This afternoon I rushed into the room to answer a call on the third
> ring. "This is Tell Nants calling on behalf of Bell South in regards
> to telemarketing. Sorry we missed you. If you have any questions, > call 1-866..."
> It's pretty bad when somebody programs a robot to call homes and hang
> up without saying what it's about.
> The call came from 954 443 9404, which is Technion Communications. On
> the web I've found complaints that their telemarketing robots will
> bombard a Bell South customer day after day. Apparently the law
> doesn't apply if the victim has a business relationship with the
> client, in this case Bell South.
> Two hours later I found a similar message on my answering machine,
> again telling me to call Bell South at the 866 number. Because the
> robot was programmed start speaking immediately, I didn't get the
> whole message. That could lure the victim into calling in case it was
> important. (On the web I've found a document where Technion argues to
> the FCC that the law doesn't apply if they can lure the victim into > making the call.)
> It seems like harassment to me. Can I do anything to stop it?
> Choreboy
Give em a dose of their own medicine:
Get a cheap PC and a cheap modem, and set up a script to repeat dial the 800 number over and over and over, with a recorded message saying that auto dial robots are illegal.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But _your_autodial robot is _also_ illegal. People have tried that, thinking they would not get caught, but they do get caught, and frequently punished, sometimes severely.