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OBiExtras - Call Blocking - Add Wildcards

Started by MikeBianco, October 17, 2017, 05:48:32 PM

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MikeBianco

For the last several months I have been getting inundated with calls from my own exchange - these are spoofed caller IDs.  My number is 973-316-XXXX, and I get several calls per day from other 973-316-???? numbers.  I really want to block all of these.  I would pay for that service.  Otherwise, your blocking service isn't really of value because I can do it on Google Voice for free.

So I would like to block 973-316-*.

Everyone I know seems to be having this problem lately.  It would be good to provide a solution to it.

Thanks

drgeoff

Quote from: MikeBianco on October 17, 2017, 05:48:32 PM
For the last several months I have been getting inundated with calls from my own exchange - these are spoofed caller IDs.  My number is 973-316-XXXX, and I get several calls per day from other 973-316-???? numbers.  I really want to block all of these.  I would pay for that service.  Otherwise, your blocking service isn't really of value because I can do it on Google Voice for free.

So I would like to block 973-316-*.

Everyone I know seems to be having this problem lately.  It would be good to provide a solution to it.

Thanks
You can already easily achieve that and it doesn't need OBiEXTRAS.

There is more than one way to store the blocked numbers.  I prefer to put them in a User Defined Digit Map.  For example mine has the label 'blk' and contains '(01925490730|01229798633|01616607425|02038850016|01484216980)', both without the quote marks.  Those are real numbers I've had cold calls from here in the UK.  Substitute with your own list, which because the usual digit map processing rules apply can include ones like the 973316xxxx you want.

Then you reference that list in the InboundCallRoute for the Voice Service.  In my case for the LINE port on my OBi110 it is

{(Mblk):sp1(53669)},{(Mcbk):aa($1)},{(0xxxx.):ph,sp1(077yyyyyyyy)},{aa}

where the relevant bit is {(Mblk):sp1(53669)}.  Any calls with a number in the blk list get sent to sp1(53669).  In my case, sp1 goes to my Asterisk PBX and 53669 is Lenny.  You choose what to do with those calls. If you have an OBi202 and not using the second phone port, {(Mblk):ph2} will ring that non-existent phone. Or if you just want to drop the calls {(Mblk):}

The other bits in that route are a user defined list of numbers that the AutoAttendant will call back.  The 0xxxx. filters out some of the bogus short numbers and any that don't begin with a 0 (all national and international ones in the UK do) leaving those that seem valid to ring both the phone and my mobile (those 'y's obfuscating the actual number).  Anything not already handled, mainly calls that have Caller ID witheld, go to the AutoAttendant which prompts a human to enter a 1 to continue the call.

Are you sure you want to block all numbers that begin with 973-316 ?  If there are some that you do want to get through, put them in another user defined digit map with label, say, 'acc'.  Then add that at the beginning of the InboundCallRoute.

{(Macc):ph},{(Mblk):},{ph}.

Rules are processed left to right so the scheme is route calls from numbers in the accept list to the phone, block all calls in the block list, route all others to the phone.

MikeBianco

Thanks, but there are 10,000 numbers in the range I want to block, so specifying a list won't work.  The inbound call route seems to be a regular expression.  Can you use a regular expression for the User Defined Digit Map also? I guess I'd use '(973316\d\d\d\d)' if that were possible.

Not exactly sure what to do with these values though.  I found the InboundCallRoute field under OBiTalk Service Settings, and it currently contains this:

{(#########)>(xx.):SP1},{(#########):aa},{ph}

######### is really a number whose value I don't understand, and I wasn't sure if it was private info, so I took it out.

There's a "DigitMap" field above it that contains (<ob>xxxxxxxxx|obxxxxxxxxx), but I don't see a "User Defined Digit Map" field anywhere.

I have an OBi200 by the way.  I would just like to drop the calls.

drgeoff

#3
Quote from: MikeBianco on October 18, 2017, 04:34:41 AM
Thanks, but there are 10,000 numbers in the range I want to block, so specifying a list won't work.  The inbound call route seems to be a regular expression.  Can you use a regular expression for the User Defined Digit Map also? I guess I'd use '(973316\d\d\d\d)' if that were possible.

Not exactly sure what to do with these values though.  I found the InboundCallRoute field under OBiTalk Service Settings, and it currently contains this:

{(#########)>(xx.):SP1},{(#########):aa},{ph}

######### is really a number whose value I don't understand, and I wasn't sure if it was private info, so I took it out.

There's a "DigitMap" field above it that contains (<ob>xxxxxxxxx|obxxxxxxxxx), but I don't see a "User Defined Digit Map" field anywhere.

I have an OBi200 by the way.  I would just like to drop the calls.
You don't understand digit maps.  Each 'x' matches any digit 0-9.  So 973316xxxx does match 10,000 numbers.  See page 197 of http://www.obihai.com/docs/OBiDeviceAdminGuide.pdf.

There are 10 user definable digit maps under 'User Settings'.

You modify the InboundCallRoute of the Voice Service that the calls are coming in on.  If your calls are GV on SP1 then you modify the SP1 InboundCallRoute.  You should restore whatever was in the Obitalk InboundCallRoute.

drgeoff

@MikeBianco

If you don't need or don't understand the more generic info above the following single change will block all calls from the 10,000 numbers between 9733160000 and 9733169999.

Click on Voice Services.  Click on whichever SP Service you are using, probably SP1 Service.  Change what is currently in the X_InboundCallRoute field (probably just the default of ph) to {(973316xxxx):},{ph}

To make the field editable, you need to remove any tick(s) in the box(es)* at the right end end of the line.

(* One box if you configure your OBi via its own onboard web server.  Two boxes if you configure via the Expert mode on the Obitalk portal.)

MikeBianco

Thanks, I just made that change to X_InboundCallRoute.  I've been reading the Device Admin Guide that you linked to trying to understand how this works.  I didn't even know that existed prior to your post.  But this change was nice and simple so I just went that route.  It's amazing how powerful that little box is.  I had no idea.

Thanks again!