Lawrence points to an interesting "datacenter":
This seems like a story that should have gotten a lot more attention than it has. “Secret Service Dismantles Weaponized SIM Farms Designed To ‘Shut Down’ NYC Cell Networks.”Hours before President Donald Trump’s address to the United Nations General Assembly, the U.S. Secret Service announced that it had dismantled a massive, decentralized SIM farm network, just 35 miles from New York City, hidden inside five abandoned apartment buildings. The telecommunications stealth weapon was capable of paralyzing regional cell networks through denial-of-service attacks.
My first instinct was that this was a State Actor prepping some sort of cyber attack. Now I think it's a Phone Spam datacenter:
SIM farms allow “bulk messaging at a speed and volume that would be impossible for an individual user,” one telecoms industry source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the Secret Service’s investigation, told WIRED. “The technology behind these farms makes them highly flexible—SIMs can be rotated to bypass detection systems, traffic can be geographically masked, and accounts can be made to look like they’re coming from genuine users.”
Bastards. 95% of all the calls I get are along the lines of "You have been pre-approved ...". I don't even answer a call where I don't recognize the number anymore.
13 comments:
I will answer calls from local area codes. Some have been spam but most are legit for business or medical stuff. I don't know the mechanism behind my phone labeling calls possible spam; I let those calls go to voice mail and most don't leave any.
I have been using a free call blocking app called "Should I Answer" for years. It works great, and in looking through the call log I rarely get any calls any more. I believe the long term use of that app has my number flagged as "NG" on the telemarketer lists.
I guess you guys are more up to speed than me. But if the number begins with a +62 or 63. I sometimes waste their time and jerk them around. During the Obama years. I liked to give the White House number for call backs in case we got disconnected during our conversat[on. Of course we did!
I don't answer numbers I don't recognize.
And yet, in this day when nearly literally everyone has countless discouraging experiences with spam, many businesses will call using the personal cell phones of employees.
The calling number may not even be the same area code or prefix. Medical offices are infamous for this.
Too, last week I received a suspicious text advising I owe money. Included was a link. No way was I going to reply or click on the link. Separately, I called the supposed business. It turned out it was legit. Who in their right mind approved sending a suspicious looking text from an unknown number?
One wonders how much of this is done by state actors, specifically the FBI, DoJ, and/or CIA??? Or other fine players from the Fourteen Eyes sewer...
I always use 202/324-3000. The FBI Switchboard in DC.
It's always some guy named Bob with a Hyderabad accent.
The latest twist is an AI voice says, " Hello. Are you there?"
We probably get 3-6 of these every week day.
Most of the spam calls & texts I get are from WinRed wanting money for some worthless politician, I never give money to politicians, ever.
Because of "number portability", I kept my old cellphone number which is in another state. Now, when I get that area code, they are about 95% spam or somebody (old medical stuff) that didn't get the "I've Moved" memo...
And I absolutely won't respond to area 202 numbers. Trump already has my support.
I wonder what would happen if you answer "No."
Agreed!
Medical offices. Happens to me repeatedly. Increasingly, these concerns are owned by private equity and bad management is part of pump and dump.
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