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BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: DMcG Date: 04 Jan 19 - 07:27 AM I have told this story before I think. It dates back to the mid 1970s when a friend had a summer job collecting "peppercorn rents." The law was - and maybe still is - that if you had an overhanging sign and did not rent the ground that it overhung, you could after a time claim certain rights to the land itself. So my friend was employed by the council to ring up companies, drag the Chief Finance Officer away from whatever he or she was doing and insist they pay a few pence to the council. (It had to be the CFO as it needed to be someone authorised to act for the company.) They were rarely convinced it was a good use of their time, but were happy to spend for more time explaining precisely why to my unfortunate friend. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 04 Jan 19 - 07:17 AM Just put the phone down. No point in playing silly games with the poor sod who's been driven to take that job making nuisance calls. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Dave the Gnome Date: 04 Jan 19 - 04:30 AM True story - My neice once phoned and said "Is that Uncle Dave?" I replied "Depends who that is. I am not everyone's Uncle Dave." Took her a few minutes... |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Acorn4 Date: 04 Jan 19 - 03:40 AM "Sexy as hell voice"? - you don't play the banjo do you? |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 03 Jan 19 - 08:47 PM I never get sexy-as-hell voices, Joe. Is there something you're not telling us here...? |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 03 Jan 19 - 08:43 PM If that was you, Joe, cheers for that! |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Jan 19 - 08:23 PM The one I hate is the call with the sexy-as-hell voice that greets me and waits for my response, and then goes on with her nonstop sales pitch. I fall for it every time, and then I hate myself for it... |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Donuel Date: 03 Jan 19 - 08:18 PM Half our calls are recordings and the rest are robot AI calls with a slight fraction live or real calls. If I say 'blipsnort' a robot will pause with no found reply A recording plows on and a person thinks I sneezed |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 03 Jan 19 - 07:46 PM I got the Tommy one arse about face. The correct version is in the 2019 joke thread!
Posted By: Steve Shaw 03-Jan-19 - 07:44 PM Thread Name: BS: First Joke Thread for 2019 Subject: RE: BS: First Joke Thread for 2019
From that spam telephone thread: |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 03 Jan 19 - 07:33 PM Life's too bloody short. I have caller display. If I get a call from someone not in my contacts, I just hang up immediately if: *no-one speaks to me for several seconds *someone sez "Am I speaking to Mr Shaw?..." *it's an automated message. Otherwise I might listen for a few seconds in case it's the Tesco delivery man who can't find my remote house. Don't wanna miss out on my 25% off six bottles... Tommy Cooper said that someone rang him up and said "Who's speaking, please?" Tommy said to him "You are." :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Senoufou Date: 03 Jan 19 - 05:56 PM Pete, do you suppose anyone would ever respond by admitting to a fictitious accident cooked up by a scammer? I wonder why they keep trying this on. Surely no-one is ever caught out by that? |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Pete from seven stars link Date: 03 Jan 19 - 05:51 PM We quite often get calls about the 'accident 'we had , to which I usually reply " is that the one I died in " !that always gets them to hang up ! |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Senoufou Date: 03 Jan 19 - 05:38 PM We both have a dental check-up appointment tomorrow morning. A month ago the receptionist rang to remind us it would be next month. Last week she rang again, to remind us it was next week. This morning, she rang yet again to remind us it was tomorrow. Either she reckons we're completely senile, or that we're so terrified of dentists we might chicken out. I managed to keep calm and wish her a Happy New Year. If the dentist okays my teeth tomorrow, I might test them out by biting her! |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jan 19 - 05:02 PM I use an Android app called Hiya that I think evolved from the old White Pages databases and ended up being a caller ID and more importantly a spam blocker. After researching a number of options I put this in my Android phone two or three years ago and have had far fewer spam calls get through. Usually the phone will ring once then stop because Hiya recognized and blocked the number as one reported for spam or telemarketing. Sometimes it will ring but the message slides across the screen that it is a suspected spammer, so I decline the call. Every so often one comes through, I realize it's a spoofed number or spam, so I report it on the Hiya site through the phone. And on occasion I'll get a message saying "you saved (for example) 457 people from getting spam calls by reporting a number." Since it's usually a robocaller it's easy for them to block that many calls for members once it's reported to the system. They also have a Facebook page. All of that said, if a call rings through that I don't recognize, I tend to pause and listen for a moment - if it clicks off - spam. If nothing, I say Hello, and the person on the other end probably has an idea of why I delayed. That happened today with a call from a pharmacy that is new to me but working with my doctor's office. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Dave the Gnome Date: 03 Jan 19 - 04:40 PM I'm with Steve on this. Just a firm "no thanks" and hang up. If it's on your mobile block the number. No need to be rude or clever. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Joe Offer Date: 03 Jan 19 - 04:26 PM After a couple calls from "Apple Inc" today, I put a block on that number. I think I've had four blocked calls since then. That gives me a lot of satisfaction....until they change their number ID. But the same telemarketer calling six times in a day? Why? |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: BobL Date: 03 Jan 19 - 04:11 AM "It's about your computer" "Oh, thank you. Could you just confirm my IP address, please?" click Not yet had a call from "my bank", but if I ever do, the answer may well be on the lines of "Look, it's all numbers in your computer. You deal with it." Or possibly "Young man/lady, is it impossible for you to find honest work in your part of the world?" |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Acorn4 Date: 02 Jan 19 - 05:31 PM "I'm sorry, can you speak up, I'm a bit deaf..." |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Senoufou Date: 02 Jan 19 - 05:30 PM Haha Steve, the broad Glasgow accent can be a bit hard to understand. But I just adore any accent, I have a thing about them. Husband can 'do' Norfolk now, and entertains his colleagues and our neighbours with his funny repartee. I often wonder how it feels to be a 'cold caller' - one dials a number and prepares to be told again and again in no uncertain terms to go forth and multiply. This goes on all day every day. They must get very depressed, and dread going in to work. Can you imagine how rare it must be for them to be met with sheer delight and a real interest in what they have to sell? Rather like those Charity sellers ('chuggers') on the high street. Soul destroying. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Joe Offer Date: 02 Jan 19 - 05:21 PM I sometimes give in to the temptation to make smart-ass replies to telemarketers; but I think I have to assume that most people making these calls are working for very low wages, and that it's their employers who are to blame. Even the ones who tell me that my computer is not working properly, are reading from a script and not doing such things on their own behalf. So, when I'm behaving myself, I try to think of inventive ways to say something nice while still ending the call quickly. Even though the call may be offensive, I won't improve things by being nasty in my response. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 02 Jan 19 - 01:56 PM I bloody hate meself for saying this, but when it comes to unusual accents I have a damn sight more trouble with Geordies, Scots and the Welsh than I do with "the Indian subcontinent"... |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: DMcG Date: 02 Jan 19 - 09:22 AM I had something a bit like that once, Thompson. While they were speaking to me I got my wife to call the police on her mobile. It might be a good story if I knew how it turned out! |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Senoufou Date: 02 Jan 19 - 09:15 AM We frequently make money transfers to my in-laws via Western Union, and when the recipient picks up the money, we get a call. It's rather weird, as there's a long, silent pause, then a monotonous robot voice starts the message. It sounds like a very poor imitation of that Alexa thing, or a Dalek. But it's handy to know the money has safely arrived. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Thompson Date: 02 Jan 19 - 09:04 AM We're talking about two different things here. First is genuine telemarketers, to whom you can say "You shouldn't be calling me, my phone is on the barred list"; second is people working for criminals, like those ones who say they're calling from Windows about your computer - a neighbour of mine, elderly too, rang me one day to say he'd had a call like that and it dropped as soon as he'd given them his credit card number, and how should he call them back. I screamed "CANCEL YOUR CREDIT CARD NOW!!!" and then ran down the road to his house to explain why! There are lots of those scams; another crowd here in Ireland rings claiming to be from your bank and saying there's been some worrying activity on your account. They then start to ask you for your internet banking password, account number, etc. Another friend rang me having got one of those, and I told her to walk down to her bank and ask them if the call was from them. The people in the bank were very pleased to get the heads-up about this criminal activity. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Senoufou Date: 02 Jan 19 - 09:00 AM That's true of course DMcG, TPS doesn't have any control over calls from abroad. Actually, our phone (landline) hardly ever rings (Nellie-No-Mates?) and we have no mobile phone signal to speak of here in our village. It makes for a lovely quiet life, which we both prefer. Jeri probably has the best strategy - merely hang up! |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: DMcG Date: 02 Jan 19 - 08:49 AM TPS works fairly well in the UK. I was trying to write more "internationally." I has TPS and TPS protect as well, but it is not perfect, especially if you have sone other contract with the company, which is often the case in the phone-tv-mobile-internet conglomerations we have these days. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Senoufou Date: 02 Jan 19 - 08:31 AM Ah, but we're on the Telephone Preference Service list, so any unsolicited calls to us are illegal. All firms should consult this list before cold-calling anyone. If they do so nonetheless, one must doubt their integrity. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: DMcG Date: 02 Jan 19 - 08:17 AM Not all telemarkers are shady folk trying to get credit cards, hack computers etc. Most still want your money, though, like everyone involved in sales. The majority of telemarkers I get are trying to get me to switch mobile phone company (now that PPI calls have died down a bit.) A nuisance but not illegal in most countries. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Senoufou Date: 02 Jan 19 - 08:12 AM I've had to contact BT once or twice and usually get a very polite and helpful person from the Indian sub-continent. They often use a more European type of name (eg David or Susan) as it makes it easier to hear and remember. I have had one or two who used their real name, and while I have a good 'ear' for this, not everyone does. My Chinese friend at University was called Betty Ko, and told me that most Hong Kong folk have a British-type first name. However, her real name in Cantonese meant 'There is a fairy in the moon' which I found absolutely enchanting! |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Dave Hanson Date: 02 Jan 19 - 07:54 AM It's really difficult to believe someone on the line who introduces himself as ' Jonathan ' in an obvious Asian accent. Dave H |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Senoufou Date: 02 Jan 19 - 05:19 AM I understand that the scam caller 'has a job to do' etc. But surely one could choose an honest job, not one which aims to defraud people out of their money by slyly obtaining their bank details or enter their computer system illegally? It's often the elderly who are taken in by these people. The younger folk are more savvy. I'm the first to feel compassion for people doing poorly-paid work under awful conditions, but not dishonest ones. By the way, I find Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian accents (when they speak English) to be completely similar. I can usually identify a Nigerian accent (very attractive :) ) but I certainly couldn't distinguish a Pakistani one from any other Asian country. They all have the retroflex consonant 't' for example. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 02 Jan 19 - 04:44 AM I wouldn't deny anybody anything that falls short of the frankly criminal. But I find it odd that anyone can get some kind of weird pleasure out of keeping some poor sod in a call centre dangling. After all, it won't be the boss you're dangling. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 02 Jan 19 - 04:39 AM as soon as voice says this is (first name) from ... I hang up, sometimes I hear the company name as I'm doing so & realised once I was hanging up on my own Telco, calling cos I had paid my bill late. I'm sure they were offering a payment plan, thinking I was poor or something, but the reason I paid late & included the $15 late fee was cos I found the bill under other pieces of paper after the due date (oops) If after I say hello, I hear what is obviously a call centre where the next available operator is reaching for my line, I just hang up. Sometimes I think it might be fun to pay games, but I've automatically hung up, & besides the poor bugger has a job to do. Tho I recently hung up on the fake Tax Office employee who no doubt would have started threatening me with my tax debt ... That could have been fun to play as I heard someone did - call "everyone" to listen "cos we have a spammer on the line!", say things like "oh, no, gosh, how horrible", start laughing etc ... maybe one day ... sandra |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Dave Hanson Date: 02 Jan 19 - 04:34 AM If I get one of these call which are mostly blocked I go into ' Papa Lazaru ' mode and ask to speak to Dave and whatever the caller says I reply ' is Dave there. Dave H |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Mr Red Date: 02 Jan 19 - 04:06 AM I have found that picking up and not saying anything doesn't always work with wanted calls. People wait for you and hang up if they don't hear. Particularly if the answerphone kicks off too soon. There are those of us who take more than irritation at trying to be conned. Anger helps no-one, but if we have been interrupted we assuage our anger by making use of the call. It is second prize. The first is not getting the call. But Hey! Why do we sing? Why do we post here? It's a game. They may be savvy to it, but the longer we stretch it out, the fewer others are put at risk. We are doing a service to the world and having a bit of fun. Would you deny us that Mr Shaw? |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Helen Date: 02 Jan 19 - 03:42 AM If they ask for Mrs Lastname, it's my maiden name because I never did change the telephone listing to my married name. It's especially funny if they call my Hubby "Mr Maiden Name". |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: JennieG Date: 02 Jan 19 - 12:22 AM We hang up. Because we have family in another country I wait until the disembodied voice speaks, then when it's obviously not out family that's it. Gone. And the callers who ask "is that Mrs Lastname" get hung up on too. Anyone who is likely to ring us knows our first names. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 01 Jan 19 - 07:50 PM "Now the PC scammers, usually Asian, mostly Pakistanis..." I'm interested to know how you know this. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: j0_77 Date: 01 Jan 19 - 07:36 PM What a great topic! Thanks for posting. Well here,(USA), we did try call block type phones. It worked for a while until the robocallers created software the spoofed the numbers to a new number on every call. I actually spent $120.00 for my fancy call blocking phone system, which became useless. Now the PC scammers, usually Asian, mostly Pakistanis, don't robocall like the others do, but they are nearly as tiresome, unless you want to have fun with them. I once kept one on the line for half hour talking about Windows, but he did not get which windows I was discussing, security, warranty, etc. It was only when I asked what he thought of cleaning them that the penny finally dropped... But here, VOIP these days, there is a service, free from some providers, that solves the problem with a simple alteration to all inbound calls. After a caller connects, i.e number pick-sup, the server asks 'it' a question, eg " to speak to 'name', press ( variable )..' Needless to say only real people can do that. Those losers, above, don't have the time, or resources to comply. Also, and here is the bonus, there is nothing the creeps can do to get around the technology. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 01 Jan 19 - 07:32 PM Hang up. Then do as much blocking as you can at your leisure. I don't understand people who think they're getting some kind of satisfaction out of making "clever" responses. The buggers on the other end are programmed to be utterly unimpressed by your "wit." |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Jack Campin Date: 01 Jan 19 - 07:10 PM I sometimes get them at work. I can't not answer, but sometimes I can work out what they're up to and get them off the line before their reflexes can catch up. Other times I just tell them the literal truth. - you do realize you're trying to steal from a charity? - [mumble] - we are a charity. You're trying to rip us off and hurt all the people we're trying to help. Which might include you or your family, some time. How do you feel about what you're doing? They don't usually need more explanation than that. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Mr Red Date: 01 Jan 19 - 06:08 PM the last one that called heavily accented with something about my computer, and security. I said "I run ten websites and a am fully aware........." the phone went dead before the fun had even started. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Steve Shaw Date: 01 Jan 19 - 05:57 PM Just put the bloody phone down. Sign up to everything that blocks spam and spend an entertaining few minutes on your iphone once a month blocking numbers. If you're not sure, Google the number. It'll be a shithouse every time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Rapparee Date: 01 Jan 19 - 05:51 PM I've replied with "FBI -- Wire Fraud" and my last name. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Jos Date: 01 Jan 19 - 05:24 PM They don't always realise that it is an answering machine, and spend some time saying 'Hello ... hello ... hello ...', and sometimes become rude and abusive when I [= the answering machine] 'refuse' to speak to them, even accusing ME of being rude (though it should be obvious that I am not there). |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Mossback Date: 01 Jan 19 - 05:17 PM No More Robo https://www.nomorobo.com is free for VOIP and their App is $4.99 a month and worth every penny. Also plenty of very good call blockers available for copper wire land lines, for some examples see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIkSKmxkZA0. (PS: if you answer the call they know its an active number and the frequency of crap calls you get will increase - often exponentially.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Backwoodsman Date: 01 Jan 19 - 05:16 PM Every call goes to my answering machine - no exceptions. The telemarketers invariably hang up when the answering machine cuts in. If the caller speaks, I then have the option of picking up or ignoring the call. Simples. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Jeri Date: 01 Jan 19 - 04:18 PM I hang up. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: DMcG Date: 01 Jan 19 - 03:44 PM If my phone identifies them as 'spam'or similar, I don't answer. Otherwise I go straight to who they are and what they are calling about and then end the call as promptly as possible. I try to remember that a lot of cold callers are on minimum wage and hating having to ring people and get an earful of abuse. But that is what they have to do to live. |
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Subject: RE: BS: best way to handle unwanted telemarketer From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 01 Jan 19 - 03:38 PM If an incoming call shows a phone number instead of a name from my contacts list, I simply ignore the call. There's a 95+% chance it's someone I don't want to talk to (if it's even a person and not a computer). If it's a legitimate call from a real person, they can leave a voice mail and I'll call them back. |
