However did we live during the era of the White Pages phone directory.
Spam and scam had to work on a human scale, via locals paid something resembling a living wage, not automated machines sending millions a second or people working for pennies a day.
I want a phone that can only ring if the source of the call is within artillery range.
Sure, but then you have the problem of figuring out which Sarah Connor in Los Angeles.
To say nothing of popular names.