Blocking Junk Calls [telecom]

Over the last weekend I had to replace my old HP 4200 All In One printer with a newer HP 4500 series/ As I programmed it I noticed that there was an option to place phone number on it to block Junk Fax, I wondered if it would work on just a regular call. I place a number and sure enough the machine rand once and on the start of the second ring hunk up the line. This will end my junk calls that I have had to just ignore or use my very old Radio Shack CID box that fails at times.

I have noticed more fake CID and it does no good to be on the Do Not Call List, there appears to be little enforcement and none on calls from the Moon!!!

Reply to
Steven
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I suspect that spammers are accessing the Do Not Call list in order to get a list of live phone numbers to call!

Reply to
Richard

That is exactly what has been happening in Canada. The only hope is if you have not registered with the do no call list and it only stops the Johnny-come-latelies if you remove your selves from the "LIST"

Reply to
Leon Whyte

How come I almost never get telemarketing calls?

I've been on that list for a couple of years on my current number. I had the same experience with my previous numbers.

Fred

At 02:05 PM 8/25/2010, you wrote:

Reply to
Fred Atkinson

That wouldn't surprise me.

I handle my voice calls this way: If the caller blocks their number as "Restricted", I'll answer it because it's just someone who has blocked their Caller ID. If it reads "Unknown" or has some strange numbers such as

000-000-0000 or part of a number, I'll let it roll to voicemail, since it's almost guaranteed to be a junk call.

Likewise, if it's an out of area area code (unless I know the person) I'll also let it roll -- this is doubly true if it's a Florida area code. Chances are the caller will not leave a message.

If I notice a pattern -- the same number used over and over, I'll store the number, label it as "junk", and give it a special ring tone, a pleasant musical interlude. Thus, I've just turned junk phone calls into pleasant music.

I pity the person who has a fax machine. The last company I worked for, about

8 years ago, made the mistake of buying a fax machine instead of using a fax card in a computer. They wasted about half their fax paper receiving junk faxes.
Reply to
David Kaye

The FCC does some enforcement in this area. Generally, based on numerous complaints, they send a citation notifying the offender of the rule. If the complaints continue, they issue a fine. They've issued some large fines, but I don't know if they've collected.

For FCC website documents on the TCPA, see

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Harold

Reply to
Harold Hallikainen

The FTC does go after people who blast fax ads. They have a reporting form on their web site.

Reply to
Robert Neville

I've been registered on the DNC list since the start, and I rarely get any junk calls. Maybe on the order of one a year.

Now, if the people that we have donated things to and the like, or my bank trying to upsell me, or, etc. etc. just wouldn't call quite so often as they do....

Reply to
Doug McIntyre

I am flooded with junk calls. Unfortunately they are all legal: opinion surveys, charity solicitations, and political ads. The political ads are quite volumnious during election season, and also duplicated. For example, on election day I will inundated with calls to go out and vote and they don't care when I tell them they've called me already. They also used to call for mother to vote even though she wasn't registered and even well after she passed on. I was so frustrated I was tempted to tell one of the callers that she needed a ride and give them the cemetary address to get her. In hindsight, given their lack of respect for me, maybe they deserved to be sent on a wild goose chase.

They are persistent. I notice that if I don't answer the phone the robot will call again and again until I do answer.

I told a charity I used to support I would not donate to them as a result of their telephone solitications; I sent them a written letter saying so. Still telephones me.

In the rare event a human calls me instead of a recording, they ignore my request to take my name off their list But usually it's a recorded sales pitch.

However, I normally hang up immediately when I discover a soliticing call. One thing I've noticed is that when I answer the phone there is a moment of silence after I say hello. Then I hear the background noise of the caller's "boiler room"--this tips me off. Lastly is the caller, usually misprouncing my name. I always hang up by that point. You'd think they get the message by this point.

I only got one commercial sales call. The recording started off "we've done business together in the past" which gets by the 'do not call' restriction. However, I never had done business with that company.

I am annoyed that the Do Not Call lists expire; they should be permanent.

I am angry at the many exceptions the law provides. And the politicians wonder why the citizens have no respect for them. Well, when they pass laws exempting themselves, what should they expect?

Reply to
Lisa or Jeff

One of my friends got numerous junk faxes and notified the FCC about every one, but it didn't seem to affect them.

Reply to
Jim Haynes

No, of course not, the boiler room people are paid by the call. Before you hang up, you need to say the magic phrase "Put me on your do not call list." Sometimes I follow that with "Can you do that?" Even organizations not subject to the national DNC list are required to keep their own DNC lists.

They don't expire. See

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R's, John

Reply to
John Levine

I believe the DNC is now permanent.

I had one insurance agent that would call everyday, I told them not to call, sent letters not to call, I even went to their office to tell them. What stopped it was my putting a Demon Dialer set to call all of their phone numbers every 5 seconds. After that not one call from them. I also complained to every company he sold insurance for.

Reply to
Steven

Which sometimes leads me, after initial pleasantries, to say something like, "Oh, yeah, hang on just a second, I've got to turn off the stove (radio, fan, whatever) here . . . ", then just quietly set down the handset and go back to what I was doing.

But, maybe the experienced boiler room types are onto that one . . .

Reply to
AES

I submitted an obviously fraudulent one to the FCC a couple of weeks ago - use of the Delta Airlines logo without permission, pseudo "Memo from HR format" about a great new vacation benefit, etc.

At least I did get a letter back from the FCC today acknowledging the submittal.

Reply to
Robert Neville

The FCC does levy fines against some of the violators. See

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Reply to
Richard

Your annoyance is _years_ out of touch with reality. The national DNC list -is- permanent.

If you don't like living with the limits imposed by the Constitution. you, unfortunately , have rather limited alternatives.

the alternative to 'what we have' is something that *WOULD* be challenged in the courts and would -not- survive that challenge. Whereupon we would have -no- protection at all.

Reply to
Robert Bonomi

I'm on the DNCL, and it works moderately well for the calls it's supposed to stop (strangers who want to sell me something). But I'm inundated with two types of junk calls: the ones that are legally exempt (charities and political campaigns) and the ones that assume I'm the person who had my phone number years ago (a grade school that places weekly recorded-news-and- announcements calls to parents).

The worst is the health provider Anthem Blue Cross. They have a machine placing automated calls about twice a day trying to reach [a patient I've never heard of]. The machine demands to know if she is available to take the call, and won't hear any answer except yes or no. When I say no, the machine hangs up without giving any name or number I can contact to stop the damn calls! I've tried their web site, but the only number there reaches a salesman who has no idea what to do.

Can anyone suggest a way to stop the calls short of driving down to their nearest office and taking it apart with a sledge hammer?

Reply to
John David Galt

Chane your telephone number.

Reply to
Richard

Have you tried saying "yes?"

-Gary

Reply to
Gary

I recommend that you say YES optionally followed by "that was a lie". From the wording you describe, you didn't say you ARE the person in question. Tell any lie you need to get to a human. If you do get to a human, complain about the constant calling. If you get an automated device spewing private health information, put the call on hold and hope that it thinks it reached the person so it can quit calling. If you do get any private health information, it might be worth tracking down this person and informing them that the insurance company is giving out their private health information.

This problem ought to justify emergency cutoff of telephone service and electrical power of the offender (with missiles).

Reply to
Gordon Burditt

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