Re: Cold call firms flaunt rules that block telemarketers [telecom]]

Per snipped-for-privacy@and-this-too.mishmash.com:

That was exactly my experience until maybe a year ago. Count your blessings. These could be the "good old days"...

I can't think of anything... but that doesn't mean there's nothing.

No active business. None, although I once did have a business at the land line number - but that was 10+ years ago. Still, a few people respond to my "Did you check the DNC list challenge" with "Well, you're on our list of businesses". But that is such a small percent that I don't think of it as significant. But still, I would caution anybody who registers a business that the phone number they supply will effectively be exempted from any DNC list basically forever.

Yes. But, best case, that would only affect a specific solicitor - and it definitely wouldn't help against those robocalls about one's credit card. They're getting *really* bad.

After calling their attention to the fact that this number is on both federal and state DNC lists, I just ask them the questions that the Penna DNC reporting system wants answered - like "What is your name?", "What is your phone number?"... and so-on. Usually they hang up before I get too far. One guy was pretty quick. He interjected "How about the Do Not Care List?" and then hung up.

Somebody else observed that, just by answering the phone, one could be increasing the value of a given list just by confirming that somebody is there that answers.

Next thing I am going to try is prepending the SIT tones to both my answering machine's and my cell phone's message.

While I am on both my state and federal list, I still get plenty of telemarketing calls. They are blatantly illegal. They imply they're from a business I've now deal with or have dealt with when in fact they are not.

Many of the calls show up as 'out of area' on *69. (see below).

Not answering the phone doesn't help. Their machines just keep calling until contact is made.

Recently I received a telemarketing call for a service I don't even use, though they claimed I did. I asked for the name and address of the caller. For the name she said "Discount Center", and refused to give out the address "for security reasons". She refused to get a supervisor, then hung up on me.

As mentioned, they block their caller-ID. The telco offers a "Call Trace" service (*57), but it costs $5.00 per use and also is emphatically intended for criminal threatening calls only, not telemarketing problems.

Some telemarketers claim to be doing a survey--which is legal--but then they turn it into a sales pitch.

Someone mentioned VOIP gateways. IMHO, the nation's telephone system has to have better control over who they allow to have such gateways into the telephone network. Unfortunately, legimtiate businesses use this technology, too, and would protest anything that would raise their costs. (as discussed here before).

I am dreading this fall when the political organizations and third- party advocacy groups start flooding me with calls. Those kinds of calls are perfectly legal as the law provided an exemption for them.

I am going to try to put on an SIT tone on my answering machine message.

I'm on the list. I get several calls per week.

Most of them are obviously crooks. The obvious example is the guy with a strange accent who wants to fix my Windows box.

Other common examples are Heather from Account Services Attention Public Utility Customers Carpet cleaners

I get a few calls from charities and a few claiming to be doing marketing surveys. "We're not selling anything" from the local newspaper. Right...

So in some sense, it's working as I don't get a lot of calls from legitimate businesses. On the other hand, it's not working as well as I'd like, and from the repeat pattern of many of the bad guys, it sure would be nice if somebody went after them.

How about the ones that want to help me with my home mortgage? I don't get many telemarketer calls, but for some reason I keep getting these, even though I'm not having any problem paying my mortgage.

I used to get calls from Heather at work.