JohnB wrote:What TPTB need to do is make the phone system secure from number spoofing. Then consumers could subscribe to a centrally maintained blocking list, much like adblock. And insist that all reputable companies do not start number withheld calls, so consumers could block number withheld calls without worrying that NHS 111 ringing them back can't get through.
We have a landline phone plugged directly into the socket, so that always rings, and a cordless answerphone that blocks withheld and international numbers, so you can tell the call type depending on what rings. And we work on the principle that if its important, they will write...
One issue is that (as I have moaned about here before) the NHS et al. routinely use number Withheld. I have pointed this out to my local GPs' surgery which does the same but they seem reluctant to reply - after 3 polite emails. Another problem is that there is nothing to prevent scammers from spoofing a real number, so unfortunately a central database wouldn't work.
RC