Ehh, sentimental value. I've had it since I was 13 or so. Plus I occasionally get a random text from an old friend.
I've thought about it though. If I knew it'd fix the problem, I might do it. But the robocalls seem to scale up faster than new numbers. I guess it'd be a nice reprieve.
I have had several friends and colleagues get new numbers and immediately be hounded by collection agencies looking for the old owner of the number. Some of these collection agencies also stared sending postal mail to their homes based on the linking this new number with their addresses.
There's an easy way to stop this. After it happens call the police and say you're getting harassing calls. They'll file a police report. You then call the phone company and tell them you've been getting harassing calls, have a police report, and would like to put a trace on your line. They'll give you a phone number to call. Whenever you get a debt collector calling you, you dial the number. After 3 or 4 calls, the police will contact the debt collector and tell them to stop calling you. They will.
It's against the law for collection agencies to call you if you tell them not to.
Oh! If it's against the law, surely that will stop annoying phone calls! How did we not think of that easy solution to the problem!?
You can actually sue them if they do call you after you tell them not to for $1200 per violation. Is also illegal for them to call mobile phones. This technology actually cropped up because collection agencies are getting backlash from using robo dialers. I'd argue collection agencies are much more regulated than telemarketers. Google the FDCPA law.
It never helps.
I seem to have a very good number. I never got a call from telemarketers. Might be the German laws or the fact that I have had that number since the dawn of mobile phones.