We pick up so you don't have to.
Forward your scam calls to cyfr.tel and a cast of chatty, slow, hard-of-hearing neighbors answers for you. They lose their glasses, fight with the toilet, read out fake card numbers one digit at a time, and keep scammers busy for as long as they can stand it.
No charge until we launch. We open the doors at 200 sign-ups.
Three steps. Zero scammers on your line.
Get your cyfr.tel number
When you join, you get your own cyfr.tel phone number, set up to answer for you.
Forward the calls you don't want
Set your phone to send declined and unanswered calls to it. Most US carriers support it, and we'll walk you through yours.
We pick up
Likely scams get one of our neighbors. Everyone else gets your voicemail, transcribed and texted to you.
The best calls become cartoons. With every caller's personal details bleeped and their face swapped for a silhouette, of course.
Twenty-four neighbors. Endless patience. Zero real information.
From a bayou porch to a Brooklyn walk-up, everybody in the Neighborhood is home, bored, and delighted you called.
Grandpa Earl Tibbets
84 · retired dairy farmerHard of hearing. In no hurry at all.
Nana Mabel Kowalczyk
78 · bingo queenGossip, and a neighbor who wants her casserole dish back.
Merle Fensterwald
61 · basement dwellerRecords every call. Wants to know who you really work for.
Prof. Thaddeus Fumble
67 · inventorThinks every caller is the Patent Office. Something is always smoking.
Uncle Chester Pruitt
58 · raccoon dadLives in a trailer with Duchess, who steals the phone.
Dottie Sizemore
82 · everyone's grandmaSure you're her grandson Ricky. Did you get the haircut?
Roz Viggiano
94 · retired codebreakerDeaf when it suits her, and a lot sharper than you think.
Walt Hennessey
70 · runs Windows 98Follows every instruction, word for word, very slowly.
Doreen Fisk
63 · on a ladderHunting a smoke alarm that chirps every forty seconds.
Gerald Plunkett
58 · lives with MotherMother is on the extension. Mother is always on the extension.
Kamala Auntie
74 · professional matchmakerFirst, your good name. Second, are you married? Her granddaughter is a dentist.
Mr. Chen
81 · retired engineerWon't do anything until you fax him a diagram. Step one is what?
Ray Begay
77 · 2.8 million milesThe government's calling to give him money? Huh. That'd be a first.
Kemal Bey
72 · retired ferry captainNo business before tea. Also, which football team do you support?
Don Chuy Ramírez
79 · mariachi legendThinks you're his godson Junior. Lupe has his wallet.
Reggie Fontaine
70 · Broadway costume legendAgain, darling. From the top. With feeling.
Uncle Tibor Horváth
74 · jazz guitaristSure you're one of his forty cousins. Bring a cake to the wedding.
Madame Lorraine
71 · psychic hotline legendShe already knows why you called. She sees a federal building. No, a Costco.
Auntie Bisi Adeyemi
69 · retired nurseShe'll pray for you first. Then feed you. Then ask what your mother thinks of this job.
T-Bob Boudreaux
75 · Cajun shrimp-boat captainThe redfish was four feet. Then five. Clovis lives under the porch.
Vern Pickett
73 · retired ventriloquistPolite as pie. Mr. Buttons is not.
Dolores Pike
66 · retired school secretaryNine years waiting on a call about her toaster. It’s all in the binder.
Clyde Wimberly
91 · retired mail carrierFourteen ducks, one walker, and he’ll set the phone down to feed them.
Dale Norberg
70 · retired insurance adjusterA completely ordinary Oklahoman. Fascinated by your species.
All characters are fictional, with original designed voices. Any resemblance to your actual grandparents is purely their fault.
Ridiculous on the phone. Careful everywhere else.
Nothing real, ever
Our neighbors don't know anything about you. Every card or Social Security number they read out is fake, built so it can never work.
Callers are told
Every call is recorded, and every character says so near the start of the call.
Real calls get waved through
Emergencies, doctors, schools and deliveries get a polite "wrong number" and a goodbye, never a bit.
Shared calls are scrubbed
Anything we publish has the caller's personal details bleeped and their face replaced with a silhouette.
Cheaper than one scam.
Reserve your plan now. Nothing is charged until your number is ready.
Monthly
- Your own cyfr.tel number
- 30 minutes a month of live neighbors, then classic recorded stalling keeps them on the line
- Voicemail for real callers, transcribed and texted to you
- Every call recorded, with the best moments clipped
- Cancel anytime
Yearly
- Everything in Monthly
- About $4.92 a month, paid once a year
- Report any scam call to the FCC in one click: the complaint form opens already filled in from the call
- First in line for new characters
Pro
- Everything in Yearly
- Your own custom character, built from your description and script
- Train cyfrAI on your own voice, so your character can sound like you
- When a caller asks for you by name, your character says you're not available and takes a message. It lands in your voicemail and you get a text.
Save your spot in line.
Tell us a little about your phone and your plan. You get an early-access account right away: log in to hear every neighbor's story, and even request a character made just for you. We'll email you the moment your number is ready. No card needed now.
Questions, answered (eventually).
Will my real callers get a character?
They shouldn't. cyfr.tel checks each forwarded call's reputation and how the caller's carrier signed it. Likely scams go to a neighbor; everyone else gets your voicemail, transcribed and texted to you.
Do the characters ever give out my information?
Never. They don't know anything about you. When a scammer asks for a card, bank or Social Security number, the character reads out fake ones that are built to fail, very, very slowly.
Is it legal to record the calls?
Every call is recorded, and every character tells the caller so near the start, which is what states requiring everyone's consent expect. Our characters never pretend to be a real company, a government agency or the police.
What happens after my 30 live minutes?
Live neighbors run on cyfrAI, which costs us by the minute. After your monthly 30 minutes, classic recorded stalling, in the spirit of Lenny, the legendary telemarketer-trolling bot, takes over and keeps scammers on the line.
Which phones and carriers work?
Any phone that can forward calls. Most US carriers support forwarding declined, busy or unanswered calls, and we'll send you the exact steps for yours.
Can I listen to my calls?
Yes. Every call is recorded for you. The funniest ones, with all personal details bleeped, might end up on our channel.
How does reporting to the FCC work?
On the yearly and Pro plans, every scam call in your account has a Report to FCC button. It opens the FCC's own complaint form with the call already filled in: the caller's number, the date and time, who they pretended to be and what they asked for. You add your name and address, confirm it's true, and press Submit. The FCC uses these reports to go after illegal callers.
What do I get with Pro?
Everything in Yearly, plus a character of your own: describe who they are and write their script, and we build them for you. You can also train cyfrAI on your own voice, so your character can sound like you. Only ever your own voice: you record yourself and read a consent line first. And when a caller asks for you by name, your character says you're not available right now, takes a message, and drops it in your voicemail with a text to let you know.
When do you launch?
When 200 people have joined early access. Join now and you'll be among the first to get a number, and you can log in today to hear every neighbor and request your own.