Back in 1996 I had an idea I called the “CreepAway”.
It was a device that would screen your phone calls – it would auto-answer (blocking the local ring), and then ask the caller to “Enter Extension Number” (really a password).
If the caller entered the correct password, it would ring the phone so you can answer.
If they didn’t, the caller would be sent to voicemail.
The idea is that you give both your phone number and your “extension” to your friends – they dial your number, enter your “extension”, and the phone rings.
Telemarketers and others calling at random only get to leave a voicemail.
I think this would be easy to do today with an Android app.
I’m sick and tired of getting robocalls offering me legal help with my (non-existent) IRS debt.
Somebody please build this.
Update, 2013-12:
I recently realized that not only would this be easy to do in an Android or iOS app (intercept the incoming call at the API level, assuming those APIs are exposed), but there’s an even simpler way.
Do it as a service.
Your phone company (Vonage, Google Voice, the PTT, whatever) would provide you with two numbers – a public one (to be given out) and a private one (known only to the phone company).
When people call the public number, the service provider (phone company) would prompt for the extension (or password, whatever). If the caller gives the correct one, the call is forwarded to your private number. If not, to voicemail.
That’s it. It would be trivial to implement in a modern SIP or H.323 based phone system. And they could charge for the service.
Hey – somebody – DO THIS.
#1 by Bob on 2013 November 6 - 18:05
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Amen, brother. The problem is letting your friends and trusted contacts know what the password is and having them remember it. But it occurred to me that just something like “Press the digit 1” would be enough to stop recordings like Rachel from Card Services. It would also stop robocalls that take a few seconds to connect the human telemarketer after you pick up; by the time the human comes on, he’ll have missed the prompt.
#2 by Dave on 2013 November 6 - 18:09
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The idea is that if they can remember your phone number, remembering the “extension” isn’t any harder.
But you’re right – the robocallers would be easily foiled by “Press 1 now”. (As long as “1” is randomly chosen from 0 to 9 for each call, so all robocallers don’t just press 1 when they hear the line pick up.)
At least until they start putting speech recognition into the robocallers – which, sadly, will happen quickly. But the password thing would still work.
#3 by Bob on 2013 November 8 - 00:33
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Actually, I was thinking of building something like “press 1” just for myself. If only one person (or a few people) have the technology, telemarketers won’t bother to develop countermeasures.