trueCall, the Anwsering Machine That Fights Off Phone Scams

It's pretty certain that quite a lot of people out there have become the unwilling victims of phone scammers and telemarketers, being coerced into purchasing stuff they didn't really need or giving money away for who knows what reason. And since this seems to be quite a major issue all around the world, two British inventors, Steve Smith and John Price, have come up with a device that will certainly make life a lot easier for the persons who decide to purchase it.

Dubbed trueCall, this product is actually capable of creating what's described by its inventors as a "safe zone" between the caller and the receiver, which "learns" to distinguish welcomed callers from unwelcome ones, whether we're talking about telemarketing, silent calls, calls from overseas call centers, fax calls, robocalls, market researchers, offensive or threatening calls, misdials, wrong numbers and recorded message calls. Then, it will actually forward the "welcome" calls to the user, while playing back a pre-recorded message for the other ones.

The device will occupy a very small amount of space around the user's office, since it's roughly the size of a paperback book. Furthermore, it's very easy to install (just plug it in and connect the home phone line), and it will work with a wide range of telephone equipment – cordless DECT phones, cordless analogue phones, text message phones. However, the inventors do mention the fact that it works best with a modern cordless phone system.

Additionally, the trueCall allows users to record all of their conversations on the trueCall Call Recorder, which is supplied as a standard SD memory card. This can be plugged into a computer and one's recordings can be transferred to a hard disk using trueCall Message Centre software. The trueCall Call Recorder cards can store either 70 hours or 140 hours of telephone conversations and messages.

The device retails for around 100 pounds sterling (for now, available only in the UK), but this doesn't even seem to be that high a price, given just how useful it could prove to be in fighting back scammers and telemarketers.


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