I answer the call and say, "please enter your PIN number". It's the only thing I say. I'll repeat it in the same monotone voice. Keeps me occupied some boring days.
"Welcome to the automated call routing system. If you would like to press 1, press 1, now. If you would like to press 2, press 2, now. If you would like to press 3, press 3, now.... " I never get to 5.....
I like to order a pizza like I called them Or in some cases I'll give them false information for as long as I can until they realize it and hangup. When air-duct cleaning service calls I'll give legit sounding information and send them to a burnt down address.
My method is easy and cheap. I never answer the phone unless I know the caller. If the call is important the caller will leave a message. If not, I don't worry about it. Simple.
I tried that to until the day my mom broke down on the side of the road and was calling from a pay phone (this was way back when they still had lots of them and everyone used landlines) she left a voice message which I luckily happened to check soon afterward or she would have been stranded! And now scammers have the ability to call you from a number similar to those on your contact list! Shouldn't be legal.
It's not talking to them that's annoying, it's the constant ringing of the phone at all hours when you're busy forcing it to mute it and then erasing the messages all the time. You don't solve those problems by just not picking up.
You know that the FCC is contemplating allowing spam callers to leave messages on ur voicemails. As of today it is not allow, but that may be changing.
C. J. Alexander - That's the thing though. The mentioned tactic above works on voicemails also. The scammer ability of being able to call from your contact list is pointless if your's only consists of people you personally know or see almost everyday of the week. And then it's just a simple matter of contacting the number's owner if the scammer's story is too close to home.
The problem I have are spoofers. The number on the caller ID is local and is a real number but it's being spoofed. This should be illegal. Not to mention they are always out of the country, which should also be illegal.
The fcc is actually working on a new protocol to stop spoofing called the “do not originate” protocol. It allows carriers to block fake numbers. There’s other efforts underway, but for now we have to wait.
I recorded some “ops control room” sounds. When the telemarketer came on the line I started the playback and asked “are you an agent or an asset?”. They usually responded with “agent”. Then, I proceeded to ask questions like, “is this a secure line? do you require extraction? We can have a team at your location in five hours. What is your coded ID?” And so on... I usually didn’t have to go too far and it was a blast!
I have done similar and it eventually scares the "poop" out of them. Especialy when they call again & tell them their location was verified before the call was answerd. Then a Team has already been dispatched. Do not leave the building. etc.
I screw with them too....I’m older, and I play the,,,,huh, speak up sonny boy, I cants hers you.......what ya say.....you want to buy my boat? Huh?????
Two other options: 1) answer them in a non-typical foreign language and start yelling in it. They won't bother with someone who cannot speak English or Spanish. 2) do the same recording thing you did, but play back the sound of a fax machine picking up (like the old analog modem sound). As for me...I don't live in America, so telemarketers are forbidden where I live. My landline phone has rung 3 times in the last 4 years, and my mobile gets no spam calls. The US needs to change its laws on this.
There is always some asshole that imagines their sales pitch is somehow "free speech". That is when you punch them in the nose and state that's your "freedom of expression".
A few years ago there was a flurry of "long distance carriers" and I was getting a call every day from the same woman. She wanted to speak to whoever was in charge of the phone service. I kept telling her the manager (me) was out. Finally one day I said "ma'am, we don't have any phones in this office." It got real quiet......she said but how are we talking? I said I don't know, I'm looking all over and there's not a single phone here, I'm just talking into the air, where are you?. She finally hung up and didn't call back. The talking went on longer than that, I was rustling papers, opening and closing doors, telling her she's freaking me out and to quit hiding.
I started trying picking up and pretending i was “Microsoft support”. I pretend to have a really heavy Indian accent and ask about their virus. They tend to hang up and never call back. 😂
First and only time i got called by the indian "microsoft support" team i was so happy lol. My first response to them was "Wow are you guys those indian scammers that try to trick people!?" "Wow so cool im so lucky i thought i would never be able to get a call" and then add like 5 min of manical laughter.. they hung up and never called again xD.
A friend of mine has, for several years, been using a recorded tone on his greeting, that mimics a fax/modem. It fools the robos into tagging his line as non-voice, and they automatically remove his number from their call-list. Fred
Well, he lets all his friends & biz acquaintances know about it, so they don't get put off when they hear the beep. It's just something that the calling machines recognize and dump out of. Fred
TLDR:This is awesome till you do it to your insurance agent trying to set up a claim. I kid you not some people see the number and auto fax machine not realizing that its their insurance. Then they call me wondering when their claims going to be approved and I get to tell them the only phone number on file was a fax machine, and that he will recieve his documentation in a couple days by mail. (Better hope to god its correct or the burocracy starts all over. TLDR This can backfire hard.
+ David Colon: What? 1. "... till you do it to your insurance agent trying to set up a claim." - Your insurance agent is one of the people you're supposed to inform of this, so they know to wait out the beep. 2. "some people see the number and auto fax machine not realizing that its their insurance" - Are you saying that their insurance agent has this tone strategy on *their* phones? Because if it's the agent calling a client, the client's caller ID won't identify the agent's call as a fax number, just because that number, when *receiving* calls, starts with a tone. Remember, the way this works is, you record your pick-up greeting to start with a fax/modem-type tone for a second or two, then you record your normal greeting ("please leave a message after the beep," etc.). IOW, when you set this up, the tone is sent only when *you're* calling; not when you're *receiving* a call. 3. "they call me wondering when their claims going to be approved and I get to tell them the only phone number on file was a fax machine" - So you mean, *you're* the agent, and you thought the number the client gave you and you called, was a fax, and you made a note of that? Or that you had your machine call the client, and *it* sensed and noted the number as a machine? In that case, see #1, and you'll have to make the call yourself, not with your machine. Fred
@@ffggddss 1 & 2. Not all carriers give any indications that you reached a VM till after the greeting and if the agent doesn't have this info he will not listen for more .5 seconds . 3. Im just customer service. (no insurance license) First your agent isnt going to call you to notifiy you of approval unless he just started his practice, because its much cheaper to hire other to do that for you while you focus on sales. "Your insurance agent" is typically a team and the person who you talk to is generally just the sales and policy manager. If he reaches a "fax machine" he/she will document this for legal purposes. Now I am not even close to their agent when they reach me. I work in a office of 50 people all of whom have no license and the primary purpose we have is to provide updates on the status of their claim, update payment info, and answer basic questions about products and services and then send them to an agent qualified to fully and in detail explain what they have/want. When they call us and we see number invalid. We will see another note stating the notice was sent via the post service, and since my shift is 5pm-1am I cant transfer the call to any agent. During the day an attempt will be made to get them to "their insurance agent" (any agent can handle this process usually.)
Legitimate telemarketers aren't the problem, its the spoofing calls from Indian telemarketing centers. Iv'e tried a similar method of the disconnected number thing and it doesn't work. at all.
I always just answer my phone by not saying anything and after about 5-10 seconds you hear them hang up. This works good because if it was someone you know calling you you would know by caller I’d or them saying is someone there but with telemarketers they just hang up cuz they don’t hear anyone
Mine is over 60 years old and I inherited it from my father. Whether a telemarketer or a 'wrong number' simply say "he's taking a shit, would you like to wait?"
I would agree with you if it was a legitimate telemarketer but so many of these calls are not. They are scam artists trying to get either money under false pretences or personal information that they can use for identity theft purposes. I can't remember when I last got a legitimate telemarketer call that was actually trying to sell me a real product. I have been getting everything from them pretending they are calling me from Windows about a problem my computer reported to claiming to be from my credit card company to telling me that I am going to be arrested for unpaid taxes. Every single one of those calls is a scam.
How much money do those telemarketers send you each month to help pay for your phone so you can take their calls? I 'worked' as a caller for a week one time long ago; it's no picnic but we all enjoyed a good laugh from time to time. This is where one learns to deal with rejection.
Another good reply that seems to work" Mr. Smith does not live here anymore. I have a new phone number if you would like it." Then use your imagination. I usually give them the phone number for a major Senior Citizen's Residence or any other # at random. When you intentionally enter my 'space' without invitation no respect is due.
When landlines were a thing back in the day and a telemarketers would call, my uncle who was a very Rich Mann and had time to play their games had a decent system for dealing with them. if it was a person, he'd let them speak their first words, then at the pause he would ask "Could you hold on for a second. I'll be right with you." Then he set the phone down and continued doing whatever he was doing. leaving them to wait for him to return which he never did. Some telemarketers would wait on the line a minute or so, some would wait 10 minutes or longer. They eventually wised up to him, and chose other targets for their calls. After awhile he hardly got any calls from them at all.
I did exactly that some years ago with my cell phone (I don't have a land line) and the calls quickly stopped coming. I know it works. (Is "Rich Mann" your uncle's name?)
been using this one since 1970: hand phone to child and walk away. Works great. Never a single call back. Kid will talk to idiot salesman for hours and salesman will NEVER score.
I rarely get these calls on my cell phone, but it does happen. When I get home from work, the caller ID on my home phone, most days, shows a number of calls from different states, or 800 numbers. A long time ago I picked up a telemarketer call and asked him to repeat his company's name. When he did, I said that a rep from his company had just called not more than five minutes ago. He apologized profusely and I never got a call from that company again. Back then those calls were infrequent. Now they are almost a daily occurance, even with being on the Do Not Call list.
jstnxprsn because it's a number u don't recognize or one of your friends. I answer in Cantonese really loud and they hang up. My favorite I say 'this Hong Kong stew shop Hong Kong what number u want to orda' and they curse and hang up. Works every time
I've noticed that when it's a robo dialer, there's a delay between the time you answer and the actual person picks up. As soon as I hear this delay, I hang up.
Same here... I swear most people think there's a federal law that forces them to answer every call... There isn't... If someone doesn't have my explicit permission to call me, I don't answer. Case closed...
When I get those scammer calls I answer " What's your code sir?" They say " Code???" I say " Sir, you can not talk to anybody at this end unless you have " the code". They hung up and never call back.
My recent strategy is that if I pick up a call from an unknown number I just don't say anything for a bit. If there's silence for a couple of seconds I know I'm in a queue for the next scammer & hang up.
Anthony Brusca I kinda got screwed in to it when I got a new number and the person who had the phone before signed up for a lot of things and had lots of debt
@@griffinphillips761 My number the only unwanted phone calls were people trying to text the girl before me. One tried to be sexual and one was a group chat. Guess I lucked out.
To bad for anyone who has to answer because you get calls from customers you cannot use this idea... Also if this is such a good idea here is a better one, just record that disconnect message straight to your voicemail.
I've been using this exact same disconnect video on you tube for over a year to answer calls coming to my business number (a land line)... I STILL get the calls "your google listing is not verified" and "your vehicle's warranty has expired" among others. Just a couple weeks ago I got the scam call from the "IRS" saying they were going to cancel my social security number if I did not pay them $10,000 in gift cards immediately. That was a live person calling, and I had fun with that person. Kept them on the phone playing their game for almost 20 minutes. The longer you keep them on the line, the less people they can call. I wish there was a way to stop the spoofing of caller ID, these scammers must be stopped.
It's best not to answer the calls at all. However, this is a pretty smart idea 4 some who wish to use it. I just wish that cell phone companies would stop blocked calls from leaving voicemails.
I used to do that too, but in November last year I answered a "withheld number" and found out that I had won a £6000 holiday to Perth Western Australia and in the Ts & Cs it mentioned that if they couldn't contact me within seven days then they would pass the prize to the next person to answer.
new companies arrive all the time, they buy old lists, this method is not only not effective at all, they will call you anyway, sometimes, they even mistakingly call you back up because some programs they use, call 5 lines at a time, first one to pick up gets the phonecall connected, rest are just a silent ghost call with noone on the other end and leaves you wondering, why someone calls you but doesnt say anything.
I have a call blocker called Truecall and have programmed it so that if an 'unknown' number calls, it answers and plays the Intercept tone (the three beeps) to fool the autodialler. Problem is, call centres have cottoned on to people doing this trick, and many are disabling the tone detector! In the 1990s I was being plagued by wrong number calls on my modem line (the number was one digit away from a local solicitor) so we kept getting calls for them! I put an answer machine on the line that answers with "sorry you have the wrong number" lol
I get these about my "factory warranty running out". And it goes to an actual person. So when he/she sys my warranty is about to expire, I ask on which vehicle. I say I have five. And then it goes downhill from there. For them. Like my Ferrari? Porsche? Studebaker? All of which I do not own. So make it fun and they usually stop calling
It's also fun saying something like, "Great! My 1973 Ford truck has 468,000 miles on it and it hasn't been working very well. An extended warranty on it would be fantastic!"
I have BT call guardian on my phone and I don't even get a clue about a call from the spammers. Only the callers I want get through, otherwise they have to announce who they are and why are they calling. If I don't want the call I just press one key and they are blocked forever. Simples, as they say.
It's annoying as hell though and can bite you in the ass. Had people using stuff like that when I worked at Pizza Hut. It tried texting me to make me provide info. Customer just didn't get their pizza. Nobody has time for that crap.
In the UK we get calls from insurance companies that call to say that their records show you were in a car accident. If I get these calls I just shout down the phone. "YOU UTTER BASTARDS, WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THE FUNERAL YET!" The first time I tried this. The call staff started spluttering then apologised and hung up. Two minutes later a call from someone claiming to be from the same company but a supervisor apologising for the call at this clearly difficult time and assuring us that my number was being removed from the database. That was 3 years ago and not had a call since. 😉
I like to act like a detective who is investigating the murder of the person the company is calling and start asking questions of the caller as if he or she is a suspect.
Another solution, which is less hassle, is to go into settings and select to only receive calls that are on your contacts. Anyone not on contacts will be automatically blocked. If you're expecting a call from a company then get their number in advance and add it as a contact or temporarily allow all incoming calls on the day you're expecting the call.
BIG HINTS: DON’T BLOCK THE NUMBERS! I had been doing this for about a week and the number of calls weren’t going down. I would usually receive 9-13 calls A DAY on the weekdays. Then I realized before I started using the recording I had blocked many, many spam numbers that had called me. Some had called me multiple times. I unblocked them all because if they were calling me again then that means they weren’t being tricked by my recording. On Thursday I unblocked them all. On Friday I received 18 spam calls! I managed to answer most of them with the recording. On Saturday I received only 1 spam call when I received about 8 calls last Saturday. Doing this has also drastically decreased the number of spam texts I get too. Also, you don’t have to bother with a recorder that has a headphone jack. I just bought a cute recorder that’s meant to record personalized messages for plush animals. I can carry it around with me everywhere for whenever they call. And I used the exact same recorded message from that video shown in this video! ALSO, don’t think making this recording your voicemail will help either. When the voicemail comes on there is a sound preceding the recording. The bots recognize that sound as the voicemail, and therefore a real number, regardless of whatever you recorded as your voicemail.
Just have a fog-horn ready and as soon as you recognise a telemarketer's patter, blow it full into the receiver for a full minute. You will find that usually works a treat!
Telemarketing should be outlawed and banned by federal and state laws. I think this is a reasonable bipartisan agreement that should happen. Make it illegal. I've never heard of anyone that's ever bought anything from these ripoff artists. It's just a waste of everyone's time.
Salty Steel, Are you KIDDING? Just because you are bright enough to not buy from them or be scammed doesn't mean that millions of other people (especially elderly retired folks) fall for the spiels. It happens more often than you think. If no one ever bought from them or fell for the scams they would be out of business, permanently.
Your advice might have made sense a few years ago, but it's useless now. Telemarketers do not maintain "lists" of any kind anymore. They don't care if the number is working or not, answered or not, gullible or not, because they call every possibly valid number from 000 000-0000 to 999 999-9999. So your scheme will make work for you, but be ignored by the telemarketers. Too bad, dude -- I'm as annoyed by them as you are, but this isn't the solution, it's just one you have convinced yourself will work. It won't. Also, blocking specific numbers won't work, either. Many telemarketers use a "fake" number only once, and after they have called every possible number in an area, never use it again.
BULLSPIT! there is SCIENCE in how they make calls. Sequence dialing was used back in the day when people had home phones. Nowadays, everything goes into a computer, so tones will often work. Sequence dialers might exist, yes, but they would be idiots.
The copious number of calls I have logged and recorded in the past 5 years, and the info gathered from them, suggests otherwise. Calling every possible number (whether random or sequentially) explains it pretty well.
As someone who has worked in the "tele" world...I can tell you that they buy batches of numbers from a third party data provider then they are put into call center software like CallCenterNOW. Or your number could be captured with a system called "Automatic Number Identification" or ANI. That's if you ever dial any 800 888 900 numbers...Signing up for a free vacation...Automatic dialing devices...Credit Requests...Requests for Information...Donations...so many ways so little time ;)
I'm sure that was the case a few years ago. No longer. It's much more cost effective to dial every possibly-valid number than to target specific numbers from a special list. Why pay for numbers if you dial every one? Since the rate of return is extremely low, the only way to make any money is volume. Lotsa volume. Even at the expense of calling numbers most would think are hopeless (like mine). Even hopeless numbers change hands, and maybe they'll get lucky with a new owner.
We got a Call Blocker from Argos three years ago, you set up your family and friends on the Stared List, this allows them to connect, The system comes with thousands of Cold Caller numbers, we used to get at least 10 to 30 calls a week, now None. The system runs a message advising the caller that their client is not available, if they leave there number they will advise their client, who can ring the caller back. In fact the number is added to the Blocked List. First saw this device on a BBC programme. Love your idea
NO NO have fun with them, telemarketer calls me about a credit card, I say: I sure could use that card, just got out of prison a week ago, ya think I could get one? They hang-up......
reminds me of a classic story, "telemarketers nightmare": "this is the FBI. the person who are calling has recently been murdered, so you are now a murder suspect."
In India we have an app called truecaller (which is a Swedish app) that automatically blocks telemarketing calls once some 100 users put it in thier block list. This just doesn't works with telemarketing but also with annoying real people who are obnoxious enough to be blocked by so many people. I don't know why but my American friend have never heard of this app
I just made a ringtone of dead silence. I assigned all the numbers in my contact list my usual ringtone. Then I set the default ringtone to the silent one. Anyone not in my contact list, I never hear the phone ring. Anyone in my contact list, I hear the phone ring. They can call all they want, I'll never answer because my phone never rings. Only drawback is if someone legit needs to call you and they're not on the contact list, it won't ring, in which case, they can leave a message and they'll get called back. Most spam/telepests don't leave a message, and the recorded ones just get deleted anyway.
So what are used to do back in the day before I had a real job or children, as I would sit there and say how long I could keep them on the phone with telling them somewhat believable bull crap. I will tell him that I lived in a compound and that we weren’t allowed to buy food for example, because the over lord master wouldn’t let us eat anything but Rice except for on Thursday when we could have chicken wings. It was hilarious and funny they would be laughing but I would keep it straight so they thought I was serious. I’ve had people on the phone for 2030 minutes at times and finally they would try to beg off the call, and that’s when I would really try to keep them on the call to see how long I could keep them on the line. It was a good time everybody was a winner
This topic came up on a "Seinfeld" episode in the 1990's---------------Jerry said, "I'm sorry, this isn't a good time------Tell you what: You give me YOUR home phone number, and I'll call You when it's good for Me."
I keep getting the calls " we have been informed you were in an accident that wasn't your fault ". I just play with them and say, yes how did you know ? It only happened 5 minutes ago. I didn't mean to kill anyone it was an accident the car just ran over him like 3 times Can you help I havant contacted the police yet. Think I might just throw the body in the boot.....hello hello hmm hung up
I used to do that too, but in November last year I answered a "withheld number" and found out that I had won a £6000 holiday to Perth Western Australia and in the Ts & Cs it mentioned that if they couldn't contact me within seven days then they would pass the prize to the next person to answer.
It may work with some of them but not all. I think this guy was just trying to advertise that recording device lol. I worked as a telemarketer for a couple of companies and some of them as soon as you hear an answering machine make you just classify that call as something like "didn't answer" or whatever, and ofc your number stays on the system. We didn't even have the time to hear what the answering machine had to say in most of them since those had to be dispositioned in under 5 seconds. So, no, it won't work. It is easier to simply ask them to remove you from their call list or you will press charges. This does work. Some may think it doesn't because you keep getting calls, but that's only because there are different call center companies that get the same leads to call them, so let's say 5 different call centers want to sell you or enroll you into the same thing, you'd need to ask to be taken off the call list around 5 times for this reason. It's not that they don't actually remove you, it's just that different call centers try to contact you and they didn't know you asked the other ones to remove you.
I worked in a call center as IT and I operated the dialer. it understands the phone rang and was picked up. that sound is also largely ineffective vs almost all automated systems as the dialer understood the number actually rang so therefore isn't disconnected, furthermore if your on one list you will be re sold over and over regardless of the call disposition set by the agents.
I had one, computer voice asked if I'd had an accident! I said yes and waited for the 'supervisor' he asked for my reg of car! I said I wasn't driving a car! I'd had a takeaway and it went straight through me! That kind of accident! He hung up! I tried to ring bk, but the number apparently doesn't exist!? Another time I told them a fuel tanker hit me and I died in a ball of 26000 liter ball of fire! I was told I could get compensation!
I want to record a fax hiss, that has a hidden computer code which tells the telemarketer's automatic dialer to "End call, and erase all data from your memory bank" (If an automatic dialer would respond to the command of "self destruct", then I would use that.)
I have a modem tone recorded onto a little black box about the size of a box of matches, smaller than that thing. When the telemarkerters start speaking I take it out of my pocket, put it on top of the phone, and push the go button. I rarely get TM calls now, they usually dump a modem off their call lists. The other trick I pull is to turn my HF radio to 14.236, the WW slow scan television frequency. It also sounds like a modem, but a typical transmission lasts about 2-3 minutes.
There is a phone app called robokiller, this app has files that will play to the caller, one of these recordings is the disconnected number message. Plus it blocks thousands of known numbers automatically and its constantly updated.
I just started playing a looped recording with elevator music! It says: (elevator music) "We're sorry, but the office is now closed. Please call back during regular business hours Monday through Friday from 8 am to 8 pm. If your matter is urgent, please call the exchange. Thank you." (Elevator music continues and recording loops again). This WORKS!! No one wants to talk to a business recording and they hang up IMMEDIATELY!!!
"Ya wanna hear the most annoying noise in the world?" *_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_* lmfao That should about cover it...
I have a video cued up most of the time when I'm working on the computer and they call. I can just open up youtube and play this obnoxious sound video.
I rarely get them but they can be annoying (especially your cars extended warranty) especially when I'm in a game on Xbox that I can't pause. I dont know how to do this but I thought about creating a line when I'm in the Middle of something that says: "Hello and thank you for calling (my name). If this is an emergency call, please press 0. Otherwise, please hold (inserts on hold music).
I did this exact same thing 30 years ago with a micro casette recorder , long before the digital ones came out ... we had telemarketers back then too , and they always called at dinner time.
That's a whole lot of trouble. Just do not answer any unrecognized call, then afterwards enter the number into your phone's blocked call list. Like it was mentioned here, if you answer, it validates your number as a working one. Why can't people fight the urge to always answer unrecognized numbers?I've used the above method for years and rarely receive any more unwanted calls.
The last call I got from a telemareter,, just as he was about to start his pitch, I asked how he got my number, it's on the 'do not call' register, and without another word...he hung up. Otherwise, I let them start the, "You've win a Range Rover" type crap, and just hang up. I have a flip phone, so you still get the old phone slamming down sound. But NEVER answer a question with the word YES, because some companies have been known to record that, then paste it into a tale where they ask you "Do you want to sign up with this company".
The recorder idea is good but...if you have to check to see if it's Auntie Mildred whose name isn't in your address book is calling to leave you in her will....well, you have a problem.
This can work, however on most new telemarketing systems it won't. Many times these scammers computer systems dial any number whether it is good or not. The tri-tone thay you hear at the beginning of a disconnected number message was a tone that was invented to allow Telecom computers to identify numbers that were inactive. The tri-tone is really what removes your number but it also has to be clear and the correct pitch in order for a system to recognize. It also has to be heard by a system that recognizes it such as another Telecom system. Many new robodialers are not a standardized Telecom system and therefore will not recognize the tri-tone.
I play with them Me." Hello!" Them. Telemarketer blah blah blah. Me. "This is a secure line of a military site. Before we go any further I need to know your name and company name, and address. The FBI and Military Police will be around in a few days and will want to know how you obtained this number. Just hold a second while I get a pen.... OK! Name?.........." If I get that far, that part gives it some office normalcy and they bite and hangup. Or anywhere between "The FBI and.... Just hold a second. " they ... "click". Great fun but they don't call back. Others fill in and sometimes I just say "City Police" or "City Morgue" or "City Cemetery"( not a lot of carpet cleaning or furnace cleaning needs on that one.) They are bored. "I'm sitting on the sofa naked..... Would you like to be my telephone friend?" Some figure it right away, laugh and hang up. Most just hang up. Get creative and play with them, they get completely dumb founded. There is a guy on the net that records his calls where he pretends to be a police detective on site investigating a murder. Wants to know the same; name, company, address but he intersperses "Sargent be sure to get good pics of the shotgun blood spatter in the other room too. " goes on and on "how they know the victim" and more. Google some search term and you will find him. He has a many characters, great ideas to get your creative troll juices going.
Yeah I saw that trick about the murder investigation. The pretend cop immediately assumed that the telemarketer is a person of interest and begins to interrogate the telemarketer asking for his personal details ect. Is hilarious.
When I was serving at Great Lakes Naval Base, one of my jobs was to answer phones while standing watch.. I would always answer, "This is Petty Officer (Insert Name) this is a secure line, please state your name and request. I would assume that would be enough to scare someone..
My friend set his voicemail message as this "disconnected" message to get his boss to stop calling him on off hours for him to come in early and on days off. It worked, thankfully.
TLDR version - pick up, hang up, we probably won't call you again. So having been a telemarketer in Finland for a summer job selling a magazine subscription, I know what it's like. I always tried to be polite and most people were usually nice. What I'll tell you is that my company at least, had a policy that we had to pitch it at least 3 times to customers before we were allowed to give up and since our calls were recorded, we didn't want to risk being fired for not doing it. I was also told by one of my managers that there was an actual way of getting off the list, and you had to pay something like 10 euros to a company and they would do it, however after telling that to 2 customers, my manager told me off and told me not to do it again. Also, in my company at least, the employees themselves were not able to remove you from the list. We didn't have such an option as the list was taken from a third party. Honestly, the best thing to do is just to hang up the phone. Most places will probably have an automated system, so once you hang up it will just dial the next number. However, if you don't pick up the phone at all, it will often just put you to the back of the queue and will call you some time later, so pick up and then hang up once you've realised it's an advert. Totally off point, once I accidentally swore when I was on the phone (wasn't at the customer, I just said something because I misspelt her address or something). Thank god for two things, that the lady was really nice about it and that it wasn't caught by management. It was actually eating into my lunch break, so I was the last one in the office meaning nobody heard it. That could have gotten me into trouble.
@LordKellthe1st But ant real person will quit calling them when you keep asking "Do you know where you're going to spend eternity?" I'm Christian, and even I can't stand most of the ones that open up with things like that.
Years ago I tried to get the caller to join a cult I made up on the spot. He got really offended when I mentioned the authority figure in the house chained their family to the wall while they at work. I was complete BSing but I found out years later there actually is a cult like that.😱
If you're using Google Voice, either as your service, or as a destination for voicemail, you can set up a separate 'anonymous' voicemail box for incoming calls from 'anonymous' numbers. This voicemail box can have the 3 tones plus an optional voice outgoing message, perhaps 'you have reached my voicemail for anonymous callers. I don't know when I'm going to check this mailbox, so if you wish to get a better response please call from a phone with valid caller-id.' You can also redirect calls from known spammers to that voicemail box. You probably want to do this so that you can add address book entries for specific numbers that you actually do want to get calls from, but which might show up as anonymous, say your local library or pharmacy notifying you that your request or order is available. And from time to time have a scan through the voice-text translations of the calls in your Anonymous voicemail box to see if any are things that you are interested in rather than thos wonderful calls about hail damage inspections, etc.
Here's a Plan B for ya: Set your ringtone to dial-up. The machines at the company will think it's a fax machine and add you to the "numbers that don't work" list.
I found out from another site, that if you go to your phones, settings,notifications, "Do Not Disturb", turn it on, allow exceptions for alarms,calls from contact numbers. it works perfectly. Only calls that come through are those in my phone book, and the other calls don't ring. They go to voicemail. No message, no callback...
Automated telephone callers have a very long pause before the speak - long enough for you to say "Hello" twice. If they don't speak after your first "hello" start pressing the Hash key (# makes a tone like a machine answering fax/whatever) and repeat pressing it till they hang up. They will take your phone number off the call list. worked a charm for me!
Skip buying the electronic box. Use two cell phones and voice record the "this # cant be reached" from youtube, then record it on to your voice mail . Haha.
I answer the call and say, "please enter your PIN number". It's the only thing I say. I'll repeat it in the same monotone voice. Keeps me occupied some boring days.
12345
"Welcome to the automated call routing system. If you would like to press 1, press 1, now. If you would like to press 2, press 2, now. If you would like to press 3, press 3, now.... " I never get to 5.....
I like to order a pizza like I called them Or in some cases I'll give them false information for as long as I can until they realize it and hangup. When air-duct cleaning service calls I'll give legit sounding information and send them to a burnt down address.
When kids me n my bro would answer the phone and say " Mr Wongs num-bah Wan West-Want Wha Yoo Wan? " cause we didn know what racism was at that age.
@@Novasky2007 LMAO!
My method is easy and cheap. I never answer the phone unless I know the caller. If the call is important the caller will leave a message. If not, I don't worry about it. Simple.
I tried that to until the day my mom broke down on the side of the road and was calling from a pay phone (this was way back when they still had lots of them and everyone used landlines) she left a voice message which I luckily happened to check soon afterward or she would have been stranded!
And now scammers have the ability to call you from a number similar to those on your contact list! Shouldn't be legal.
It's not talking to them that's annoying, it's the constant ringing of the phone at all hours when you're busy forcing it to mute it and then erasing the messages all the time. You don't solve those problems by just not picking up.
You know that the FCC is contemplating allowing spam callers to leave messages on ur voicemails. As of today it is not allow, but that may be changing.
C. J. Alexander - That's the thing though. The mentioned tactic above works on voicemails also. The scammer ability of being able to call from your contact list is pointless if your's only consists of people you personally know or see almost everyday of the week. And then it's just a simple matter of contacting the number's owner if the scammer's story is too close to home.
There are enough robo callers that WILL leave a message that I have had my voicemail FILLED UP as a result.
If telemarketers stop calling me... My phone will never ring.
Me to lol
Telephone Marketers never calls me again, just mute the mic and wait til they hang up
r/suicidebywords
Well it's telemarketets and my mom, so... :-D
Good for you, you're better off that way. think about it!
The rest of the world should just cut the internet cable going to India.
Kill t series once and for all😂
dont forget pakistan and bangladesh
@@patrickm5217 typical Indian trying to divert the conversation. Stay out of my calls ty
Why not all 3?
Good luck theres a ton of undersea cables that offer tons of redundency thay could simply go another way indirectly
The problem I have are spoofers. The number on the caller ID is local and is a real number but it's being spoofed. This should be illegal. Not to mention they are always out of the country, which should also be illegal.
Those are scammers
The fcc is actually working on a new protocol to stop spoofing called the “do not originate” protocol. It allows carriers to block fake numbers. There’s other efforts underway, but for now we have to wait.
It is illegal
But it’s not like what they are trying to do in the first place is not
They don’t care
I actually got a call from MYSELF once. It was a total mindfuck until I realized what it was.
@@captainkarenobvious3087 I was a telemarketer any spoofed call from a marketer is a scam call. We can only use certain numbers and our local number.
I recorded some “ops control room” sounds. When the telemarketer came on the line I started the playback and asked “are you an agent or an asset?”. They usually responded with “agent”. Then, I proceeded to ask questions like, “is this a secure line? do you require extraction? We can have a team at your location in five hours. What is your coded ID?” And so on... I usually didn’t have to go too far and it was a blast!
I have done similar and it eventually scares the "poop" out of them. Especialy when they call again & tell them their location was verified before the call was answerd. Then a Team has already been dispatched. Do not leave the building. etc.
I actually enjoy the calls, they're fun to play with
Not when your sleeping,they wake you up,just btween a nice dream...zzzzzzz
I screw with them too....I’m older, and I play the,,,,huh, speak up sonny boy, I cants hers you.......what ya say.....you want to buy my boat? Huh?????
Freedom 1 -- you're hysterical.
Not me. The calls drive me nuts, they are a breach of security, and they violate my privacy.
@ if your job is to harass people then you need to reevaluate your career choices.
Two other options:
1) answer them in a non-typical foreign language and start yelling in it. They won't bother with someone who cannot speak English or Spanish.
2) do the same recording thing you did, but play back the sound of a fax machine picking up (like the old analog modem sound).
As for me...I don't live in America, so telemarketers are forbidden where I live. My landline phone has rung 3 times in the last 4 years, and my mobile gets no spam calls. The US needs to change its laws on this.
There is always some asshole that imagines their sales pitch is somehow "free speech". That is when you punch them in the nose and state that's your "freedom of expression".
Not true
Where do u live
A few years ago there was a flurry of "long distance carriers" and I was getting a call every day from the same woman. She wanted to speak to whoever was in charge of the phone service. I kept telling her the manager (me) was out. Finally one day I said "ma'am, we don't have any phones in this office." It got real quiet......she said but how are we talking? I said I don't know, I'm looking all over and there's not a single phone here, I'm just talking into the air, where are you?. She finally hung up and didn't call back.
The talking went on longer than that, I was rustling papers, opening and closing doors, telling her she's freaking me out and to quit hiding.
Brilliant! I love that tactic.
Pretty funny lol!
That is awesome, I'm totally stealing that!!
did hte same hting. got hte same exact reply almost lol. it works to this day.
@william perkins this would work
I'm looking for the app that sends a burst of energy into their ear, that fuses their teeth together and leaves them sterile.
chuck fischer I blew a small horn into his ear I’m sure he still in the hospital
I give them my ex's number, her voice is very fusing
@@carollund6518 I give 'em a long blast from a postman's whistle.
If you find it will you please post it so I can render some of these heathens barren, too!
Just constantly moan to them
I started trying picking up and pretending i was “Microsoft support”. I pretend to have a really heavy Indian accent and ask about their virus. They tend to hang up and never call back. 😂
It only works if its a person though.
Holy cow that is genius
Same thing for me, I tell them I have a Mac. But I actually have a PC
text
First and only time i got called by the indian "microsoft support" team i was so happy lol. My first response to them was "Wow are you guys those indian scammers that try to trick people!?" "Wow so cool im so lucky i thought i would never be able to get a call" and then add like 5 min of manical laughter.. they hung up and never called again xD.
As someone who worked in call centers for years, this is accurate information
not really. I think he just wants to advertise that recording device lol
A friend of mine has, for several years, been using a recorded tone on his greeting, that mimics a fax/modem.
It fools the robos into tagging his line as non-voice, and they automatically remove his number from their call-list.
Fred
Well, he lets all his friends & biz acquaintances know about it, so they don't get put off when they hear the beep.
It's just something that the calling machines recognize and dump out of.
Fred
Brilliant! I've gotta do that!
TLDR:This is awesome till you do it to your insurance agent trying to set up a claim. I kid you not some people see the number and auto fax machine not realizing that its their insurance. Then they call me wondering when their claims going to be approved and I get to tell them the only phone number on file was a fax machine, and that he will recieve his documentation in a couple days by mail. (Better hope to god its correct or the burocracy starts all over.
TLDR This can backfire hard.
+ David Colon: What?
1. "... till you do it to your insurance agent trying to set up a claim." - Your insurance agent is one of the people you're supposed to inform of this, so they know to wait out the beep.
2. "some people see the number and auto fax machine not realizing that its their insurance" - Are you saying that their insurance agent has this tone strategy on *their* phones? Because if it's the agent calling a client, the client's caller ID won't identify the agent's call as a fax number, just because that number, when *receiving* calls, starts with a tone.
Remember, the way this works is, you record your pick-up greeting to start with a fax/modem-type tone for a second or two, then you record your normal greeting ("please leave a message after the beep," etc.). IOW, when you set this up, the tone is sent only when *you're* calling; not when you're *receiving* a call.
3. "they call me wondering when their claims going to be approved and I get to tell them the only phone number on file was a fax machine"
- So you mean, *you're* the agent, and you thought the number the client gave you and you called, was a fax, and you made a note of that?
Or that you had your machine call the client, and *it* sensed and noted the number as a machine?
In that case, see #1, and you'll have to make the call yourself, not with your machine.
Fred
@@ffggddss 1 & 2. Not all carriers give any indications that you reached a VM till after the greeting and if the agent doesn't have this info he will not listen for more .5 seconds .
3. Im just customer service. (no insurance license) First your agent isnt going to call you to notifiy you of approval unless he just started his practice, because its much cheaper to hire other to do that for you while you focus on sales. "Your insurance agent" is typically a team and the person who you talk to is generally just the sales and policy manager. If he reaches a "fax machine" he/she will document this for legal purposes.
Now I am not even close to their agent when they reach me. I work in a office of 50 people all of whom have no license and the primary purpose we have is to provide updates on the status of their claim, update payment info, and answer basic questions about products and services and then send them to an agent qualified to fully and in detail explain what they have/want. When they call us and we see number invalid. We will see another note stating the notice was sent via the post service, and since my shift is 5pm-1am I cant transfer the call to any agent. During the day an attempt will be made to get them to "their insurance agent" (any agent can handle this process usually.)
Legitimate telemarketers aren't the problem, its the spoofing calls from Indian telemarketing centers. Iv'e tried a similar method of the disconnected number thing and it doesn't work. at all.
I NEVER heard of such a thing as a "legitimate" telemarketer. In civilized society, the buyer goes to the seller, not the other way around.
Nifty idea. One guy recorded an old MODEM tone off the internet and put it on his answering machine. Helped a lot.
I always just answer my phone by not saying anything and after about 5-10 seconds you hear them hang up. This works good because if it was someone you know calling you you would know by caller I’d or them saying is someone there but with telemarketers they just hang up cuz they don’t hear anyone
Mine is over 60 years old and I inherited it from my father. Whether a telemarketer or a 'wrong number' simply say "he's taking a shit, would you like to wait?"
Gary Fitzgerald Hahaha! Perfect!
I would agree with you if it was a legitimate telemarketer but so many of these calls are not. They are scam artists trying to get either money under false pretences or personal information that they can use for identity theft purposes. I can't remember when I last got a legitimate telemarketer call that was actually trying to sell me a real product. I have been getting everything from them pretending they are calling me from Windows about a problem my computer reported to claiming to be from my credit card company to telling me that I am going to be arrested for unpaid taxes. Every single one of those calls is a scam.
How much money do those telemarketers send you each month to help pay for your phone so you can take their calls? I 'worked' as a caller for a week one time long ago; it's no picnic but we all enjoyed a good laugh from time to time. This is where one learns to deal with rejection.
Another good reply that seems to work" Mr. Smith does not live here anymore. I have a new phone number if you would like it." Then use your imagination. I usually give them the phone number for a major Senior Citizen's Residence or any other # at random. When you intentionally enter my 'space' without invitation no respect is due.
*Wait. What? People were shitting 60 years ago?*
*I thought millennials invented shitting!... To hear them talk, they invented everything!*
"Once and for all" doesn't apply if you have to do it more than once.
When landlines were a thing back in the day and a telemarketers would call, my uncle who was a very Rich Mann and had time to play their games had a decent system for dealing with them. if it was a person, he'd let them speak their first words, then at the pause he would ask "Could you hold on for a second. I'll be right with you." Then he set the phone down and continued doing whatever he was doing. leaving them to wait for him to return which he never did. Some telemarketers would wait on the line a minute or so, some would wait 10 minutes or longer. They eventually wised up to him, and chose other targets for their calls. After awhile he hardly got any calls from them at all.
I did exactly that some years ago with my cell phone (I don't have a land line) and the calls quickly stopped coming. I know it works. (Is "Rich Mann" your uncle's name?)
been using this one since 1970: hand phone to child and walk away. Works great. Never a single call back. Kid will talk to idiot salesman for hours and salesman will NEVER score.
No. His name is Very Rich Mann.
What did mentioning that your uncle was a rich man have to do with the story at hand?
Rich men have all day to play. We just slave for them.
I rarely get these calls on my cell phone, but it does happen.
When I get home from work, the caller ID on my home phone, most days, shows a number of calls from different states, or 800 numbers.
A long time ago I picked up a telemarketer call and asked him to repeat his company's name. When he did, I said that a rep from his company had just called not more than five minutes ago.
He apologized profusely and I never got a call from that company again.
Back then those calls were infrequent. Now they are almost a daily occurance, even with being on the Do Not Call list.
How would you know the call is from as telemarketer unless you answer it in the first place?
@@bennybenny3749
Leaving the other 1%, some of whom, for whatever reasons, don't leave voicemails.
That's their problem, then.
benny benny But if anyone hears that message they'll hang up and won't wait to see if they can leave a voicemail
jstnxprsn because it's a number u don't recognize or one of your friends. I answer in Cantonese really loud and they hang up. My favorite I say 'this Hong Kong stew shop Hong Kong what number u want to orda' and they curse and hang up. Works every time
I've noticed that when it's a robo dialer, there's a delay between the time you answer and the actual person picks up. As soon as I hear this delay, I hang up.
I just don’t answer calls whose number I don’t recognize. Telemarketers don’t usually leave voice mail msgs.
Same here...
I swear most people think there's a federal law that forces them to answer every call...
There isn't...
If someone doesn't have my explicit permission to call me, I don't answer.
Case closed...
I just have my voicemail as bass boosted fireflies
I like Cheese LOL
Ah, I see. You are a man of culture as well
cheese LOL
When I get those scammer calls I answer " What's your code sir?"
They say " Code???"
I say " Sir, you can not talk to anybody at this end unless you have " the code".
They hung up and never call back.
My recent strategy is that if I pick up a call from an unknown number I just don't say anything for a bit. If there's silence for a couple of seconds I know I'm in a queue for the next scammer & hang up.
Oh.. I'm silent the entire time. I wait until someone starts tallking, and I still say nothing. Confuses the fuck out of them and they just hang up.
Who else is watching this, despite not having this problem?
I am...but just as a reminder how unlucky Americans are about this.
I'm American and I don't have this problem. I get the feeling people are doing something to bring it to themselves. Kinda like computer viruses.
Anthony Brusca I kinda got screwed in to it when I got a new number and the person who had the phone before signed up for a lot of things and had lots of debt
@@griffinphillips761 My number the only unwanted phone calls were people trying to text the girl before me. One tried to be sexual and one was a group chat. Guess I lucked out.
I
To bad for anyone who has to answer because you get calls from customers you cannot use this idea... Also if this is such a good idea here is a better one, just record that disconnect message straight to your voicemail.
yeah ive thought about that. i settled with forwarding to the rejection hotline.
L. A. McDonough
867-53O9
@@Starlite123 Tommy Tutone, Jenny.
I've been using this exact same disconnect video on you tube for over a year to answer calls coming to my business number (a land line)... I STILL get the calls "your google listing is not verified" and "your vehicle's warranty has expired" among others. Just a couple weeks ago I got the scam call from the "IRS" saying they were going to cancel my social security number if I did not pay them $10,000 in gift cards immediately. That was a live person calling, and I had fun with that person. Kept them on the phone playing their game for almost 20 minutes. The longer you keep them on the line, the less people they can call. I wish there was a way to stop the spoofing of caller ID, these scammers must be stopped.
It's best not to answer the calls at all. However, this is a pretty smart idea 4 some who wish to use it. I just wish that cell phone companies would stop blocked calls from leaving voicemails.
If the call isnt answered or goes to voicemail it gets dispositioned as try again later
I used to do that too, but in November last year I answered a "withheld number" and found out that I had won a £6000 holiday to Perth Western Australia and in the Ts & Cs it mentioned that if they couldn't contact me within seven days then they would pass the prize to the next person to answer.
You dont need to do any of this- just record that tone to your out going message- done. Works awesome!
I usually take the phone, and start to sell stuff to them... like a course in telemarketing.
Alexander Bjerkvik how do you do it?
new companies arrive all the time, they buy old lists,
this method is not only not effective at all, they will call you anyway, sometimes, they even mistakingly call you back up because some programs they use, call 5 lines at a time, first one to pick up gets the phonecall connected, rest are just a silent ghost call with noone on the other end and leaves you wondering, why someone calls you but doesnt say anything.
When an unknown number calls my phone, I answer, but say nothing. If the scammer talks first, I still say nothing.
I have a call blocker called Truecall and have programmed it so that if an 'unknown' number calls, it answers and plays the Intercept tone (the three beeps) to fool the autodialler. Problem is, call centres have cottoned on to people doing this trick, and many are disabling the tone detector! In the 1990s I was being plagued by wrong number calls on my modem line (the number was one digit away from a local solicitor) so we kept getting calls for them! I put an answer machine on the line that answers with "sorry you have the wrong number" lol
I just quietly lay the phone down and tie them up as long as possible. Maybe that saves a phone call to you.
I get these about my "factory warranty running out". And it goes to an actual person. So when he/she sys my warranty is about to expire, I ask on which vehicle. I say I have five. And then it goes downhill from there. For them. Like my Ferrari? Porsche? Studebaker? All of which I do not own. So make it fun and they usually stop calling
I get that, and they always hang up on me when I say I have an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme :(
It's also fun saying something like, "Great! My 1973 Ford truck has 468,000 miles on it and it hasn't been working very well. An extended warranty on it would be fantastic!"
I have BT call guardian on my phone and I don't even get a clue about a call from the spammers. Only the callers I want get through, otherwise they have to announce who they are and why are they calling. If I don't want the call I just press one key and they are blocked forever. Simples, as they say.
It's annoying as hell though and can bite you in the ass. Had people using stuff like that when I worked at Pizza Hut. It tried texting me to make me provide info. Customer just didn't get their pizza. Nobody has time for that crap.
What is a "BT"? Thank you
Syd Potter In this instance it stands for British Telecom. The company which runs the U.K. landline system.
Thanks from the US
Doesn't help us in the USA. I looked it up and found it's a service offered in the U.K.
In the UK we get calls from insurance companies that call to say that their records show you were in a car accident. If I get these calls I just shout down the phone. "YOU UTTER BASTARDS, WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THE FUNERAL YET!" The first time I tried this. The call staff started spluttering then apologised and hung up. Two minutes later a call from someone claiming to be from the same company but a supervisor apologising for the call at this clearly difficult time and assuring us that my number was being removed from the database. That was 3 years ago and not had a call since. 😉
I like to act like a detective who is investigating the murder of the person the company is calling and start asking questions of the caller as if he or she is a suspect.
Another solution, which is less hassle, is to go into settings and select to only receive calls that are on your contacts. Anyone not on contacts will be automatically blocked. If you're expecting a call from a company then get their number in advance and add it as a contact or temporarily allow all incoming calls on the day you're expecting the call.
When you change your number, you’re just getting someone’s old number who was on a telemarketers list.
I think I gave a caller a mental break down once.
I just answer and stay silent
Yup, that's what I do.
they still call back :(
my xiaomi can "block unknown'
and that's great!
no sound, no notification, nothing.
yeeeeeeeeah
They have unlimited numbers. Then you just have a loop of blocked calls.
I answer a number I don't recognize saying excitedly, "Your caller number 5, your on the air...."
Love it! Haven’t had a message left on my answering machine in 2 weeks.
A friend of mine answers and says to them ‘hold on one minute....’ and leaves the phone and the caller waiting forevermore
you gonna burn in helll i hate you we just trying to do our freakin job
BIG HINTS: DON’T BLOCK THE NUMBERS! I had been doing this for about a week and the number of calls weren’t going down. I would usually receive 9-13 calls A DAY on the weekdays. Then I realized before I started using the recording I had blocked many, many spam numbers that had called me. Some had called me multiple times. I unblocked them all because if they were calling me again then that means they weren’t being tricked by my recording. On Thursday I unblocked them all. On Friday I received 18 spam calls! I managed to answer most of them with the recording. On Saturday I received only 1 spam call when I received about 8 calls last Saturday.
Doing this has also drastically decreased the number of spam texts I get too.
Also, you don’t have to bother with a recorder that has a headphone jack. I just bought a cute recorder that’s meant to record personalized messages for plush animals. I can carry it around with me everywhere for whenever they call. And I used the exact same recorded message from that video shown in this video!
ALSO, don’t think making this recording your voicemail will help either. When the voicemail comes on there is a sound preceding the recording. The bots recognize that sound as the voicemail, and therefore a real number, regardless of whatever you recorded as your voicemail.
Just have a fog-horn ready and as soon as you recognise a telemarketer's patter, blow it full into the receiver for a full minute. You will find that usually works a treat!
Crazies will just call you back to get even, worse, sell your number to others.
Good for you @Stephen Burton .... I like this very much. Rock on!
Telemarketing should be outlawed and banned by federal and state laws. I think this is a reasonable bipartisan agreement that should happen. Make it illegal. I've never heard of anyone that's ever bought anything from these ripoff artists. It's just a waste of everyone's time.
Unfortunately, with the elections coming up, politians will be the worst offenders.
Telemarketing has been illegal quite a few times... the issue is that MOST telemarketers are outside the country.
Salty Steel yeah about fucking time too and they'll have to find REAL jobs then
Salty Steel, Are you KIDDING? Just because you are bright enough to not buy from them or be scammed doesn't mean that millions of other people (especially elderly retired folks) fall for the spiels. It happens more often than you think. If no one ever bought from them or fell for the scams they would be out of business, permanently.
Your advice might have made sense a few years ago, but it's useless now. Telemarketers do not maintain "lists" of any kind anymore. They don't care if the number is working or not, answered or not, gullible or not, because they call every possibly valid number from 000 000-0000 to 999 999-9999. So your scheme will make work for you, but be ignored by the telemarketers. Too bad, dude -- I'm as annoyed by them as you are, but this isn't the solution, it's just one you have convinced yourself will work. It won't.
Also, blocking specific numbers won't work, either. Many telemarketers use a "fake" number only once, and after they have called every possible number in an area, never use it again.
BULLSPIT! there is SCIENCE in how they make calls. Sequence dialing was used back in the day when people had home phones. Nowadays, everything goes into a computer, so tones will often work. Sequence dialers might exist, yes, but they would be idiots.
The copious number of calls I have logged and recorded in the past 5 years, and the info gathered from them, suggests otherwise. Calling every possible number (whether random or sequentially) explains it pretty well.
As someone who has worked in the "tele" world...I can tell you that they buy batches of numbers from a third party data provider then they are put into call center software like CallCenterNOW. Or your number could be captured with a system called "Automatic Number Identification" or ANI. That's if you ever dial any 800 888 900 numbers...Signing up for a free vacation...Automatic dialing devices...Credit Requests...Requests for Information...Donations...so many ways so little time ;)
I'm sure that was the case a few years ago. No longer. It's much more cost effective to dial every possibly-valid number than to target specific numbers from a special list. Why pay for numbers if you dial every one? Since the rate of return is extremely low, the only way to make any money is volume. Lotsa volume. Even at the expense of calling numbers most would think are hopeless (like mine). Even hopeless numbers change hands, and maybe they'll get lucky with a new owner.
Try just a couple of months ago..I guess it depends on who you work for
We got a Call Blocker from Argos three years ago, you set up your family and friends on the Stared List, this allows them to connect, The system comes with thousands of Cold Caller numbers, we used to get at least 10 to 30 calls a week, now None. The system runs a message advising the caller that their client is not available, if they leave there number they will advise their client, who can ring the caller back. In fact the number is added to the Blocked List. First saw this device on a BBC programme.
Love your idea
NO NO have fun with them, telemarketer calls me about a credit card, I say: I sure could use that card, just got out of prison a week ago, ya think I could get one? They hang-up......
reminds me of a classic story, "telemarketers nightmare":
"this is the FBI. the person who are calling has recently been murdered, so you are now a murder suspect."
Saying "Alcoholic Anonymous" works too.
In India we have an app called truecaller (which is a Swedish app) that automatically blocks telemarketing calls once some 100 users put it in thier block list. This just doesn't works with telemarketing but also with annoying real people who are obnoxious enough to be blocked by so many people. I don't know why but my American friend have never heard of this app
I just made a ringtone of dead silence. I assigned all the numbers in my contact list my usual ringtone. Then I set the default ringtone to the silent one. Anyone not in my contact list, I never hear the phone ring. Anyone in my contact list, I hear the phone ring. They can call all they want, I'll never answer because my phone never rings. Only drawback is if someone legit needs to call you and they're not on the contact list, it won't ring, in which case, they can leave a message and they'll get called back. Most spam/telepests don't leave a message, and the recorded ones just get deleted anyway.
I live alone and it's nice to talk to someone, anyone, even telemarketers.
So what are used to do back in the day before I had a real job or children, as I would sit there and say how long I could keep them on the phone with telling them somewhat believable bull crap. I will tell him that I lived in a compound and that we weren’t allowed to buy food for example, because the over lord master wouldn’t let us eat anything but Rice except for on Thursday when we could have chicken wings. It was hilarious and funny they would be laughing but I would keep it straight so they thought I was serious. I’ve had people on the phone for 2030 minutes at times and finally they would try to beg off the call, and that’s when I would really try to keep them on the call to see how long I could keep them on the line. It was a good time everybody was a winner
What an absolutely ingenious idea, give this man a Nobel prize
we say this call is being recorded please speak clearly. they almost every time hang up
I just use an app to block anything that isn't in my phone book. It goes directly to voice mail, and if it's important they'll leave a message 🤷♀️
This topic came up on a "Seinfeld" episode in the 1990's---------------Jerry said, "I'm sorry, this isn't a good time------Tell you what: You give me YOUR home phone number, and I'll call You when it's good for Me."
another way to do it is to set your default ring tone to an empty sound file and adding ringtones to your contacts.
Yeah lemma just carry around a recorder forever and bast that sound in the middle of a store or at work.
Hmmm... but what if you added just the tone to the beginning of your voicemail message?
I just say " why are you calling ? just keep watching for the cops I'll be out when I get the blood cleaned up"
I keep getting the calls " we have been informed you were in an accident that wasn't your fault ". I just play with them and say, yes how did you know ? It only happened 5 minutes ago. I didn't mean to kill anyone it was an accident the car just ran over him like 3 times
Can you help I havant contacted the police yet. Think I might just throw the body in the boot.....hello hello hmm hung up
Or just set your voice mail as it
Yeah, because that job interviewer that was offering you a job was a real PITA.
Give this guy an award
I don't answer numbers I don't know, and my voicemail says you will be blocked off you don't leave a message.
I used to do that too, but in November last year I answered a "withheld number" and found out that I had won a £6000 holiday to Perth Western Australia and in the Ts & Cs it mentioned that if they couldn't contact me within seven days then they would pass the prize to the next person to answer.
It may work with some of them but not all. I think this guy was just trying to advertise that recording device lol. I worked as a telemarketer for a couple of companies and some of them as soon as you hear an answering machine make you just classify that call as something like "didn't answer" or whatever, and ofc your number stays on the system. We didn't even have the time to hear what the answering machine had to say in most of them since those had to be dispositioned in under 5 seconds. So, no, it won't work. It is easier to simply ask them to remove you from their call list or you will press charges. This does work. Some may think it doesn't because you keep getting calls, but that's only because there are different call center companies that get the same leads to call them, so let's say 5 different call centers want to sell you or enroll you into the same thing, you'd need to ask to be taken off the call list around 5 times for this reason. It's not that they don't actually remove you, it's just that different call centers try to contact you and they didn't know you asked the other ones to remove you.
If you answer and just say ok. No matter what just say "ok" they get super pissed
It may backfire you know..😂
Oh I know but they get so salty it makes me happy.
I worked in a call center as IT and I operated the dialer. it understands the phone rang and was picked up. that sound is also largely ineffective vs almost all automated systems as the dialer understood the number actually rang so therefore isn't disconnected, furthermore if your on one list you will be re sold over and over regardless of the call disposition set by the agents.
Makes no sense, A lot of switches like 5ESS or DMS100 will provide Ringback before intercept!
Just tell them that you are recording the call............they hang up a lot
Love those Rockem Sockem Robots in the background.
I had one, computer voice asked if I'd had an accident! I said yes and waited for the 'supervisor' he asked for my reg of car! I said I wasn't driving a car! I'd had a takeaway and it went straight through me! That kind of accident! He hung up! I tried to ring bk, but the number apparently doesn't exist!? Another time I told them a fuel tanker hit me and I died in a ball of 26000 liter ball of fire! I was told I could get compensation!
I want to record a fax hiss, that has a hidden computer code which tells the telemarketer's automatic dialer to "End call, and erase all data from your memory bank"
(If an automatic dialer would respond to the command of "self destruct", then I would use that.)
I have a modem tone recorded onto a little black box about the size of a box of matches, smaller than that thing. When the telemarkerters start speaking I take it out of my pocket, put it on top of the phone, and push the go button. I rarely get TM calls now, they usually dump a modem off their call lists. The other trick I pull is to turn my HF radio to 14.236, the WW slow scan television frequency. It also sounds like a modem, but a typical transmission lasts about 2-3 minutes.
I've used IRS, Fraud division..."Oh thank god you called. I'm out of towels and blood is everywhere." Either one works.
There is a phone app called robokiller, this app has files that will play to the caller, one of these recordings is the disconnected number message. Plus it blocks thousands of known numbers automatically and its constantly updated.
Can't work for spoofed numbers though. That is what their M.O. is now.
Don't answer your phone! The world will continue to go around.
Or stays still 🤔😉
suicide also--same result
@@Sion.Ryan.Green. Yeah, by the way, get vaccinated or go live in Moscow.
I just started playing a looped recording with elevator music! It says: (elevator music) "We're sorry, but the office is now closed. Please call back during regular business hours Monday through Friday from 8 am to 8 pm. If your matter is urgent, please call the exchange. Thank you." (Elevator music continues and recording loops again). This WORKS!! No one wants to talk to a business recording and they hang up IMMEDIATELY!!!
"Ya wanna hear the most annoying noise in the world?"
*_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_*
lmfao
That should about cover it...
Amy Carter WHY are YOU running?!?!?!?!!!
I have a video cued up most of the time when I'm working on the computer and they call. I can just open up youtube and play this obnoxious sound video.
I rarely get them but they can be annoying (especially your cars extended warranty) especially when I'm in a game on Xbox that I can't pause. I dont know how to do this but I thought about creating a line when I'm in the Middle of something that says: "Hello and thank you for calling (my name). If this is an emergency call, please press 0. Otherwise, please hold (inserts on hold music).
This is a sales pitch
Read through the comments and you will see better ways to slow or stop the calls
it's not a sales pitch. you can use any small recorder, not just the one he suggested.
I did this exact same thing 30 years ago with a micro casette recorder , long before the digital ones came out ... we had telemarketers back then too , and they always called at dinner time.
That's a whole lot of trouble. Just do not answer any unrecognized call, then afterwards enter the number into your phone's blocked call list. Like it was mentioned here, if you answer, it validates your number as a working one. Why can't people fight the urge to always answer unrecognized numbers?I've used the above method for years and rarely receive any more unwanted calls.
The last call I got from a telemareter,, just as he was about to start his pitch, I asked how he got my number, it's on the 'do not call' register, and without another word...he hung up. Otherwise, I let them start the, "You've win a Range Rover" type crap, and just hang up. I have a flip phone, so you still get the old phone slamming down sound. But NEVER answer a question with the word YES, because some companies have been known to record that, then paste it into a tale where they ask you "Do you want to sign up with this company".
The recorder idea is good but...if you have to check to see if it's Auntie Mildred whose name isn't in your address book is calling to leave you in her will....well, you have a problem.
Yes, it's precisely this "fear of missing out" that keeps the scammers in business.
This can work, however on most new telemarketing systems it won't. Many times these scammers computer systems dial any number whether it is good or not. The tri-tone thay you hear at the beginning of a disconnected number message was a tone that was invented to allow Telecom computers to identify numbers that were inactive. The tri-tone is really what removes your number but it also has to be clear and the correct pitch in order for a system to recognize. It also has to be heard by a system that recognizes it such as another Telecom system. Many new robodialers are not a standardized Telecom system and therefore will not recognize the tri-tone.
I play with them
Me." Hello!"
Them. Telemarketer blah blah blah.
Me. "This is a secure line of a military site. Before we go any further I need to know your name and company name, and address. The FBI and Military Police will be around in a few days and will want to know how you obtained this number. Just hold a second while I get a pen.... OK! Name?.........." If I get that far, that part gives it some office normalcy and they bite and hangup.
Or anywhere between "The FBI and.... Just hold a second. " they ... "click".
Great fun but they don't call back. Others fill in and sometimes I just say "City Police" or "City Morgue" or "City Cemetery"( not a lot of carpet cleaning or furnace cleaning needs on that one.)
They are bored.
"I'm sitting on the sofa naked..... Would you like to be my telephone friend?" Some figure it right away, laugh and hang up. Most just hang up.
Get creative and play with them, they get completely dumb founded.
There is a guy on the net that records his calls where he pretends to be a police detective on site investigating a murder. Wants to know the same; name, company, address but he intersperses "Sargent be sure to get good pics of the shotgun blood spatter in the other room too. " goes on and on "how they know the victim" and more. Google some search term and you will find him. He has a many characters, great ideas to get your creative troll juices going.
Yeah I saw that trick about the murder investigation. The pretend cop immediately assumed that the telemarketer is a person of interest and begins to interrogate the telemarketer asking for his personal details ect. Is hilarious.
It's Tom Mabe
Chapman yeah that's him.
When I was serving at Great Lakes Naval Base, one of my jobs was to answer phones while standing watch.. I would always answer, "This is Petty Officer (Insert Name) this is a secure line, please state your name and request. I would assume that would be enough to scare someone..
My friend set his voicemail message as this "disconnected" message to get his boss to stop calling him on off hours for him to come in early and on days off. It worked, thankfully.
By far the best video on RUclips right now !!
TLDR version - pick up, hang up, we probably won't call you again.
So having been a telemarketer in Finland for a summer job selling a magazine subscription, I know what it's like. I always tried to be polite and most people were usually nice. What I'll tell you is that my company at least, had a policy that we had to pitch it at least 3 times to customers before we were allowed to give up and since our calls were recorded, we didn't want to risk being fired for not doing it. I was also told by one of my managers that there was an actual way of getting off the list, and you had to pay something like 10 euros to a company and they would do it, however after telling that to 2 customers, my manager told me off and told me not to do it again. Also, in my company at least, the employees themselves were not able to remove you from the list. We didn't have such an option as the list was taken from a third party.
Honestly, the best thing to do is just to hang up the phone. Most places will probably have an automated system, so once you hang up it will just dial the next number. However, if you don't pick up the phone at all, it will often just put you to the back of the queue and will call you some time later, so pick up and then hang up once you've realised it's an advert.
Totally off point, once I accidentally swore when I was on the phone (wasn't at the customer, I just said something because I misspelt her address or something). Thank god for two things, that the lady was really nice about it and that it wasn't caught by management. It was actually eating into my lunch break, so I was the last one in the office meaning nobody heard it. That could have gotten me into trouble.
Share the Gospel message to them.
@LordKellthe1st But ant real person will quit calling them when you keep asking "Do you know where you're going to spend eternity?" I'm Christian, and even I can't stand most of the ones that open up with things like that.
Years ago I tried to get the caller to join a cult I made up on the spot. He got really offended when I mentioned the authority figure in the house chained their family to the wall while they at work. I was complete BSing but I found out years later there actually is a cult like that.😱
If you're using Google Voice, either as your service, or as a destination for voicemail, you can set up a separate 'anonymous' voicemail box for incoming calls from 'anonymous' numbers. This voicemail box can have the 3 tones plus an optional voice outgoing message, perhaps 'you have reached my voicemail for anonymous callers. I don't know when I'm going to check this mailbox, so if you wish to get a better response please call from a phone with valid caller-id.' You can also redirect calls from known spammers to that voicemail box.
You probably want to do this so that you can add address book entries for specific numbers that you actually do want to get calls from, but which might show up as anonymous, say your local library or pharmacy notifying you that your request or order is available.
And from time to time have a scan through the voice-text translations of the calls in your Anonymous voicemail box to see if any are things that you are interested in rather than thos wonderful calls about hail damage inspections, etc.
If you are in the United States sign up on the national do not call registry. When I did It stopped 90% of telemarketing calls after 30 days.
That doesn't work for long. Work on plan #2, you'll need it after a while.
Here's a Plan B for ya: Set your ringtone to dial-up. The machines at the company will think it's a fax machine and add you to the "numbers that don't work" list.
@@flightoftheraven good idea I'll set that up as a plan b
I found out from another site, that if you go to your phones, settings,notifications, "Do Not Disturb", turn it on, allow exceptions for alarms,calls from contact numbers. it works perfectly. Only calls that come through are those in my phone book, and the other calls don't ring. They go to voicemail. No message, no callback...
47 Telemarketers don't like this. Hahahaha!
AKA dislike bots and people who didn't like the video.
Automated telephone callers have a very long pause before the speak - long enough for you to say "Hello" twice. If they don't speak after your first "hello" start pressing the Hash key (# makes a tone like a machine answering fax/whatever) and repeat pressing it till they hang up. They will take your phone number off the call list. worked a charm for me!
Skip buying the electronic box. Use two cell phones and voice record the "this # cant be reached" from youtube, then record it on to your voice mail . Haha.