OBiTALK Community

I am using Nomorobo to screen spam calls. I have an OBi202 with Callcentric. I set up a simultaneous ring call treatment on Callcentric.

Everything seems to work fine 99% of the time with Nomorobo screening spammers. The only problem I've found is that Nomorobo also blocks calls from my family overseas and when I call using Skype. But the message is not the Nomorobo message. It's "please call again later".

Nomorobo's tech support response is that Callcentric is not a supported carrier and that is why I have problems. End of story. I think that's just a BS answer.

Callcentric's simultaneous ring and CID seem to work fine. My OBi seems to work fine. The only thing I can think of is the CIDs for overseas callers and Skype is causing problems. Anybody have any experience with this?

What do these CallerIDs look like?
Do the international CallerIDs change or are they consistent?

If we can't get Callcentric to work, the OBi can fork the call to NoMoRobo.


I'm getting the same result. I think they just changed their message.

Edit:

Set up call treatments to send these calls only to your extension.
You can use wildcards. See:
http://blog.callcentric.com/2014/04/call-treatments-advanced/

These call treatments must be before the NoMoRobo call treatment.

It looks like you can only compare for digits. This might not work if the CallerID has alpha characters. Then you would have your OBi fork the call to NoMoRobo and not Callcentric.

How are you sending the call to NoMoRobo?
Are you sending these calls to the NoMoRobo number?
You can send them to a SIP URI like this:
nomorobo_number@tf.callcentric.com

Now you won't get charged.

Edit2:

Change your call treatment for NoMoRobo from any number to this number.
Use number xxxxxxxxxx or 1xxxxxxxxxx if prefix is included.
Setup a 2nd call treatment for NoMoRobo for Anonymous/Private calls.
All other calls will default to only ring your extension.

The overseas calls sometimes show up on CID as "011XXXXXX", sometimes as "Unknown", sometimes as a # unknown to me in format XXX-XXX-XXXX (probably when the user is using a dial around plan).

Skype shows up on CID as "Skype 661-xxx-xxxx". I found that Skype assigns the same CIDs to many Skype callers e.g. 661-748-0240. There are many complaints online about spam calls from that #.

I don't know who generates the "please call again later" message. Nomorobo tech support seemed puzzled by that because they said a blocked call should have a different message with an option to press a key to prove that the caller is not a robot.

I route the simultaneous call to Nomorobo through a Callcentric call treatment to dial the Nomorobo 866 number. I've never tried having the OBi directly route the call. I've checked the call treatment using multiple phones and it seems to work fine. That's why I don't think the problem is with Callcentric. But then again I do not know the exact parameters Nomorobo requires to function.

I've tried calling just the Nomorobo 866 number directly using a mobile, Callcentric, GV, Skype. Sometimes I will get a fast busy signal. Sometimes the line will just abruptly terminate without picking up.

I had a typo in my post.
It should have been:
"You can send the calls to a SIP URI like this:
nomorobo_number@tf.callwithus.com
Now you won't get charged.
___________________________________________


Sometimes when I call a tech support person, I get a total idiot.
I think you got one.
Setup an OBi speed dial to test Nomorobo like this:
spx(1866xxxxxxx@tf.callwithus.com;ui=6239156287)

Change 1866xxxxxxx to your Nomorobo number
Change spx to a SP number defined as SIP
6239156287 is a telemarketer that calls me.
I get message "please try your call again later".
This is why I think Nomorobo changed their messaging.
___________________________________________

I called my Callcentric account with a CallerID of "Skype xxx-xxx-xxxx" and it showed as Anonymous on the Callcentric dashboard. I think Callcentric is routing these calls to Nomorobo as Anonymous and that is why they are getting rejected.

Change your Call Treatment from routing any number to routing number 1xxxxxxxxxx  to your extension and Nomorobo.
All other calls will default to ringing only your extension.

Try calling Callcentric with Skype.
What CallerID do you get on your OBi attached phone?
Is it Anonymous or "Skype xxx-xxx-xxxx"?

It appears on the phone as "Skype 661-748-0240". AFAIK this is the default CID for any caller making outbound calls using Skype.

I have no way of testing my theory, but I suspect that so many spammers have used Skype that the outbound Skype CID 661-748-0240 is actually blacklisted. Or perhaps all Skype calls are blacklisted.

I also suspect that the reason overseas calls are blocked is that the Nomorobo server cannot handle CIDs that do not conform to the North American (xxx)xxx-xxxx format.

You have a Callcentric Call Treatment setup for Simultaneous Ring. Correct?

Edit the Call treatment.
On the right under "Call coming from Caller ID:"
The defult is "Any Number"
Change it to "This Number"
Key 1xxxxxxxxxx in the box provided.
Click Save

Hopefully, now the calls that were being rejected will not be routed to Nomorobo.
Does this solve your problem?

That's a pretty good work around. Thanks.

I've set up Call Treatments that bypass Nomorobo for:

16617480240 (this allows Skype calls through)
yyyxxxxxxxx (yyy is the country code, this allows a specific overseas number through)

I didn't try it, but if I put all my overseas friends and family in the Phone Book I could set up a Call Treatment for the entire Phone Book. Another option is to use Phone Book groups to create a white list and a black list.

Using the wildcard *, is not reliable. On the first attempt the overseas call was sent to Nomorobo and blocked. If the caller immediately called back, the 2nd attempt got through.

011* (this allows through overseas calls that show up on the CID as "011xxxx" or "+xxxxxx")
yyy* (this allows through overseas calls originating from single country)