial looking for modems to answer back in the 80's. If a number was answered by a modem, the computer would log it for further investigation later.

SPAM, a term not yet coined back when, and probably the only one's I recall were local political calls very close to elections. No vehicles had warranties, so that was a no-go.

 

[WelshBloke]

I have, literally, not had a marketing or robocall in years!

Answer machine to screen calls on the landline and the mobile seems to do it automagically.

 

[lxskllr]

I haven't had a landline used for calls since the 90s, but I remember spam being somewhat of an issue. Not robocalls, but assholes calling me up for some dumb shit or another. Not as bad as modern times, but there's fancy blockers now, at least for cells which is the only sensible phone.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Wow, I spent most of the day today on a landline. I completely broke shit and dropped calls like a mother in daylight.

 

[sdifox]

You see, when I was your age, we don't dial numbers. We pick up the phone and someone answers and asks us who do we want to talk to, and then they connect us by plugging a cable from our line to the other person's line. They were called telephone operators.

So no spam call see, they were not cheap.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

You see, when I was your age, we don't dial numbers. We pick up the phone and someone answers and asks us who do we want to talk to, and then they connect us by plugging a cable from out line to the other person's line. They were called telephone operators.

So no spam call see, they were not cheap.

yes since this is a tech board that is the origin of switching. People connected one phone line to another phone line by switching the cable/connection

 

[Captante]

yes since this is a tech board that is the origin of switching. People connected one phone line to another phone line by switching the cable/connection

When I was a kid the main phone lines were automated (using dial-phones) but it was still fairly common to find an operator assisted "party-line" shared phone out in the sticks.

 

[MtnMan]

I have, literally, not had a marketing or robocall in years!

Answer machine to screen calls on the landline and the mobile seems to do it automagically.

My Pixel phone screens calls, without ever ringing. I can then listen to a transcript of the call later. The phone app basically says "this call is being screened, please state the purpose of your call" It then records and transcribes their response. I'm loving it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

What's interesting is lot of the old tech still kinda exists. Like in our office we have a DMS100, it's been there since the 70's just chugging along routing calls. Where I sit now is where the old stepper switch was. It was electro mechanical.

This is a cool video that talks about the old tech:

There was also the crossbar switch:

Pretty cool tech for it's time. And super serviceable too, it's basically just really advanced relays that physically connect you to the other end.

 

[renz20003]

Back in the day the main players were credit companies as they had the funds to pay for call centers.

They weren’t robocalls either, real people talked with the consumer. Most were American and spoke English.

I worked in a call center for a few months, worst job I ever had.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Back in 1998-99 I worked in a call center and several times got hit on by women on Friday evenings with more than a glass in their hands. One was a Delta flight attendant and she was so happy I fixed her dialup account she wanted me to come over after I got off at Midnight. I had two coworkers listening in as I just couldn't believe it. But I was happily married and so I chickened out. But yeah, call centers are horrid and I've had my share of a-holes on the line. Swear on my phone, I hang up.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Back in 1998-99 I worked in a call center and several times got hit on by women on Friday evenings with more than a glass in their hands. One was a Delta flight attendant and she was so happy I fixed her dialup account she wanted me to come over after I got off at Midnight. I had two coworkers listening in as I just couldn't believe it. But I was happily married and so I chickened out. But yeah, call centers are horrid and I've had my share of a-holes on the line. Swear on my phone, I hang up.

Haha those are the fun kind of calls, the ones that give you a good story to tell. 😀 My mom used to work customer service and always had funny stories. I worked tech support for a while for same company, and sometimes we could relate because of the different types of people we encountered lol.

But yeah, any kind of call centre job is not something I'd want to do the rest of my life. I did it for a year or two but it's nice to be non customer facing now. I would do it again if I had to though, it still beats working retail or fast food.