[dw1]

For those rare instances when a live person comes on the line either giving the telemarketing spiel or after it, I find keeping an air horn by the telephone helpful.

For the refi calls, I ask whether multiple fraud and felony charges, as well as multiple bankruptcies, make any difference.

For the fraudulent "extended warranty" scams that were popular a year or so ago, I actually started cursing at them (you lying sack of... etc.) and I actually got the solicitor to curse back at me. My objective was to convince the solicitor that the job just wasn't worth it.

What is also interesting is asking whether the solicitor has taken Jesus into his/her heart as their personal savior. I don't do this often, because it is disrepectful to the sincerely devout out there, but this gets some interesting reactions from the Indian phone bank employees.

For political surveys, answer every question as "yes". Or every one as "no".

These type of phone calls don't always have to be irritating. They can be a source of amusement and/or stress relief.