Well I guess cold calls are just part of life now .I block most, but every once in awhile If I am expecting a call from an unknown number, I will answer.I usually check the area code,also being aware they have ways to change it to appear to be local.Sometimes they are from across the country & they are just sitting at a computer without knowing anything about my property,they have my number & their mission is to call me every day or so hoping I will give it to them .I have fun with them sometimes & ask if they would like to come bush hog,weed eat,spray roundup, sickle mower around the pond,pick up dead limbs,pay the taxes,& if they still are on the phone I give them a ridiculous price,10 Million American dollars or so ;D
Sometimes I just start pressing numbers on the phone until they hang up.
Other times,I tell them if it was for sale I would have it advertised,& tell them how great our country is...& why I think so until they eventually hang up. Is this wrong? I don't care,I think what they are doing should be against the law ! If it were anyone else it would be considered harassment or stalking.If you call them back they rarely answer, but if they do I ask "were you eating dinner or having family time","will you sell me the house you live in for next to nothing"?
Why not,hello, are you still there?
It makes money or it would stop
The worst part is, I suspect the people doing the calling are just like the folks doing door to door sales, and by that I mean getting paid on commission. Which is why they're so aggressive, and that also means they're getting scammed too.
I don't answer anything unless I know the number. If it's a doctor's office or something, they'll leave a message.
I play with them when I have the time.
Quote from: Cuttyhunker on April 05, 2025, 12:19:35 PMIt makes money or it would stop
The mobile providers can stop it, but same problem. >:D
Sometimes,rarely without thinking I will answer one of those calls while I'm working outside, makes me wanna throw my phone across the field >:(
Someday, when you're playing around with them, you'll press the wrong numbers on your keypad & regret it. I just avoid the creeps by not answering. If you dig deeper you will find that when you actually answer your name goes on to a list that's sold & gets passed around to other nuisance entities.
Been getting texts from "recruiters" that like my resume. That's a relatively new one for me. No resume has been "out there" for many years. A few calls, some at real early AM hours here, which immediately signals probable scammer.
Just tell them that you have been thinking seriously about selling.
Glad they called.
When could they come by to survey, appraise, and make a legitimate offer?
If they show up —- just run them off.
But I really don't have time to mess with them —- so I just hang up.
And not let it bother me.
If we had political leaders who actually cared about passing legislation to outlaw these types of calls —- instead of merely staying in office and collecting graft and huge paychecks, and appeasing their leaders —- that would be a breath of fresh air.
Probably too much to expect. That would take character, courage, and common sense. Not part of their job description.
Since eliminating our landline phone, these robo calls to that number are gone.
And about 2 out of 3 times, Verizon flags the call as "Potential Spam" — so I just ignore it.
Best, Fred
I was thinking that, about our political leaders, but you said it better than I would have.
no politics, gentlemen. just hang up.
When I get these calls, I tell them, that I am just the worker, I inform them that I will get the boss for them, lay the phone down, & go back in about an hour or so,, and close the call. have fun, cheers Don.
For me phone calls and texts are easy because I don`t see them until the end of the day , too late
Now the door knockers ,they are fair game when I am in the mood to play . Most times they show up in the late afternoon while I am trying to drink my first beer . I keep asking the same question over and over to test their paticances . I do ask them if they can read ,because there is a big sign at the stop sign when they entered the neighborhood " No solicitation " Then there is this one , Pay up
I used to get lotta soliciters calling. 99% have stopped, because I tell them "this is an adult care facility, and the phone calls are very disruptive, and nobody here that wants to buy anything". They usually apologize, and I ask them to please remove this number from your call list. They will usually reply saying the number will be removed
Quote from: alantani on April 05, 2025, 04:48:22 PMno politics, gentlemen. just hang up.
Right, Alan —-
This was just a test to see if you were awake. 😄😄
I knew better...
Best, Fred
My cell# is my old landline# big mistake,verizon does mark most all the cold calls potential spam.If its important I know I will get a voicemail,I am not wasting my time anymore with them either.
Last week I went onto official USPS tracking website to check a package I shipped. About 30 minutes later I got a text saying I needed to fix the address on that package or it could return to sender. I knew I had triple checked the address before shipping, and the text I got had 7 different phone numbers on it, so huge red flag. I did not reply and erased that text from my phone.
So beware, someone has hacked into the USPS site and is using it to get personal information
Yup. Two similar experiences with that one. Mine were both mailings to a foreign countries. "US Customs" needed me to open up their text and follow instructions because there was some sort of a problem. They did a pretty good job with making it look realistic.
Give them a blast with an air horn down the phone, makes them jump!!
Quote from: foakes on April 05, 2025, 08:02:11 PMQuote from: alantani on April 05, 2025, 04:48:22 PMno politics, gentlemen. just hang up.
Right, Alan —-
This was just a test to see if you were awake. 😄😄
I knew better...
Best, Fred
::) ::) ::)
I'm just grateful that I'm not them. They must be deeply disappointed to find that their life has devolved to sitting all day in a tiny cubicle talking to people who hate them for calling.
I can't imagine that their sales closure rate is more than one out of fifty calls. It seems unlikey that many of them are getting rich, so why add to their misery?
I have been too busy to play with them lately and just say obscene things about them or their mothers.
How:
These calls originate from overseas, iptelephony. Calls over the internet come to a gateway service provider in US that dials out for these aka provide the connection.
Greed:
The service provider who are connecting these criminal organizations, know very well what they are doing and who they are helping.
But they are getting $$$ so they look the other way.
Volume:
I get around 3 spam calls a day, so say 110m cellphone that is 1/3 of a billion calls a day.
How to stop them:
Not sure if we can sue the service providers, make em liable for emotional distress etc ??
I should sue them for loss of entertainment when they hang up after the recording.
The enablers need to be stopped as they are in the US.
Quote from: Dominick on April 11, 2025, 04:02:09 PMQuote from: foakes on April 05, 2025, 08:02:11 PMQuote from: alantani on April 05, 2025, 04:48:22 PMno politics, gentlemen. just hang up.
Right, Alan —-
This was just a test to see if you were awake. 😄😄
I knew better...
Best, Fred
::) ::) ::)
HA! Nearly every conversational topic ends up having some sort of political aspect to it these days, or at least someone can turn it into such if they feel the need. Even the simplest things like where we live, how we fish, what food we eat, what kinds of appliances we use or prefer, what types of vehicles we drive, etc. It has gotten to the point that every opinion becomes political. ;) That's pretty much ridiculous :o
They should be publicly flogged with a wet noodle,Now they text & I tell them I will gladly accept 10 million American $1 dollar bills.I ask if they would sell me their house for $5 bucks.I can call them back when they are eating or asleep.
Then I mention they are now blocked
& reported to the FCC,it is really
Criminal what they do IMO harassment.
If they ever get political well I think we all know the truth now, if you are logical thinking person,I can help them out
If they have trouble in that regard.
Ted's post #13 sounds like a good idea, but it's also kinda depressing to think that you have to live in a Care Facility to finally escape that crap.
Quote from: Gfish on April 11, 2025, 08:05:49 PMTed's post #13 sounds like a good idea, but it's also kinda depressing to think that you have to live in a Care Facility to finally escape that crap.
Gregg, my wife and I are both senior citizens, and our care facility is our home. We take care of each other, so I'm not fibbing to the phone siloliciter when I tell them they're calling an adult care facility. Amazing how well it worked to stop the calls
Another way they used to call was getting our # out of the phone book, so we changed our phone book listing to my wife's maiden name, and only initials for our first names. As soon as they asked if I was Mr wright, I new it was a soliciter.
Ted, it looks like you married the Wright woman. ;D How many times have you heard that? Dominick