Telemarketer calls how to stop
 

The past year I am getting an increasing number of calls to my cell phone.

Blocking these calls doesn't seem to help since they call back using a different number, sometimes with a local area code even though I can hear that they are calling me from a call center in Calcutta

Many times, it's an unidentified number so I cant block it

I confirmed I am on the do not call list and have been for many years

What is going on? Is there any way to stop this harassment?

Only answer calls from people in your address book. If caller doesn't leave a vm, it was a scam. Pretty easy actually.

Contact your national representative and and senator. The laws will have to change before the calls stop. Real genuine caller ID with no way to spoof the caller ID will stop it.

We get 2 or three calls PER DAY at work from callers claiming they are calling from "google" wanting us to update our business information. Why in heck is google not just googling us. Our web page is current. Nothing to update. I have no idea what the purpose of those calls are.

Laws will have to change and the telephone companies don't want that change.

They will stop the day AFTER all SPAM stops. ;)

That's my usual approach. However, the calls, whether I answer them or not, are disturbing when I'm working, knapping etc.

Sometimes I even enjoy answering them and saying "go fuq your mother" and then hanging up

So basically the do not call list is useless

They have machines that call random numbers and make it look like it's coming from different places all over the country.

If you get a call and it starts out ... can you hear me? Or "are you there?" Do not say anything. Don't make a sound, just hang up. that's how they test to see if they got a real person.

When they do get a real number, they sell it and spread it around and call it relentlessly.

But if you hang up without saying anything it figures it's a bogus number and forgets it.

Answering: "Interpol fraud office" seems to work pretty well.

I don't answer my land line or cell any more if I hear the generic ring tone. Every one in my phone book has a different ring tone. I just let them roll to the answering machine. If it is legitimate I can break in while they are leaving a message on the land line or I call them back if it is on my cell. Most calls hang up before then.

Some how stopped the google update calls...
Asked which business they were calling about. They hung up and haven't had them call back in 2 months.

Don't think it matters if you answer or not. As long as the phone stops ringing and an there is not a phone company error message gets your number on the list. The best you could do is play the fax connection tones.

Spoofing caller ID is already illegal in the US, has been since about 2009.

Yes. Whatever happened to the "Do Not Call" registry? It's still active but basically doesn't work at all. We get 5-6 solicitations by phone per day.

Making it illegal was a start. Like making heroin illegal.

Make it technically impossible. It can be done.

The issue is overseas companies using VOIP. Makes it nearly impossible to stop.

OTOH, even my business, all of the outgoing lines broadcast our main number, not the individual phone numbers. Not illegal, since these are business lines and I own the main number.

The worst is where the number looks local, just a couple of digits off from my number. My wife and I have cell phones where only the last digit is different. I believe one time, the number showed up as my wife's line.

I ended up getting rid of my land line, I hadn't had a real call in over two years, but 3-4 telemarketers/day,

A friend who works for Pacific Bell here in CA tells me that's pretty much how it works. You don't even need to say a word...simply picking up the call gives away that it's a legit number. Before getting a land line that allows me to block these numbers directly, I would answer some calls and there'd be no one on the line. They were phishing and I'd already given 'em what they wanted by just picking up the phone :mad:

At home I never answer unless it is someone I know.

At the office, we pretty much have to answer the phone. The caller ID often is just the name of some random city. Most of those are just junk but some are legit customers.

The telemarketing calls to work cell phones are getting out of hand. I get between five and 10 a day. It is so bad I will not answer my phone unless I know the number. That's not a great way to do business.

I don't answer any call unless I know via caller ID who's calling.

Both landline and cell have voice mail...they can leave a message.

I use email primarily for communication and cell phone only for emergencies.

And I don't carry my cell phone on my person. It stays in the truck.

I'm always very proud when I don't get any calls all day. I hold my phone up to my helper and say "Look...no calls!" :D

Yea I got this one and it tricked me twice both times telling me a won a trip to Florida

Very clever

Maybe a little late now but get a throw away number.

I've had the same cell number 25+ years and am very stingy on who I give it to.

I have a google voice number that gets forwarded to my cell.

If I have to give out a number for a form or some other such thing where I can't control who ultimately gets access to it they get the google voice number.

It rings through with the originating number and if I don't recognize it I ignore it, my phone is on vibrate 99% of the time anyway so it's easy to ignore.

If it's a legit call they'll leave a voicemail and that gets sent to me converted to text.

Cold calls never leave a voicemail so if no notification I know it was bogus.

I generally leave the forwarding off anyway as I get the voicemail alerts.

I have a tape recording of an old fashioned fax number. Every so often I break it out. But I generally ignore the calls. I've assigned specific ring tones to the important numbers, son, daughter, doctor, escort svc.

With my work cell phone it's impossible to know as I do business with banks all over the country and I have no idea what number my contact person will be using

The people that do this telemarketing work for a living are among the lowest form of life

I always suspected that the "do not call list" is the list that foreign telemarketers get ahold of and use. Might be illegal here, but they don't live here.

I found that if I don't answer, they just keep calling several times a week.

It's just been within the last year or so my cell has gotten bombarded with calls. Has anyone gotten the latest one where the very realistic woman's voice says "hello......ooops, I'm sorry, I dropped my headset, can you hear me ok now?" then goes into a pitch about some crap.

I tried the do not call registry, it has had no effect. I just now don't answer calls unless a name pops up or it's a local # and I'm expecting a call related to work or an appointment I've made, etc.

It's nearly impossible for me to believe, but these calls must actually be somewhat successful in generating actual sales, otherwise no one would continue using them as a marketing tool. Who the hell is buying stuff from these wankers anyway???

I just fail to understand how those marketing strategies pay for themselves. How can they afford it even if it is a robo-call phone? Are there actually folks out there who respond positively to those calls? I have never met one or even heard of one. Everyone I am aware of is just annoyed by all the trash calls.

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Yes. I think that's the one Sammy was talking about above. I think I have gotten that one 4 times in the past few months

What I would like to find out is why this only started happening the past 12 months to me

I've had my number for 15 years. I always thought that do not call list worked because I never got telemarketer calls after I registered I think in 2007.

And all of a sudden starting last year, its 3 or 4 a day

Since they often use local area codes I have missed doctors office etc since I usually won't answer numbers I don't recognize

Yesterday I got 4 calls. One of them I almost didn't answer turned out to be tire rack about an order I placed

I guess this is just part of living in the modern age

Robocalls, CallerID Spoofing, etc - all of these issues are very technical in nature. Last summer, the FCC requested telecoms to work together in a task force to solve the problem.

AT&T is taking the lead in the initiative:
AT&T supports FCC crackdown on robocalls, other carriers ... don't | CIO

If you're interested, there is a 45 page long PDF file that gives excruciating details on the issues that have to be resolved:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0ahUK EwjErK_U96TSAhVq1oMKHZLnAjcQFggoMAI&url=https%3A%2 F%2Ftransition.fcc.gov%2Fcgb%2FRobocall-Strike-Force-Final-Report.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGTUz9UPbj-BfVcTcs84y7ey8I_rw&sig2=Q8_VbU1HfYvnZVufKqw0bA

To the OP:

I skipped all the BS above.

The solution is to never answer the phone that you threw into the woodchipper 15 years ago last November.

This is also being used to record your "yes" response which is later used to authorize fraudulent charges, in your name, to your credit cards, utilities, or other billing parties you may have. These guys are worse than scum.

Beware new "can you hear me" scam - CBS News

They are now using cloned numbers that *appear* to be local. If you call that number back, you get some poor dude whose number they just used. I get half a dozen of these calls per day on my work cell. I can't ignore it because those who are legit & call my cell generally really need help in short order.

It does seem as though Rachel from Card Services has finally decided to go Fuch herself, as I advised their rep several times.

Blight on society. They need to be hunted down and beheaded.

Before it got so bad, I'd just hand the phone to my four-year-old and say it was "Grandpa."

Now, I just don't answer calls I don't recognize. It's about all ya got. Anything important enough for someone to call, is important enough for a VM.-WW

For some time I redirected them to our fax.
Then for some time I took the call and just let the phone lay on the desk.
Now I dont get those calls anymore (in Germany this law seems to work).

I am surprised any carrier would be against it, unless they are making some money on the robo-calls and telemarketers.

I would change carriers in a heartbeat if they can promise no more robo-calls or telemarketers calling me. I would thnk that would be a BIG marketing tool for them.

1). Don't answer or hang up immediately.
"Hi, Is frank there? Is this frank garbowski?" [you ignore prompt to state your name.]
"No. Sorry wrong number" [There is silence. You have zero obligation to fill that silence.]
"Oh maybe you can help me. This is janet from flim flam company and I want you to kno..." [click.]

2). Keep them on the hook and make them pay with wasted effort.
"OOOOOOH that is GREAT. I love it. Hold on for just a sec the soup just boiled over. I'll be right back." [put phone down for 10 minutes]
"Hi are you still there?"
"Don't call back."

3). Engage them.
Record the conversation.
Find out their true name and address.
"Sorry I need to know what company I am talking to first. Can you tell me more?"
Serve summons and sue them in small claims for $500 per incident/harassment call after being warned it is a do-not-call number. (per the FCC)

Here at work at least twice per week we get some company that promises they can save us money on the credit card reader we use. It is just tedious. Since it is a business we answer every call. We just make silly stuff up to answer them.

For the folks selling their credit card system we just tell them we only take chickens pigs and goats or gold. No money that is evil and the work of the devil.

For the companies selling health insurance I tell them everyone here is a doctor and we treat each other for free.

The free vacation calls we tell them we travel all the time the best possible vacation is the stay home and read a book.

we got rid of ours many years ago. no one called us on it except telemarket.

use to not get any on the cell phone, now I get several a day.
if I don't know the number I don't answer.

use to fun when I person called you. you could mess with them.
if it was a woman I would ask her what she is wearing, is she hot, usually did not get much further. also fun to waste their time. set the phone down and le them talk

if it was a guy I held the phone to the cymbal on my drum set and......

DO NOT give your number or email out unless you have to. cant figure out why I buy shop towels at harbor freight and they want need my number,. thing is I heat people in line giving it to them.
why would I want a receipt emailed to me from home depot?! just another way to get info on you so they can spam you