Blocking specific unknown callers with Google Voice

[Rick]

Can't find the post, but there was one back in the March timeframe that provided this guidance - if you get an unknown caller that you want to block, know that GV assigns that number a unique id.  You can go into History on Google Voice, find the call, and block it based on that unique ID.  This moves it into GV's SPAM folder and the calls won't come through.

I did that back then and thought it was working.  In the past few days I've received some calls, including Dan the carpet cleaner.  I looked in History, nothing there.  I look in SPAM and it clearly shows the call listed and indicates "blocked".  Yet my phone rang and the call was there.

What changed?

[Smee]

Rick,

   I tried blocking unknown calls in GV a long while ago like you described just to see what would happen.  It never worked for me nor do I think it ever could.  My understanding is that an unknown call is just that, a call in which no number was passed to GV and is essentially anonymous like when someone dials a number with *67.  As such, your only option would be to block all unknown callers.  To do so, follow this guide:

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=5731.0

That should help you block anonymous callers.

Take care..

Smee

[Rick]

Smee:

I don't want to block all calls that don't have callerid.  I want to block calls from numbers that I have received previously, like Dan the Carpet Man.

Dan blocks his number.  Google assigns a unique identifier that you can see when you look at the call in history.  Dan's identifier is Unknown.a33f5caa43936a4fb4597064281e550744c6d4bb?  You can see this by going to block the caller, it displays the identifier.

Blocking the caller moves that call to the SPAM folder.  When Dan called again, the call showed only in SPAM.  Therefore, it should have received the intended message and not rung my phone.

[SteveInWA]

Rick:

Based on what I've seen recently over on the GV forum (where I am aka Bluescat), the unknown caller blocking technique (via assigning them a GUID string) used to work as you described, but it's currently broken, at least for some callers.  It's not something that you're doing wrong.  For all we know, it could be a newly nefarious way that the spammers are placing the calls, just as e-mail spammers keep finding ways around blocking methods.

This is the way it is supposed to work:

https://support.google.com/voice/answer/115089?hl=en

Editorial/personal opinion:  there are many GV features that aren't working as designed, or used to work one way, and now work another way, or are simply FUBAR, including various issues with GV's telco partner's VoIP/PSTN network.  We can't get any Google Voice staff person to publicly acknowledge most problems, let alone fix them.  The support for the offering has deteriorated substantially in the past couple of years, and I don't see this changing any time soon, especially with Google staff effort directed at Hangouts development vs. supporting legacy functions.

[Rick]

Steve,

Thanks for the info.  Since it does match up, I think it's just broken.