279-227-4471

279-227-4471 Caller ID read: SOUTH PLACER CA - this was an annoying silent call. I answered the call, but no one responded. That is incredibly frustrating, but those silent calls are rarely random glitches—they are a deliberate tactic used by automated telemarketing systems and scammers. Scammers use automated dialers to call thousands of numbers at once just to see who picks up. By answering, your number is now flagged as an "active line" in their database, which means you might notice a temporary spike in spam calls or text messages. The most annoying part is if this is happening when you answer and screen phones as a job.

Stephanie wrote:

... they are a deliberate tactic used by automated telemarketing systems and scammers.

That is an interesting concept.

Stephanie wrote:

Scammers use automated dialers to call thousands of numbers at once just to see who picks up.

Not quite "at once", unless they have thousands of outgoing lines.  They can only call as many numbers at on time as they have lines to call on.
But, Legitimate businesses and Scammers do use automated dialers to dial through lists that can consist of thousands of numbers calling number after number as lines become available.

Stephanie wrote:

By answering, your number is now flagged as an "active line" in their database ...

Actually, your number is flagged as an "active line" as soon as the ring signal is returned to the calling automated dialer.  If the number is not in service a set of tones is sent back to the automated dialer so it can note the number is not in service.  If a call is not answered, or the dialer determines it was transferred to voicemail (thanks to that tone that tells people when to leave their message), the number is often returned to the queue of numbers to be called again later.

Stephanie wrote:

... but those silent calls are rarely random glitches ...

Actually such "silent calls" are caused when an automatic dialer connects a call when there is no "representative" available at that moment for the call to be transferred to.  The dialer waits for a short period in case a "representative" does becomes available for the call, but drops the call otherwise.  Legitimate businesses try to minimize this from happening since they can be fined for having an abandoned call rate that exceeds 3% over any 30 day period.  Scammers, on the other hand, do not care.