Unlisted Number = No Telemarketing Calls?

[Rowdy]

I use Ooma for my home phone. Ooma allows you to block any phone number, subscribe to community blocking lists, and block anonymous callers. I still get spam calls, but at least I feel I have some control over who calls. All this (and more) for $13.50 per month.

 

[Goonie]

Right now, we're letting all calls go to the answering machine.

+1

I always let the machine answer. If it's important or it's someone I know, I'll pick up. If it's not important or not a friend or family, I ignore it. If I'm busy, or watching TV, or eating a meal, the machine is as close to me as people will get! They can leave a message and I'll call them back when it's more convenient, or they can try again later.

 

[mickeyd]

When I get an occasional call from these scammers I always ask them "How did you obtain this restricted U.S. government number?" After the stammering ends they usually say that it's all done with computers and "I only work here part time."

 

[MBAustin]

We're also getting more spam calls on both landline and cell. I've had my cell number since 1999 - the spam calls on it started about 3 years ago and have been steadily increasing to now about 1 per week. Landline is worse - we get probably 3-4 per week. Both are on DNC. I've just decided it's not worth raising my blood pressure over.

 

[Walt34]

We've always had an unlisted number, and while it doesn't stop robocalls entirely it is pretty rare that we get one. Perhaps one every other week. I think for those they're just dialing every number in a given exchange to see if anyone picks up.

 

[oldphd]

Speaking of telemarketers... There is a comedian named Tom Mabe in Louisville, KY, who takes their calls and messes with them. I've heard a few clips over the years and enjoyed them. Here's his website, or do a search and you may find some hits on radio stations, youtube, etc.

Corporate Comedian | Clean Comedian | Prankster | Tom Mabe

Been a while, but one I recall was from a carpet cleaning company, he asked if their service will get blood out, A LOT OF BLOOD.

His site also has a CD with clips from when he crashed a telemarketing convention and started calling their rooms at 3 AM to sell them stuff.

You get the idea, revenge on the telemarketers.

 

[happy2bretired]

I have an unlisted phone number and I get tons of calls. They leave voice mails for me. The voice mails that tell me to "press ## to be removed from our list" really bothers me....it's a recording....and they want me to press a number??!!

 

[Sue J]

When we had a landline I paid for Caller ID and Anonymous Caller blockage because I just hated the intrusion of telemarketers. The pre-election political robocalls were the worst. The Anonymous Caller block was helpful but too many put in a fake name that would count as not anonymous.

Two years ago we switched to MagicJack when DH retired. It was traumatic to lose our phone number of 27 years and it was a hassle to update everyone who we wanted to have the new number, but it eliminated all our junk calls. I bought a software patch to allow us to use an answering machine instead of MagicJack voicemail and it included an anonymous caller block so we have that, too. Only one personal contact gets screened by that, my part-time employer (local police dept who has their outgoing caller ID blocked) but they know to call my cellphone.

The only junk calls we get now are on our cellphones, calling to offer us a lower rate on our (non-existent) mortgage. And we PAY for that call!

 

[TromboneAl]

I'm going to see how it goes with the answering machine and the "this phone is disconnected" SIT tones. If that doesn't do it, I'm going to buy this software and this modem and pay $3/month for caller ID, because even a few calls per week bugs me. I guess I don't like paying for a telephone, and not being able to control the illegal calls I get.

 

[Telly]

I'm ready to change to an unlisted number if that will solve the problem......

Has no effect on calling software that calls sequentially in blocks of numbers.
So the only calls I get are via that method, PLUS the calls that are "related" to someone we do business with:

"Mr. T-t-t-ewwey, how are you today? I'm calling for Ogre CityCard and we have a special offer I know you'll want..

Telly: Hold IT! You said "calling FOR Ogre CityCard". So you are not an employee of Ogre CityCard then, are you?

No, but we're calling their customers with a special offer...

Telly: I don't want a special offer.

But I haven't told you it yet!

Telly: I don't want it. I don't want to hear it. And I'm probably going to cut up my Ogre CityCard into little pieces, mail it all back to them, and tell them I did it because I got tired of being pestered by telephone solicitations!

But it's a great special offer!

Telly: No! No special offer, no calls, nothing.

Ok, have a nice day Mr. Tewwey, er, Tellwey, uh

Click

 

[glippy]

You could sue them directly and collect the damages yourself, rather than hoping the FTC will do it. This guy claims after dealing with suing a telemarketer he came out making about $50/hr from the process.

As an attorney, this could be a fun retirement hobby for me. Guess I'll actually have to go get a land line though.

 

[Retch The Grate]

Bah, was reading this thread and got a robo-call from a political survey company. On my cellphone. No way to get to an operator and get them to take me off their list whatever it may be.

 

[oldphd]

Speaking of telemarketers... There is a comedian named Tom Mabe in Louisville, KY, who takes their calls and messes with them. I've heard a few clips over the years and enjoyed them. Here's his website, or do a search and you may find some hits on radio stations, youtube, etc.

Corporate Comedian | Clean Comedian | Prankster | Tom Mabe

Been a while, but one I recall was from a carpet cleaning company, he asked if their service will get blood out, A LOT OF BLOOD.

His site also has a CD with clips from when he crashed a telemarketing convention and started calling their rooms at 3 AM to sell them stuff.

You get the idea, revenge on the telemarketers.

Here's a few direct links.
Telemarketer Revenge - YouTube

Answer all Telemarketing calls 911 - YouTube

Help Me I've been kidnapped! by Tom Mabe - YouTube

Telemarketer Call - Mastercard lady - YouTube

NSFW here on!
Viagra Telemarketer - Funny Prank Call - YouTube
Telemarketer Call - Got Lotion? - YouTube

 

[mickeyd]

3-way with a Panda!!!

 

[LOL!]

Just got a phone call today ... from the phone company. They called us to test our phone.

It had been a while since I called the home phone, but last week I tried to call home while out and got some kind of error message. When I got home, I noticed we had no dial tone which led to the remark that we had not received any messages on our answering machine in quite a while. Our DSL through that line has been working.

Anyways, spouse called up phone company 2 days ago and they fixed it today and called to test the fix.

So I agree with nords: Turn off your phone ringer and stop answering calls.

 

[veremchuka]

Oh this was the most entertaining thread I ever read here! oldphd, your YouTube videos had me laughing so hard I almost peed myself!

Now Al, a most timely thread. I nearly started this very same thread a few weeks ago. Bottom line I don't think there is any way to stop this crap other than to ignore it.

I have lived here for over 13 years with the same land line phone number using an answering machine but without caller id. The day I heard you could sign up with the DNC list I did and I recalled a few years back to update it as I think it was good for 5 only years.

I bundled everything with the cable company on 2/1 and part of that is caller id and free unlimited long distance calling. Great now, I can identify those annoying wrong numbers and hang ups I get so often. So I tossed the answering machine and use the voice mail that came with this. Now I know every phone number that calls me whether they leave a message or hang up or talk to me.

Guess what? All these hang ups and wrong numbers where no one talks, they are not local calls as I thought. All these calls are toll free area codes or say 405 or 615 (where the hell that is) and so since I have free long distance anywhere in the USA I now call these numbers. Guess what? Virtually every one is a non working number! From reading the link on caller id spoofing I now see why that is. So unless I answer the phone I can't tell them to put me on their do not call list not that I believe that would help.

So now I look at caller id when the phone rings. If it is someone I don't care to talk or if it is a toll free area code or an area code outside my location, I press the talk button to connect to the call and then hang up a second or 2 later. If I don't do that and they leave a message I erase it.

Based upon the link to the low number of prosecuted calls I see this is a law with no teeth. So being on the DNC list, while it stopped the calls initially and for years, it means nothing now. I don't get a lot of these calls but I do get them. It isn't worth getting upset because "they should not be calling me" anymore, now with caller id I just screen them. You can do the same with an answering machine and you can turn off the ringer on the phone so you are not annoyed by the phone ringing.

 

[Redbugdave]

It has gotten bad with these political calls. Things have slacked off lately, but with the big election coming up, the calls will pick up. I think political calls are exempt from any laws, too. Your electors made it so. I think if the phone solicitors lobby funneled enough money to our elected politicians, the telemarketing calls would be legal once again.

Normally when the phone rings, I check the caller ID and if the number looks suspicious, I just pick up the receiver and put it back down again. I think the calls have dropped off.

I don't know...Tom Mabe can be kinda crude...I'm not too fond of cussing at people.

 

[TromboneAl]

The political calls are exempt from the do-not-call list restrictions, but they are not exempt from the robocall laws in California. But that doesn't stop the politicians from making robocalls. It tells you something about politicians that they don't obey the laws they enacted.

I haven't gotten any telemarketing calls since changing our outgoing phone message to this, and using the answering machine to screen all calls. Real people don't seem confused by it.

The problem is, if there is no message, I don't know if it's a foiled telemarketer, or someone who didn't leave a message. So I think I might get caller ID.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I think you may be a bigger target in certain area codes, identified by the census for high incomes.

 

[devans0]

In my state, most of the political calls come from voter registration rolls. If I were evil, I would mistakenly list a candidate's number, instead of listing no phone.

Any politician that makes those calls should get called hundreds of times a day, too.

 

[TromboneAl]

I think you may be a bigger target in certain area codes, identified by the census for high incomes.

Absolutely. When we moved here to the boonies from the bay area, our telemarketing calls dropped dramatically (also we had a new number).

In my state, most of the political calls come from voter registration rolls. If I were evil, I would mistakenly list a candidate's number, instead of listing no phone.

This is my new strategy for junk mail: I printed out a page of labels saying "Our new Address:" followed by a bogus address in Utah. When I get junk mail, I put one of those on the reply card, and send it back in the postpaid return mailer. I considered using the address of a junk mailer, but my name is on there.

 

[TromboneAl]

Update: I installed this free app:

PhoneTray - Block Telemarketers and Stop Unwanted Calls

on 4/15/12. Since then we've received 18 normal calls, and 1 telemarketing call (note that although I installed the line to my desk only yesterday, I had moved the laptop to make use of an existing phone line before that).

The answering machine message with the "disconnected" tones at the start may have contributed to the sudden drop off of telemarketing calls (none until today). With PhoneTray we're able to let it go to the answering machine if we don't recognize the phone number.

It turns out my laptop has a modem in it, but that modem doesn't support voice. I plan to get a modem that does, because with that I can send out a true "This phone number has been disconnected or is no longer in service" message when a number is known to be from a telemarketer (or even if the caller ID is from a toll-free number).

PhoneTray is one of those nice apps that's well-designed and well-supported. It was probably written by some nerd in a back bedroom.

For example, when I noticed that a call was from College4Future, I let it go to the answering machine, and they did not leave a message. In the future, any calls from that number will be disconnected.



Googling college4future, there are a lot of posts like this:

"they call me 6 times a day and have done so for 2 weeks. i just hang up on them EVERY single time.​

Caller: college4future
​

Call Type: SMS"
​

 

[REWahoo]

Al, I've bookmarked this one. I'll provide a link to this thread for any future potential retiree who asks "What will I do all day?"

 

[Nords]

Al, I've bookmarked this one. I'll provide a link to this thread for any future potential retiree who asks "What will I do all day?"

Code software in a back bedroom?

 

[TromboneAl]

Al, I've bookmarked this one. I'll provide a link to this thread for any future potential retiree who asks "What will I do all day?"

Yeah, that's right. I sit next to the telephone all day with a clipboard saying "OK, that's four. Four calls so far."