Nuisance phone calls

Tomt · 11-16-2017, 09:16 PM

Sometimes when I get the right call, maybe something that pertains to my computer having a virus I tend to have fun with it. I will follow the keystrokes they tell me to a point, then i'll say I messed up and closed the window and they will start again. All the time pretending to be concerned about a computer virus. I try to string them along as long as I can. One time I actually got him to laugh when after not getting the computer to respond the way he was telling me I finally asked "Should my computer be on"?? he laughed then hung up. Sick amusement I know.

rsmlp · 11-17-2017, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomt

Sometimes when I get the right call, maybe something that pertains to my computer having a virus I tend to have fun with it. I will follow the keystrokes they tell me to a point, then i'll say I messed up and closed the window and they will start again. All the time pretending to be concerned about a computer virus. I try to string them along as long as I can. One time I actually got him to laugh when after not getting the computer to respond the way he was telling me I finally asked "Should my computer be on"?? he laughed then hung up. Sick amusement I know.

I'm most certainly not advocating for telemarketers but at the end of the day these are poorly paid low skill people trying to make ends meet. No need to be cruel about it.

As I stated in a prior post, just don't answer the phone!

Billy Bob · 11-17-2017, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsmlp

I'm most certainly not advocating for telemarketers but at the end of the day these are poorly paid low skill people trying to make ends meet. No need to be cruel about it.

As I stated in a prior post, just don't answer the phone!

I have no idea where you get that infromation but these are not the low paid customer service people calling . These are VERY highly compensated sales people capable of closing on unsuspecting easy marks.
They are knowingly breaking the law calling you and don’t deserve kindness.
Treat them well and they will keep calling

rsmlp · 11-17-2017, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy Bob

I have no idea where you get that infromation but these are not the low paid customer service people calling . These are VERY highly compensated sales people capable of closing on unsuspecting easy marks.
They are knowingly breaking the law calling you and don’t deserve kindness.
Treat them well and they will keep calling

So $26K/ year is "highly compensated"?

https://money.usnews.com/careers/bes...arketer/salary

DRH · 11-17-2017, 10:35 AM

We receive on average a half dozen junk calls every day on our landline number, even though we registered it with the FTC's "Do Not Call" list years ago. Recently a good number of these junk calls have shown an "875" exchange, which is correct for Alton where I live, but the following four digits are fake. (Faking the numbers Caller ID displays is easy and it is a technique often used by scammers.) For 99% of these calls, no messages have been left.

Interestingly, however, we have received several calls this year from the "IRS" that have included messages. The spiel usually goes that a warrant for our arrest has been issued due to non-payment of taxes, and that if we don't call a certain number immediately we will be hauled off to jail and our house will be confiscated. The voice is computer-generated and is quite ominous. I have yet to call the provided numbers and so far, at least, I haven't been handcuffed and taken away in the back seat of a cruiser.

About a year ago I ordered a call blocking device that plugs into a telephone jack. Since then, when we receive a call from a number we don't recognize and no message is left, we simply press the "Blacklist" button on the call blocker unit. From that point on if the number calls us again, the phone only rings once and then the call is automatically disconnected. This unit works well, but we continue to get junk calls from new numbers on a daily basis.

winni83 · 11-17-2017, 10:49 AM

To follow up on the local number spoofing issue. I just got a call with a name and a 253 number on caller ID. I answered it and it was Resorts International. An automated recording which prompts you for answers. A profane answer resulted in a hang up. Usually, I just delete the caller id info, but this time I called the number back and asked the person who answered if this was the number for Mr. "Jones" and it was. Told the woman who answered that their number was being spoofed. Further intrigued, I checked the name on the Moultonborough Tax site and they live not far from me. An on line search of the number shown on the caller ID matches the name.

tis · 11-17-2017, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winni83

To follow up on the local number spoofing issue. I just got a call with a name and a 253 number on caller ID. I answered it and it was Resorts International. An automated recording which prompts you for answers. A profane answer resulted in a hang up. Usually, I just delete the caller id info, but this time I called the number back and asked the person who answered if this was the number for Mr. "Jones" and it was. Told the woman who answered that their number was being spoofed. Further intrigued, I checked the name on the Moultonborough Tax site and they live not far from me. An on line search of the number shown on the caller ID matches the name.

Yes, we get that one all the time too. And the problem is, a couple of times I ignored it and it wasn't them. I may or may not answer. I would hate to not answer one of my customers and I certainly don't know all their numbers.

September · 11-17-2017, 06:28 PM

My thought is that it is only because "it works!" that these calls keep coming. Everyone says they hate them. Everyone says they never buy anything. But if "everyone" really did hang up and never buy anything, the industry would not continue to use this method. Somebody is buying, somebody is listening; we just need to educate people to simply hang up! Because, if "everyone" did this, robo calls and things like this would go the way of the door-to-door fuller brush man.

rsmlp · 11-17-2017, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by September

My thought is that it is only because "it works!" that these calls keep coming. Everyone says they hate them. Everyone says they never buy anything. But if "everyone" really did hang up and never buy anything, the industry would not continue to use this method. Somebody is buying, somebody is listening; we just need to educate people to simply hang up! Because, if "everyone" did this, robo calls and things like this would go the way of the door-to-door fuller brush man.

An excellent point. Still don't understand why anyone would answer a call from an unrecognizable #.

Doobs41378 · 11-17-2017, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsmlp

An excellent point. Still don't understand why anyone would answer a call from an unrecognizable #.

I think everybody’s situation is different. For me my office routes my calls to my cell phone so there would be no way I could tell if it was a client or a telemarketer. I’ve been getting calls where they leave 3 minute voicemails about Jesus lately too.

Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

TiltonBB · 11-18-2017, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsmlp

An excellent point. Still don't understand why anyone would answer a call from an unrecognizable #.

There are many reasons. I advertise rental properties and boat slips so a substantial number of calls are from numbers I don't recognize. I would rather take the call and deal with it than spend a substantial amount of time listening to voice mail and playing phone tag later on. I find that many people call during a break from work and cannot take an incoming call.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsmlp

I'm most certainly not advocating for telemarketers but at the end of the day these are poorly paid low skill people trying to make ends meet. No need to be cruel about it.

As I stated in a prior post, just don't answer the phone!

I don't know where your calls are coming from but most of the ones I get are from people with their feet in the sand and their camel tied to a palm tree outside their tent. That is why the US telemarketing laws are not stopping them. And for any calls from the US, if these are truly "poorly paid low skill people" anyone helping to support them is keeping them down. If these "annoy the public" telemarketing jobs did not exist maybe the bottom feeders would find it necessary to learn some skills and look for real jobs that pay more.

tis · 11-18-2017, 08:48 AM

Some of the most annoying nuisance calls I ever got was from people all over the country who were looking to rent a house I own in Northern NH. I do not own a house in northern NH. Apparently the lady who owns it had put my cell number on the vacation rental site. Everybody that called I asked if they ever got her right number to please remove my number from that site. It drove me crazy for a year and a half. I emailed the site and they told me I had to call. I called and had an extended wait and forget that. It apparently has finally ended. (fingers crossed)

Chickie · 11-18-2017, 10:31 AM

Since about July I have been receiving calls from the same person, saying he has a “very important message for me.” The number to call to get that very important message is an 800.900 number. From what I have determined 900 nunbers are pay per call numbers and if I were to call or click on it, I could be charged big bucks. Has anyone gotten that one? Very persistent and keeps calling. Sounds like a new scam to me.

11-17-2017, 10:35 AM	#5
DRH Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Meredith Posts: 1,689 Thanks: 1,204 Thanked 677 Times in 179 Posts	We receive on average a half dozen junk calls every day on our landline number, even though we registered it with the FTC's "Do Not Call" list years ago. Recently a good number of these junk calls have shown an "875" exchange, which is correct for Alton where I live, but the following four digits are fake. (Faking the numbers Caller ID displays is easy and it is a technique often used by scammers.) For 99% of these calls, no messages have been left. Interestingly, however, we have received several calls this year from the "IRS" that have included messages. The spiel usually goes that a warrant for our arrest has been issued due to non-payment of taxes, and that if we don't call a certain number immediately we will be hauled off to jail and our house will be confiscated. The voice is computer-generated and is quite ominous. I have yet to call the provided numbers and so far, at least, I haven't been handcuffed and taken away in the back seat of a cruiser. About a year ago I ordered a call blocking device that plugs into a telephone jack. Since then, when we receive a call from a number we don't recognize and no message is left, we simply press the "Blacklist" button on the call blocker unit. From that point on if the number calls us again, the phone only rings once and then the call is automatically disconnected. This unit works well, but we continue to get junk calls from new numbers on a daily basis. __________________ DRH

11-17-2017, 06:28 PM	#8
September Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Wolfeboro Posts: 30 Thanks: 6 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Why do they keep calling? My thought is that it is only because "it works!" that these calls keep coming. Everyone says they hate them. Everyone says they never buy anything. But if "everyone" really did hang up and never buy anything, the industry would not continue to use this method. Somebody is buying, somebody is listening; we just need to educate people to simply hang up! Because, if "everyone" did this, robo calls and things like this would go the way of the door-to-door fuller brush man.

11-18-2017, 10:31 AM	#13
Chickie Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 368 Thanks: 0 Thanked 67 Times in 38 Posts	New Scam Call? Since about July I have been receiving calls from the same person, saying he has a “very important message for me.” The number to call to get that very important message is an 800.900 number. From what I have determined 900 nunbers are pay per call numbers and if I were to call or click on it, I could be charged big bucks. Has anyone gotten that one? Very persistent and keeps calling. Sounds like a new scam to me.

11-16-2017, 09:16 PM	#1
Tomt Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Revere Ma & Moultonborough Posts: 89 Thanks: 22 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	Sometimes when I get the right call, maybe something that pertains to my computer having a virus I tend to have fun with it. I will follow the keystrokes they tell me to a point, then i'll say I messed up and closed the window and they will start again. All the time pretending to be concerned about a computer virus. I try to string them along as long as I can. One time I actually got him to laugh when after not getting the computer to respond the way he was telling me I finally asked "Should my computer be on"?? he laughed then hung up. Sick amusement I know.

11-17-2017, 10:49 AM	#6
winni83 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Moultonborough, NH Posts: 435 Thanks: 17 Thanked 213 Times in 135 Posts	To follow up on the local number spoofing issue. I just got a call with a name and a 253 number on caller ID. I answered it and it was Resorts International. An automated recording which prompts you for answers. A profane answer resulted in a hang up. Usually, I just delete the caller id info, but this time I called the number back and asked the person who answered if this was the number for Mr. "Jones" and it was. Told the woman who answered that their number was being spoofed. Further intrigued, I checked the name on the Moultonborough Tax site and they live not far from me. An on line search of the number shown on the caller ID matches the name.

11-18-2017, 08:48 AM	#12
tis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,767 Thanks: 754 Thanked 1,462 Times in 1,018 Posts	Some of the most annoying nuisance calls I ever got was from people all over the country who were looking to rent a house I own in Northern NH. I do not own a house in northern NH. Apparently the lady who owns it had put my cell number on the vacation rental site. Everybody that called I asked if they ever got her right number to please remove my number from that site. It drove me crazy for a year and a half. I emailed the site and they told me I had to call. I called and had an extended wait and forget that. It apparently has finally ended. (fingers crossed)