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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132135
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 9:09am | IP Logged | 1 post reply

The Caller ID said ALZ FAM SER CTR, which I took to mean Alzheimers Family Service Center, presumably a charity looking for a donation.

When I picked up it was a recorded voice offering me a "limited time" opportunity to reduce my credit card interest.

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Thomas Woods
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Joined: 09 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1356
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 9:18am | IP Logged | 2 post reply

I recently discovered I can block numbers on my phone. I
have blocked at least a dozen so far.
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132135
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 9:24am | IP Logged | 3 post reply

The way telemarketers skip around, blocking their numbers hardly seems worth the effort. I rely on Caller ID to spot the fakes -- usually. (When they have the same exchange as my house line, for instance.)
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Robbie Parry
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Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 9:26am | IP Logged | 4 post reply

I wish there was a way to legislate them out of existence. 
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Wilson Mui
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Joined: 27 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 4521
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 9:33am | IP Logged | 5 post reply

The Do Not Call registry doesn't seem to work that well
anymore.

I find blocking numbers does help. I have been using
the blocking feature on my cordless for the past month.
The amount of calls have gone down significantly.

For my cell phone, I use the app Mr. Number.
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Robbie Parry
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Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: 09 October 2018 at 9:49am | IP Logged | 6 post reply

Problem with blocking is that it's akin to "Whac-A-Mole". 

I blocked some vermin a while back, but weeks later, and I'm sure it was the same guy, he was ringing up, claiming to be from my bank, requesting bank details, etc.

But what can one do?
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132135
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 10:05am | IP Logged | 7 post reply

My “favorite” telemarketer experience happened years ago when I was living in London, Ontario. A guy called to say he’d been at a party where he’d met a friend of mine (couldn’t recall his name) who suggested I might need to increase my insurance coverage.

Since the only friend who was living in London was my old bud Gary Cody, I assumed it must have been him. So I chatted with the guy for a while, talking insurance options. Then an alarm sounded.

He asked me what I did for a living.

Really? Gary (presumably) had been talking about me in sufficiently intimate detail that my insurance needs came up, but not my job? That I work in comics is usually the FIRST thing that comes up when friends talk about me.

So, I detached myself from the conversation, and later checked with Gary. Of course, he had no idea what I was talking about.

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Matt Hawes
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Joined: 16 April 2004
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Posted: 09 October 2018 at 10:35am | IP Logged | 8 post reply

Over the past few weeks, I have been getting a slew of calls by a telemarketer. Some days, it's as many as five or more calls. I block each one, but eventually my block list filled up to capacity. The numbers mostly originate from New York and New Jersey. 

I Googled the numbers and found this particular telemarketer is not only an insurance scam, but had been very busy as the Web page I visited had several pages of reports from disgruntled people who had also been called just from that day.

It's slowed down over the past week or so. In fact, I hadn't has any calls from the scammers for days, but just this morning I got another one.  Ugh.

By the way, beware that there is also scammers that are calling people and spoofing the victim's own phone number so that it appears you are calling yourself on the I.D.

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Phil Kreisel
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Joined: 03 February 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 1911
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 10:46am | IP Logged | 9 post reply

My ultimate rules of thumb.

If I don't recognize the number I don't answer it.  People can leave a message.  If they don't, it's a scam/telemarketer call.

If it's a 1-800 number, it's likely a scam/telemarketer call.  There have been exceptions, but the message left tells me what it is.

I'll block some calls, but because of the technology, a new one comes up.  As such, rules 1 and 2 come into play.

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Michael Hogan
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Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2052
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 10:50am | IP Logged | 10 post reply

I tend not to answer the telemarketers (thank you, CallerID). In the instances where I do pick up the phone and find myself confronted with one, I go out of my way to make the conversation as surreal as humanly possible for the individual on the other end of the line. The route I take varies, but if this keeps up I will be ready to star in any improv troupe.

Edited by Michael Hogan on 09 October 2018 at 12:05pm
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Robbie Parry
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Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 10:51am | IP Logged | 11 post reply

I did spook one once as I told him I was passing his details onto the police and FBI. His silence spoke volumes before the call ended!

EDIT: Just to clarify, I don't do that if someone is simply trying to sell me something (e.g. insurance), but if it's an illegal attempt to get personal information out of me, for fraudulent purposes, I will "play that card".


Edited by Robbie Parry on 09 October 2018 at 10:52am
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Brian Floyd
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Joined: 07 July 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 8322
Posted: 09 October 2018 at 11:10am | IP Logged | 12 post reply

The problem is that they spoof numbers. I've even seen them spoof my parents' phone number....while my parents were actually with me. This crap should be illegal, AND prosecutable. Forget fines, give them jail time.

I'm so sick of getting calls about credit repair, expired/expiring auto warranties, student loans, and scammers with foreign accents pretending to be Microsoft. F**K THEM ALL.

Another one that's confusing? I answer and get a recorded message that says "Please stay on line for our representative"...then puts me on hold! *click*

*edited to add* If I had my way, their punishment would be to be locked in a cell with a phone that rings at random moments. If they don't answer by the third ring, then they don't get to eat their next meal. Second time they don't answer? Black Eye City.


Edited by Brian Floyd on 09 October 2018 at 11:15am
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