Posted on 02/06/2008 5:49:08 PM PST by SmithL
They are collection agencies, probably making calls for the person who previously had your number. The only thing that you can do is to answer the call, listen to their initial line and ask for a call back number before you answer their question. Tell them that you have been a victim of some phone fraud and need to have their call back number and name, before giving out any information. Then call them back and lay into them for calling you. Tell them that it is illegal to bother you with their problems and that if it happens again, you are going to report them to the state attorney general’s office for prosecution.
You seriously need caller ID.
Thank you for your reply. When I answer the call there is no on on the other end, the line just disconnects. Ordinarily, I would not even bother to answer. However, my sister lives in Alaska and sometimes her calls come across as “out of area.” Also, my son is in Army basic training and one of the pay phones he called home on also came through “out of area.”
My phone company says its some type of auto dialer.
Are you registered?
If you register they will quit
CAveAT: Your bank can call
“McCain’s robo-call left a message on my answering machine today (in MD).”
Same with me in Va.
For the stuff that slips through:
NEWS FLASH!
You are under no moral or legal obligation to talk to these creeps.
When some critter I don't know calls ... I immediately demand (sometimes quite harshly) who is calling and what their business is. Also who they're trying to reach, unless they specify me (by both first and last name) up front.
If I don't like the answer, I hang up.
You don't have to "convince" them of anything. You don't have to engage them in conversation for any purpose.
Just hang up.
My son likes to let telemarketers get wound up, then he interrupts with “excuse me, but since you don’t seem to be using your soul, may I have it?”
That usually ends the conversation.
I'll have to try that one ...
Should I try the "innocently curious and earnestly helpful" tone of voice, or the "psycho creepy I-wish-I-was-Alice-Cooper" tone?
He plays it straight, but the Alice Cooper approach might be fun.
Yes, I originally registered when the program was established and re-registered again 6 months ago after I re-located and had a new phone #. Most are bot calls that occur at random times of the day. I’ll follow some of the good ideas here and see what happens.
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