Do not call... a rant ...

[GPW]

Here we are , quietly working on our trailer, the phone rings, we put everything down , run inside , and it’s some Idiot recording trying to scam me out of money ... Worse , this happens 6-8 times a day and sometimes in the evening ... We signed up for Do Not call, (twice to make sure) , and that’s done NOTHING ...
Anybody know the secret number we dial to blow up the recording machine on the other end ? seems the Government is unable to handle this (or anything else) ... Time for some electronic vigilantism...

ring ring ... “ we have news about your credit card rate" .... BOOM !!!

Anybody else getting annoyed Daily by this ... and what can we do about it, ourselves .... ?

[mikeschn]

Glenn,

We have caller id, and typically ignore calls that don't have a familiar phone number. When we are sitting around in the evening, and it's not a problem to pick up the phone, we do. And if it's a recording, we just hang up.

Mike...

[GuitarPhotog]

Use an answering machine to screen your calls. I don't pick up unless it's someone I know, or if there's a live person calling. If there is a sales person on the phone I pick up and tell them "Remove me from your calling list" and hang up.

But I never drop what I'm doing to answer the phone.

<Chas>

[Fenlason]

If you are not near the phone.. and working on stuff.. one can't see caller ID.. so it is a pain. I don't get many legit calls during the day.. so I rarely answer the phone any more.. I let the machine get it.
I keep threatening to get an air horn. I believe the credit card ones.. you get an option to talk to someone.. I would think it would not take too many times for someone on the other end to get blasted by an air horn.. before they might stop.

[GPW]

Thanks , I’ll try that .... and get an air horn ....

[48Rob]

I get a lot of calls during the day...
I have everyone that is the slightest bit important to me saved in my contacts.
I have my phone set to tell me who is calling, as I don't want to have to open it/look at it to see.
If the caller isn't "announced" it goes straight to voice mail.
When I do know who is calling me, I can decide if I want to answer, or have them leave me a message.

It is risky indeed answering a spam call, as once you answer, they know they have a good number, and seem to share it with 20 other companies...

Rob

[Woodbutcher]

We do as Rob Does. The caller ID comes up on the TV screen as well. But My wife goes in after the robo call and programs the answering machine to block the call. The next time there is a call from a blocked number it rings once and disconnects the phone.

[Roo Dog]

I never run for the phone.
If I am nearby and I recognize the number I will answer.
If it is a number I do not know I ignore it, if it is urgent they will phone back is my theory. If they don't it could not have been of any importance.
I have a mobile but do not carry it, only on a trip as a 'just in case'.
Makes for a peaceful life.
My dog does not come when I whistle unless it is meal time or a ride in the car, the dog knows what is important. I follow his example and do not waste my time running after bells or whistles of no import.
RD

[Roly Nelson]

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

[PKCSPT]

We signed up for do not call and yeah,,, they still call. We have a land line and a cell phone. The only one I answer is my cell phone. Husband doesn't like cell phones so if he wants to answer the home phone he can.

[GPW]

Guess we just need to buy a new phone with a screen ...and a better message machine that blocks calls ... All my stuff is pretty obsolete ...as am I .. (What, nobody uses rotary dials anymore? )
I did go to the Gov. site to “verify “ my registration .. Haven’t heard back yet ...

[GerryS]

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!

[legojenn]

I gave up my landline years ago. I find that that having a number in a cell phone exchange does cut back on the nuisance calls. I'm sure that if I ported my landline number to my cell, it would be just as annoying.

I can't figure out why telemarketers and scammers bother with people on do not call lists. We are doing them a favour by pulling ourselves out of the pool of potential marks, thereby making their jobs easier.

The one call that caused my no-end of anger was a call to my car phone. My Chevy has OnStar and with it a built in cell phone. It's expensive to use. I have it for emergencies. Three people have the number. It's used so rarely that I have to look it up. I started getting survey calls on it.

[Verna]

That's pretty good, Jerry!!!

I've had my home phone call forwarded to my cell phone for a few years. If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer it. I'm likely to answer local calls that I don't recognize, but they've normally transposed the 2nd and 3rd digits of my cell number.

After hearing all of those telephones ringing at work for over 39 years, it's actually nice to not hear many rings any more.

And, as far as the do-not-call lists, it's just like a lock-- they're for honest people. The callers know there's a slim likelihood of them being caught and prosecuted, so they just try to beat the odds.

[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