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Comment by ghayes | Hacker News Reader

Best rule to follow, only answer if it's in your area code. Most spammers don't bother to match area codes, but your co-workers do.

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Actually, I get a lot of robocalls from my area code - sometimes even from my own phone number! I assume these are spoofed though.

Edit: Oh neat! Apparently it's illegal in the US, but legal in Canada (where I am currently located). So it's not the robocall not bothering, it's it being flat-out illegal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caller_ID_spoofing

I'm in the US and get an increasing number of robocalls from my area code, as well as robocalls from my own number.

I still answer most calls from my area code, but if I suspect it's a robocall I just pick up without saying hello. If it's a robocall, there's generally a lengthy pause and then you can here someone connect (at which point I hang up).

I don't think any of my coworkers have cell phone area codes from the city where we work. Area codes in my age group (25-40 years old) are usually a prestige indicator of where you're from, rather than where you currently live.

How much of it is prestige versus the convenience of not having to change numbers? I have the same cell number from an area code that I moved away from over a decade ago. It's nice knowing that anyone who calls(not counting spam calls) either is meaning to get me or is the rare misdial.

If it's a prestige indicator, people should move their numbers to better zip codes.

These days, with everyone using a cell number they got where they lived 5-15 years ago an area code is only about as useful as IDing friend from far away places.

That's fine advice unless you live in a major city with over 2 million people.

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