Calling, while cheap, isn’t free or infinitely fast. They’d likely pay for knowing “active” or “lucrative” numbers.
Jim Browning videos are a fantastic resource to learn more about the inner workings of scams https://youtube.com/c/JimBrowning
Jim Browning videos are a fantastic resource to learn more about the inner workings of scams https://youtube.com/c/JimBrowning
So isn't the popular idea that you should NOT answer spam calls wrong? Logically, you should answer every spam call and try to get them to stay on the line for as long as possible, therefore maximizing their cost.
This is assuming they have some CMS software on the backend that allows them to categorize numbers.
You also have to factor in your costs as well. I checked a random VOIP service and they charge a penny per minute, or $0.60 per hour. The federal minimum wage is an order of magnitude higher at $7.25/hour. Therefore it's more expensive for you to stay on the line to mess with them.
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On the tangential topic of war dialing (calling every number as an exploration) I recommend checking this discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27602383