Gadget helps you fight cold callers

Vishing, a phone scam that tricks people into divulging personal or financial information over the phone, is increasing at an alarming rate according to the FBI. You might be familiar with this type of scam, but millions of people out there have never heard of it, and continue to be victimized by thieves pretending to be calling on behalf of a legitimate financial institution.

One way to ensure you don't get vished is by either hanging up on suspicious calls or you could install a device like TrueCall. TrueCall, created by former telemarketers Steve Smith and John Price, intercepts all your calls and classifies them as either good or bad. Numbers on your 'star' list go through without hesitation every time, while unknown numbers and those on the 'zap' list are put on hold. The system asks those calling from an unknown number for their name, forwards the call to the user's phone, and gives them the option to either take it or reject it.

Numbers added to the 'zap' list will automatically be rejected each time, and best of all your phone won't even ring when you get these calls. In the future, the company plans to distribute a downloadable list of blacklisted numbers that can be accessed by TrueCall's built-in modem. The device is currently available in the UK only, but it won't be long before we can buy something like this. 

In the meantime, you should get on the 'Do Not Call' list if you're getting too many marketing calls. It might not stop all of them, but it will help significantly. Trust me.

Gizmo puts cold callers on hold (BBC)

Related:

Vishing, A New Kind of Threat
How to Avoid Telemarketing Scams
Shut Up Telemarketers For Good