Auto warranty phone call: (786) 369-7342

I didn't answer the phone, but again, the caller ID showed up as "Warranty Alert." You know what that means: it's the same crew that calls my mobile, my work phone, and my home phone almost every day, and your phones, too.

This time it corresponds to a mobile phone number in Miami, Florida (OmniPoint Communications), but of course, it's likely spoofed.

These are the same people who are harassing millions of Americans every day and trying to swindle people out of money with a ludicrous scheme that, like the Nigerian millionaire letters, must be bringing in some money for them from somewhere. Surely there must be a way to track them down and stop them?

A quick search on the web shows that lots of people have been bothered lately by calls from this same number. On WhoCallsMe, one person even complained that when he tried to talk to an "operator" to get off the calling list (if only we could!), she blew a whistle in his ear. Just look at all the posts on this site from aggravated people who get these calls.

Interesting that we live in a country that has the means and the will to wiretap its citizens for whatever reason, but no one seems to take an interest in using technology to find phone scammers and stop them? Nor, for that matter, does our landline monopoly take an interest.

It's time to mobilize a concerted effort to get our elected officials and phone providers to put a stop to these hecklers. At the very least, take a cue from their own playbook: push the button to get a live operator, and then blow a whistle -- loud -- in his or her ear.