Do not call... a rant ...

[Wanna Be]

The answer machine is in the house, but the phone in the shop constantly rings with a robo call on the other end. I then go into my act and scream ....."ALLA AK BAR......Allah, here I come!" Then follow it up by slamming a 2x8 plank really hard onto my workbench, which sounds like a gun shot.....I wonder if their ears are ringing at the other end. It works every time.
Roly

Similar to this,,

I take a 3.5# blacksmiths hammer and hit it on the steel work table, It has the metallic ring more like a gunshot.
Can't hold the phone to close or it will break the phone.

But IT WORKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wanna Be

[Redneck Teepee]

I do not answer the land line, my iPhone has caller I.D. and everyone knows to call me on it.

[Shadow Catcher]

I am part of a couple of individuals suicide support team so and others have my number so I always answer. The only one I am getting now is the your credit card... The only problem, we do not have one and I report them to the do not call list every time.

[eamarquardt]

Con men don't pay attention to do not call lists. I had a huge problem with abusive callers and didn't want to go through the pain of changing my phone everywhere. So, I have sort up my phone system using asterisk. A personal PBX. VOIP integration, plain old telephone line (POT) and all the voicemail bells and whistles you could want.

Verna, you'll like this....

I cost me a little money, and one unused PC and a few hours to set it up. But, if you call I use your caller ID, the PBX searched a database, if you are blacklisted it plays the "tones" then announces the number is out of service. If you don't have caller Id it forces you to enter a number. Robo dialers can't do that. Meeting that criteria, it then checks the time of day.

If you call after 9 and before 7 it announces we don't take calls at this hour, and asks if it's important. Then, depending on your answer it will ring the phones otherwise it drops into voicemail. This is the first time I would even be aware there is an incoming call.

I can also do things like only ring the "soft phone" running on my iPhone if the caller ID is from my work number, bypassing all of the above rules.

I get about 5 calls a year that make it through that gauntlet....then I add them to the blacklist.



The total cost was around $200 for the hardware to connect the phone to the PC. Money well spent!

Sweet! If I weren't considering abandoning my land line and going with cellular service only I'd consider your set up. Great work!

Too bad we can't send a virus or torpedo back at the telemarketers. I'd buy a system to do that in a heartbeat.

Cheers,

Gus

[eamarquardt]

Con men don't pay attention to do not call lists. I had a huge problem with abusive callers and didn't want to go through the pain of changing my phone everywhere. So, I have sort up my phone system using asterisk. A personal PBX. VOIP integration, plain old telephone line (POT) and all the voicemail bells and whistles you could want.

Verna, you'll like this....

I cost me a little money, and one unused PC and a few hours to set it up. But, if you call I use your caller ID, the PBX searched a database, if you are blacklisted it plays the "tones" then announces the number is out of service. If you don't have caller Id it forces you to enter a number. Robo dialers can't do that. Meeting that criteria, it then checks the time of day.

If you call after 9 and before 7 it announces we don't take calls at this hour, and asks if it's important. Then, depending on your answer it will ring the phones otherwise it drops into voicemail. This is the first time I would even be aware there is an incoming call.

I can also do things like only ring the "soft phone" running on my iPhone if the caller ID is from my work number, bypassing all of the above rules.

I get about 5 calls a year that make it through that gauntlet....then I add them to the blacklist.



The total cost was around $200 for the hardware to connect the phone to the PC. Money well spent!

Sweet! If I weren't considering abandoning my land line and going with cellular service only I'd consider your set up. Great work!

Too bad we can't send a virus or torpedo back at the telemarketers. I'd buy a system to do that in a heartbeat.

Cheers,

Gus

[GerryS]

We keep our land line because of 911 services. The cell phone coverage near me is really bad, even though our city has one of the strongest networks available....by us....dead zone.

The PBX has a call log....last year, total call time was 68 minutes

[eamarquardt]

The PBX has a call log....last year, total call time was 68 minutes

Yer getting off easy!

Cheers,

Gus

[GerryS]

What's funny, I love make call rules and all the fun stuff I can do with what I have. I love tinkering with it....VOIP and POTS combined. I love old phones.....not so much the new made in China crap....but I hate talking on them!

[eamarquardt]

When they call ask for someone by name I tell them that they were murdered in the past few hours, that I'm with the police, and then try and gather as much information from them as possible as part of "the investigation". That usually scares the crap out of them.

Our government is useless in terms of restraining these call centers.

Gus

[GerryS]

Well, what you just did was impersonated a police officer ... Funny, but illegal,

To do not call registry is only going to stop the consciencientious.

Technology solution aside, I never share my number if I can help it. The only people who have it are people I know and trust. The phone triage system i have is a bandaid to catch the very few stragglers. I don't join loyalty programs, and I never sign up for anything "free".

Remember back in the 90s the bald guy who would give you a free windows training CD on TV? Sure you paid $6 to pay shipping and handling....but His business model was to collect names and sell them....the CD series existed as well, but weather you bought another CD or not, he still made money on you....by selling your name.

[eamarquardt]

Well, what you just did was impersonated a police officer ... Funny, but illegal,

To do not call registry is only going to stop the consciencientious.

Technology solution aside, I never share my number if I can help it. The only people who have it are people I know and trust. The phone triage system i have is a bandaid to catch the very few stragglers. I don't join loyalty programs, and I never sign up for anything "free".

Remember back in the 90s the bald guy who would give you a free windows training CD on TV? Sure you paid $6 to pay shipping and handling....but His business model was to collect names and sell them....the CD series existed as well, but weather you bought another CD or not, he still made money on you....by selling your name.

Good input! I'll just say that I'm Lt. August (USMC and My middle name), Mr. Marquardt is "unavailable", I'm investigating a murder (in my morning newspaper) and continue to screw with em. Let them assume and jump to the wrong conclusions. It will still scare the crap out of them.

Cheers,

Gus

[GerryS]

That seems to work