Meet the Chatbot That Trolls Telemarketers

AlphaAtlas

[H]ard|Gawd
Staff member
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In spite of attempts to curb the practice, telemarking and scam calls are becoming an epidemic. However, one particular group of internet dwellers have chosen to fight fire with fire, as they've developed a chat bot designed to annoy telemarketers. The original creator of "Lenny" remains anonymous, but Motherboard interviewed the person currently maintaining the chatbot's public server, as well as a "researcher who has studied Lenny's effectiveness as an anti-spam tool."

Check out a video of Lenny messing with a scammer here.

"Every minute that Lenny is on the phone with a scammer is a minute that they don't have to scam an actual confused elderly person," Mango added. "I run Lenny because I hope that the volunteers who forward their scam calls and I have, in some small way, saved a few people here and there from becoming a victim."
 
How about we cut off incoming IP phone traffic entirely from any country harboring large scale scam operations? That should encourage the host country to actually do something.

Some websites and businesses already do that. Sometimes, its the only way to keep servers from catching on fire.
 
This is a great service, i bet the scamming guy was getting really pissed off. I am surprised he didn't give up sooner !!
 
Dont get mad,,,,, get even. :happy:
I have a playbook for a event like this, but sadly it have been almost a decade since my last call of this sort, maybe due to me being on a do not call list and so it is actually illegal to call me with this kind of BS.
Needless to say i also don't pick up when unlisted or unknown numbers call me, and i only know 10 phone numbers.
And you will have to go by random to get my number cuz it is not listed, and someone else pay for it.
 
I get like 5+ spam calls a day now.

My block list is so long - I think it’s slowing my phone down!

Interesting.

What do you do with your phone number, I wonder, that you get all of these calls?

I probably get one spam call a month at most.

I'd love to forward spam calls to this, but I just don't get that many, but I'm not sure how, and I'd imagine that if we are hearing about this the phone spammers must be aware of it as well.

I wish it were more randomized. Multiple names, accents, male and female, different phrases. That way, telemarketers won't hang up as soon as they hear the name
"Lenny".
 
Interesting.

What do you do with your phone number, I wonder, that you get all of these calls?

I probably get one spam call a month at most.

I'd love to forward spam calls to this, but I just don't get that many, but I'm not sure how, and I'd imagine that if we are hearing about this the phone spammers must be aware of it as well.

I wish it were more randomized. Multiple names, accents, male and female, different phrases. That way, telemarketers won't hang up as soon as they hear the name
"Lenny".

I would think it could be area dependent. I get tons of spam calls and I don't give my number out or answer unknown calls. I do know that for many folks who occasionally pickup a spam call, it often invites a lot more spam calls.
 
Truly evil. Was waiting for the chatbot to start talking about putting an onion in their belt- because it was the style at the time.

DOIN7A4VAAAN8sL.jpg
 
Whatever we do, please don't legislate any regulation with teeth, otherwise polliticans might get less dark money *gasp* Besides, we all know any regulation is job killing bad, best to just let pure unadulterated capitalism run amok.
Actually surprised we haven't shuttered consumer finance protection bureau...
 
I would think it could be area dependent. I get tons of spam calls and I don't give my number out or answer unknown calls. I do know that for many folks who occasionally pickup a spam call, it often invites a lot more spam calls.


Yeah, I'm not a big phone talker. I have only received 4 calls in total thus far in November:

- 2 were from family.
- 2 I have no idea who they were. Numbers weren't in my contacts, and they didn't leave voicemails. I guess these could have been scammers/spammers

(I don't have a habit of answering calls I don't recognize the number of. Usually these calls are from recruiters looking to try to place me in a new job.)

For the month of October I got 10 phone calls in total:

- 1 confirmed spam call (robocall voicemail trying to sell me an extended warranty on my car)
- 2 were reminders from my dentists office of my upcoming appointment
- 1 was a follow-up call from the manager of my 401k plan to set up some time to chat
- 1 was a call from my mechanic to inform me my service was done
- 2 were family
- The remaining three did not leave a message and I missed the call.

I guess if I don't answer my phone when unknown numbers call, which is the case for me, I am less likely to get stuck on the phone with spammers/scammers. Most of my spammers are recruiters though.

My philosophy is, if something is important enough the person calling will leave a voice mail. If they don't, I probably never needed to talk to them anyway, and would rather not. There is really no need to ever answer the phone, at least not if the number isn't in your contacts.

That really seems to be the best solution. Don't be a slave to your phone. I carry a phone for my convenience, not for others. Just don't answer. Ever.
 
A lot of calls I get are recording very easy to hang up on. If a call gets thru on the comcast blocker. They start talking and I'll know if its a sale,scam etc in the first 10secsonds. I'll just say not interested, i'm hanging up now, bye *click*
Comcast call blocker helps a lot. When a call gets blocked it rings once. If the phone rings 2x I'll answer. Most of the time its someone I know. Its been a big help

I despise sale calls, scams etc with a passion. And I don't want to waste time saying no, so I just hang up.
 
I get 5~15 calls and spam texts a day...I made the mistake of getting an OR number when I moved and apparently the girl that had this number is a waste of oxyen..I guess I should not expect much more outta someone that spells her Kandi. *sigh*

Blocking them does no good, they just make a new number 10 seconds later. I have considered changing my number again since they still call/text after 9 months of getting zero bites from me. She must have a been a good mark.
 
I had one of these guys call me a few months back and I had been trying to tell me the same thing. I said "Yea? I do know quite a lot about computers and know very well I haven't downloaded anything that contains a virus."
He tried to tell me otherwise, naturally. I said no that's alright, I know this is a scam, and to please remove me from their list.

He didn't like that... He promptly told me "Yea, ok, FUCK you!" and hung up! lmao

Since I can't find an image with the caption and I'm too lazy to do it right now myself... Here's an image of Apu and a video with the quote :p
Fl7lDBW.png


 
I do know that for many folks who occasionally pickup a spam call, it often invites a lot more spam calls.

Yeah....

I picked up drunk and basically pulled a "Jerky Boys" on 'em.

Now I get about 5 b.s. calls a day.

Well played telemarketer. Well played.
 
Sometimes you can't avoid the calls. My business line is just monkey hammered. You can't hide the number. I shouldn't have to be interrupted answering up to a dozen sales/scam calls a day. And I don't get to pick either because scammers spoof their ID to look like something normal, and telemarketers are even worse they all spoof their ID to look LOCAL to you now so there's absolutely no way to tell it isn't coming from a legit customer.

Admittedly, the number of bad calls has dropped a TON over the last couple of months. Must be some kind of enforcement going on at the telcos currently. Makes me happy.
 
I usually lead them on so they'll get to the meat of their sales pitch, then quietly set the phone on the counter. Later, I'll check the log to see how long they talked to nobody. My record is about 3min.
If I'm really bored or in the car, I'll keep them on as long as possible. If they're Indian, I'll accuse their mom of eating beef while pregnant. It's nearly guaranteed to set them off swearing at me.
 
My work recently got one of these calls, they didn't like how we started openly mocking and laughing at them for being so obviously a scam.
 
That bot was outstanding!

I make it a game to try and get all the way to where they want the credit card number. Only recently got the combination down to where I can do it reliably.
 
I’m at several hundred blocked numbers now. It’s really getting annoying.

Theres no point in blocking numbers, they're all spoofed at this point. You're just blocking random numbers of people near you.

I wish someone would open source one of these bots so you could run your own.
 
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Is it some form of AI or just random talking appropriate for the situation?
(nevermind I listened to more. No AI involved. Can't wait until AI)
 
Interesting.

What do you do with your phone number, I wonder, that you get all of these calls?

I probably get one spam call a month at most.

I'd love to forward spam calls to this, but I just don't get that many, but I'm not sure how, and I'd imagine that if we are hearing about this the phone spammers must be aware of it as well.

I wish it were more randomized. Multiple names, accents, male and female, different phrases. That way, telemarketers won't hang up as soon as they hear the name
"Lenny".

My guess is either a business phone listed on a business website or phone number listed on Craigslist.
 
I've been getting a ton of the neighborhood spoof calls (about 20 a week.) There really isn't much you can do on your end, but I have found automation on Android to work great. If it's from my area code but not in my list it will auto send it to voice mail. It has been the best fix I have come across for the spoofing problem. I'm not a huge fan of bothering to block a ton of local random numbers that are not the real number the call is coming from anyways.

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/172174/block-all-calls-from-area-code-unless-in-contacts the second post shows an easy to follow method for it for anyone interested.
 
I get 5~15 calls and spam texts a day...I made the mistake of getting an OR number when I moved and apparently the girl that had this number is a waste of oxyen..I guess I should not expect much more outta someone that spells her Kandi. *sigh*

Blocking them does no good, they just make a new number 10 seconds later. I have considered changing my number again since they still call/text after 9 months of getting zero bites from me. She must have a been a good mark.

being a mark doesn't matter, i've been getting them for going on 6 years now because of my number being on a site that got hacked.. i've never once answered it and i've been using hiya which does a pretty good job at blocking the vast majority of them but i still get them.. you can also tell when their trial periods are up on the many VOIP services they use because they'll stop for a few weeks and then start all over again for 30-60 days then stop for a few weeks.. they pretty much just sell active numbers back and forth to different scammers.
 
I usually lead them on so they'll get to the meat of their sales pitch, then quietly set the phone on the counter. Later, I'll check the log to see how long they talked to nobody. My record is about 3min.
If I'm really bored or in the car, I'll keep them on as long as possible. If they're Indian, I'll accuse their mom of eating beef while pregnant. It's nearly guaranteed to set them off swearing at me.
I like your style.
 
I always ask them if they offer a "Platinum Upgrade" package.
 
I usually lead them on so they'll get to the meat of their sales pitch, then quietly set the phone on the counter. Later, I'll check the log to see how long they talked to nobody. My record is about 3min.
If I'm really bored or in the car, I'll keep them on as long as possible. If they're Indian, I'll accuse their mom of eating beef while pregnant. It's nearly guaranteed to set them off swearing at me.
I do the same, but before setting the phone down, I'll say something like, "hold on, let me get my credit card." Guaranteed to improve your record.
 
Yeah, I'm not a big phone talker. I have only received 4 calls in total thus far in November:

- 2 were from family.
- 2 I have no idea who they were. Numbers weren't in my contacts, and they didn't leave voicemails. I guess these could have been scammers/spammers

(I don't have a habit of answering calls I don't recognize the number of. Usually these calls are from recruiters looking to try to place me in a new job.)

For the month of October I got 10 phone calls in total:

- 1 confirmed spam call (robocall voicemail trying to sell me an extended warranty on my car)
- 2 were reminders from my dentists office of my upcoming appointment
- 1 was a follow-up call from the manager of my 401k plan to set up some time to chat
- 1 was a call from my mechanic to inform me my service was done
- 2 were family
- The remaining three did not leave a message and I missed the call.

I guess if I don't answer my phone when unknown numbers call, which is the case for me, I am less likely to get stuck on the phone with spammers/scammers. Most of my spammers are recruiters though.

My philosophy is, if something is important enough the person calling will leave a voice mail. If they don't, I probably never needed to talk to them anyway, and would rather not. There is really no need to ever answer the phone, at least not if the number isn't in your contacts.

That really seems to be the best solution. Don't be a slave to your phone. I carry a phone for my convenience, not for others. Just don't answer. Ever.

Yeah, pretty much what I do now. I really hate listening or checking for VM and used to have a VM message to not leave one but not it's really the only way to sort bullshit calls. If it's a real person and they really need me they can indeed leave a VM or text me. Most of my contacts though I ask to email me, which includes my relatives.
 
Yeah, pretty much what I do now. I really hate listening or checking for VM and used to have a VM message to not leave one but not it's really the only way to sort bullshit calls. If it's a real person and they really need me they can indeed leave a VM or text me. Most of my contacts though I ask to email me, which includes my relatives.


I like the voicemail features on my phone, with the automatic transcription. It's rarely perfect, but usually its enough that I know whether or not to bother listening to it, so I can quickly scroll through my voicemails.

Very convenient, but I hate that Google is probably harvesting data about me from the voicemails :(
 
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