Telemarketers

[Ole Joe Clark]

I saw this on another forum, I wish I could claim credit for it.......

" I think there should be a law passed, requiring ALL telemarketers to wear shock collars, which can be activated by pressing the # key."

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[Donn]

If I don't recognize the name or number, (and sometimes when I do), I don't pick up. If they think it's important, they'll leave a message. If I think it's important, I'll return the call.

 

[crazyphil]

I do the same thing Donn does, but I also like the shocking idea.

 

[Truckman]

I do the same thing Donn does, but I also like the shocking idea.

Ditto......Ben

 

[vonn]

I’m in with the shock collars!

 

[s&wchad]

I saw this on another forum, I wish I could claim credit for it.......

" I think there should be a law passed, requiring ALL telemarketers to wear shock collars, which can be activated by pressing the # key."

Have a blessed day,

Leon

I’m on the Do Not Call List, for what good it does.

There’s no real teeth in the current law and it doesn’t compensate those who are violated. I think every solicitation call I get should automatically trigger a $100 credit on my phone bill. Their service provider should be forced to pay it. They can recover their money, plus a modest fee, by billing the telemarketers. Implement this and the nonsense would come to screeching halt!

Masking your real phone number and name should also be stopped. How the regulatory agencies can allow this is beyond me.

 

[Tom S.]

There is a simple cure for it if the phone companies would only make it available.

In the case of cell phones, make the phone only accept calls from numbers that are programmed into the phone as contacts.

For land lines, a similar option either using a special phone or in the case of VOIP, software that users can enter those numbers they will accept calls from.

It's a extremely easy solution that leaves me wondering who is keeping it from happening and why.

 

[Tim Tom]

I have had good luck with the spam filtering apps like nomorobo and hiya and perhaps something to look into.

 

[Targets Guy]

I use my answering machine. Works just fine. If the number calling is blocked, listed as unknown or I don't recognize it I don't answer the phone. Easy peasy.

 

[Tradewind36]

By 9:15 this morning I've had 4 calls, usually get 15 to 20 daily. I don't answer but it gets annoying. And there's another.

 

[H Richard]

Over a year ago I started blocking #'s of the offenders. Knowing they use a whole block of #'s I have blocked "many" #'s. Currently I only get maybe 1 call a week, so it has been working.

 

[mtgianni]

There is a simple cure for it if the phone companies would only make it available.

In the case of cell phones, make the phone only accept calls from numbers that are programmed into the phone as contacts.

For land lines, a similar option either using a special phone or in the case of VOIP, software that users can enter those numbers they will accept calls from.

It's a extremely easy solution that leaves me wondering who is keeping it from happening and why.

Under this idea my spouse, children or grandchildren could not borrow a phone to tell me theirs was broken and they needed assistance.

 

[Onomea]

There is a simple cure for it if the phone companies would only make it available.

In the case of cell phones, make the phone only accept calls from numbers that are programmed into the phone as contacts.

For land lines, a similar option either using a special phone or in the case of VOIP, software that users can enter those numbers they will accept calls from.

It's a extremely easy solution that leaves me wondering who is keeping it from happening and why.

This is already possible with an iPhone. I don't use this because I occasionally expect return calls from contractors or service providers whose numbers are not entered in my contacts list. I suppose I could get around this by entering in those numbers and later removing those I no longer need. (As when I am soliciting bids from several contractors on the same project.)

I would assume this blocking capability for numbers not in one's contact list is available for android phones as well.

I have also read that the spam phone call operators using the random number generators, or spoofing phone number generators, are often located abroad, so the US authorities have no way of making them stop.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

If it is not a recognized number, my cell phone does not ring, if they do not leave a message then it was not worth my time to start with. I have kept a landline, but it is not attached to a phone. That is where most of my telemarketing calls must be going.

 

[Greyman50]

My cell provider has a pretty good “spam call” filter, spam call listed or unknown I just cut the call off. The ones that are outrageous are where the spammers used your local area code and local 3 prefix numbers. Sometimes I answer” Joes plumbing”, where’s your leak? They hang up 90% of the time.

 

[Tom S.]

Under this idea my spouse, children or grandchildren could not borrow a phone to tell me theirs was broken and they needed assistance.

Oh the humanity! And yet civilization survived for thousands of years without cell phones. Whatever did they do!?

I've yet to have a phone break where I couldn't make a call from it, though I'm sure some have. Perhaps it would give some pause to treat their phones more carefully or carry a spare emergency phone. In either event, participation would be voluntary and I would volunteer to be a participant in a New York minute.

 

[WCCPHD]

I'm at about 1500 blocked numbers on my cell phone. All because I made the mistake of answering one call by mistake. That let them know they had reached a viable number.

 

[cherrypointmarine]

My wife is a manager with AT&T . She explained it like this . They use VOIP , which voice over internet protocol . They more or less steal a working number and use it to call you . That's why your caller ID will say stuff like a bank or hospital , anyplace that has a phone# , they can hack and use it . So the zap wouldn't work , because they are stealing a working # . I do like the idea of a surcharge , coming back as a credit to the consumer . That would make the phone companies get off their a**es !

 

[Rodan]

In the case of cell phones, make the phone only accept calls from numbers that are programmed into the phone as contacts.

The robocallers often use number generators to show random numbers that are local to the number they are calling, in the hope that you'll answer it seeing it's local.

I've already had them hit a number that was in my contacts list.

 

[oldbrownhat]

There is a simple cure for it if the phone companies would only make it available.

In the case of cell phones, make the phone only accept calls from numbers that are programmed into the phone as contacts.....

I can do this on my iPhone. There is a setting to "Silence unknown callers" The only problem is that they can still leave a message, which they sometimes do. I get very few and often they occur in small waves- nothing for a few months, then a few. Mine are either in Chinese (irrelevant as I no speaka da lingo) or a stern American male voice with some message from "The Depertment of Justice..." Dude, I'm in Canada and we have unique area codes up here.

I like the mandated shock collar idea, except it would probably attract a lot of sadomasochists

 

[James K]

I don't give my mobile number to any businesses, only land line.
Our Panasonic land phones have an option requiring 1st time callers to press #, then their number is good for subsequent calls.
Robo-caller set-ups can't press # and most telemarketers won't either. Plus it blocks those numbers from repeating.
REALLY cut down on the calls.

 

[llowry61]

We just block them. It is a pain.

 

[Smoke]

I Get A kick Out Of These Threads

I worked at two different call centers (Inbound and Outbound) for two different companies (FutureCall and ICT neither of which exists now) for about a year. Both companies were legitimate (not scammers) telemarketing companies.

The technology has changed but the basic premise is the same for both legitimate companies and scammers.

Everyday the Robo-Dialer was programmed to dial a given Area Code and a random seven digit number. Some of the numbers dialed weren't even real numbers. The Robo-Dialer was programmed to dial a number a given number of times then delete if from the Database.

BUT

If anyone answered the phone the number went into the database as a live phone number.

So now I'm going to give the advice I always give.

If You Want Them To Quit Calling You QUIT ANSWERING THE PHONE.

As I mentioned above, after a set number of times your number will be deleted from the database.

My phone is a cheap Walmart Family Mobile Phone and if you call me and you're not on my contacts list my phone never even rings. The call goes straight to voice mail. If mine does that I KNOW the more expensive models do it.

On a semi-related side note my wife and I have sequenctial phone numbers. Our phones both rang at the same time one day. It was the same Scam, same message but my call was from "Boston" and my wife's was from "Sacramento".

 

[len917]

According to my cell phone provider the FCC and cell providers have set up a "spam likely" on your caller ID, when a robocall comes thru that was dialed from a different phone number than the phone number actually called from.

 

[Smoke]

In relation to this discussion I have to ask,

It's 2021, who doesn't screen their phone calls?

I mean, The Day I retired I set my phone's ringtone to "Silent" and I quit carrying it unless I was leaving home.

 

[jeffrefrig]

HEY!!! You're the 12th caller!! This is KMYL in St. Paul! What is the answer????

 

[jeffrefrig]

Klaatu Barada Niktu

Or something like that.

 

[LVSteve]

There's a Vegas phone number I had to block because a lady here has fat fingered my cell number repeatedly for years. She would leave angry messages for some guy as to why he hadn't delivered her meds, picked her up to go to the doctor, etc. The stupid thing is when I had the same number with my old provider, I had recorded a greeting that said quite clearly, "Hi, this is Steve, please leave a message". The subject of the lady's wrath was Ray IIRC.

For a short while I answered her calls, "This is Steve!" There would be a mutter and the line disconnected. About 30% of the time, the phone rang again almost immediately, because when you hit redial you get the same wrong number! I know, shocker, eh?

Just for grins, I checked my blocked voicemails this week. She has left five messages since Sunday...

(I haven't bothered listening to them)

 

[jeffrefrig]

There's a Vegas phone number I had to block because a lady here has fat fingered my cell number repeatedly for years. She would leave angry messages for some guy as to why he hadn't delivered her meds, picked her up to go to the doctor, etc. The stupid thing is when I had the same number with my old provider, I had recorded a greeting that said quite clearly, "Hi, this is Steve, please leave a message". The subject of the lady's wrath was Ray IIRC.

For a short while I answered her calls, "This is Steve!" There would be a mutter and the line disconnected. About 30% of the time, the phone rang again almost immediately, because when you hit redial you get the same wrong number! I know, shocker, eh?

Just for grins, I checked my blocked voicemails this week. She has left five messages since Sunday...

(I haven't bothered listening to them)

So...There's meds??? Damn. That gotta go!

 

[444 Magnum]

I got a robo call from MYSELF. It was my cell phone calling me!