Got to love those Telemarketers and Robocalls

[dreamaker]

Well got some intense threads going on, I thought I would share something on a lighter note.  I get calls from telemarketer and robocalls and they make my blood boil. Well I cam across this call blocker and to this point it works awesome, A telemarketer can call you number 1000 and your phone will never ring, until you put then on the white list. If you on the white list, calls go through as normal, like there is no blocker. If the caller is on the black list it will hang up on them. When you call there is a massage for telemarketers telling them to take you for the phone list, that can switch to three different languages.  If I feel like being a dick I switch it to German or Spanish message that will sometimes piss them off.  A monkey could set it up, you just call the people you to get through or just wait till they call and put them on the white list, simple. In each list, white and black it holds 9999 numbers, if you have urgent call coming in, you can one button disable it. You can buy it for $39 on EBay, it is worth its weight in gold. Oh yes it called the Sentry phone blocker.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPY01zyucQI

[..]

OR

https://www.donotcall.gov/

[dreamaker]

That is about as useful as lips on a chicken, I have been on that Do not call list for about 6 years on both of my phone. Get tons of junk calls, they always tell you, they will take you off there list. Ya Right!! One that is real good for this is generally, Card Services, keep telling those dickweeds I don't have any credit cards. Any way the Do not call does not work, and the Tele. Callers are not afraid of the Do Not Call Police.

[Pepmyster]

We have a Do not call list here also. Worked at first, now, tons of calls again. It's a cat and mouse game with them. Very annoying also as many of you guys can relate to.

[bigguy]

Get a silent ringtone. ($1.29 in the Apple store, or if you know how you can make your own.) Set that as your default ring, then assign a different ringtone to the people you want to hear from.

[dreamaker]

Before I had my blocker, I would get in a mischief like mood and take the call. The guy on the other end would be giving me his speech, I would politely interrupt him and ask, if I could ask him a question, he would say yes. I would say in a calm voice, why don't you get off your lazy ass and get a real job and quit annoying good people. Most cases they come unglued and tell they have a good job and then I hang up. Another times in beginning of the call they would say they are recording the call for quality purposes. I would say fine, because I am also recording the call, now this next part I have never figured out their point or reasoning. They responded by saying I could not do that and to turn recording off. I refused and they would hung up. Not that exact response every time, but it did piss them off and didn't make the comfortable. I have even asked them if could ask them a question, they said yes,(bad taste on my part, but I was pissed) I asked questions about their mother and made cracks about her, they responded to me saying, I could not say that, I responded back saying , yes I can, you gave me permission!!.  Any ways it was in bad taste. Fun or payback before the blocker.

[Jess from VA]

I'm on do-not-call but they still do (you have to renew yourself on this list periodically).  I simply do not ever answer the phone if I do not know the caller or if caller ID is blocked.  The idea of this app is interesting, except I know that the telemarketers come at me from many different numbers, with Area Codes from all over the country.

For years, my answering machine said:  Hello, if this is a friend or acquaintance, or someone I'm currently doing business with, go ahead and leave a message, if it's not, take me off your list and do not call back.  If you fail to take me off your list and do call back, I will hunt you down and kill you. 

They often did not leave messages, but the comments overheard by the machine were funny.

[Jess Tolbirt]

i have an entry on my contacts list called spam calls,, when some one calls me i answer and if within 3 seconds they dont say anything i hang up then add that number to my spam list, i set that contact up to directly to voice mail, if they have something to say they can leave a message,,i have about 200 numbers in my spam list and never a voice mail and the calls have almost stopped now...

[..]

To a call phone or a land line?

[Woton]

We've dropped our landline and have gone 100% cell...  Our phones display the number calling, and the name if you have them in your call list.  We answer at our discretion, and have voice mail as a backup for anyone really needing to leave a message.  We DO NOT give out our cell number except to folks we wish to have it, and only to area businesses we trust to not share it.

Telemarketers/Robocalls have been reducted to nearly zero.

If a vendor says they "must have" a phone number we give them our former landline number.  Good luck with that! 

[dreamaker]

I'm on do-not-call but they still do (you have to renew yourself on this list periodically).  I simply do not ever answer the phone if I do not know the caller or if caller ID is blocked.  The idea of this app is interesting, except I know that the telemarketers come at me from many different numbers, with Area Codes from all over the country.

For years, my answering machine said:  Hello, if this is a friend or acquaintance, or someone I'm currently doing business with, go ahead and leave a message, if it's not, take me off your list and do not call back.  If you fail to take me off your list and do call back, I will hunt you down and kill you.  

They often did not leave messages, but the comments overheard by the machine were funny.

I would suggest for you to rethink that message, they take treats very serious these days, even in the event it is a kind of sarcastic humor they will use it against you, be-careful. I also have a phone recorder and have a message, it sounds like I have just answered the phone and give the impression of a bad connection.  After going through back and forth, who am I talking to, it says by the way this is a recording leave your name and number. You want to talk to some piss off people after they realize they have been talking to a phone message.

Wonton, I have had about 2000-3000 Tele. calls since I got the blocker and never rang once. Make me a happy camper.  But what works for you is what is important. I like the land line, it doesn't track where I have been and I am not that important where I have to carry and phone around and be distracted. Cell phones and bikes don't mix, Call me and leave me a message.

[Cliff]

I'm on do-not-call but they still do (you have to renew yourself on this list periodically).  I simply do not ever answer the phone if I do not know the caller or if caller ID is blocked.  The idea of this app is interesting, except I know that the telemarketers come at me from many different numbers, with Area Codes from all over the country.

For years, my answering machine said:  Hello, if this is a friend or acquaintance, or someone I'm currently doing business with, go ahead and leave a message, if it's not, take me off your list and do not call back.  If you fail to take me off your list and do call back, I will hunt you down and kill you. 

They often did not leave messages, but the comments overheard by the machine were funny.

I would suggest for you to rethink that message, they take treats very serious these days, even in the event it is a kind of sarcastic humor they will use it against you, be-careful.

Could always change it to: "hunt you down and take you out.   

[dreamaker]

The place I retired from, my supervisors had a saying, it was, "Be careful what you say, good or bad, they will use it against you" It didn't make sense to me, until the birth of Politically Correctness.  Believe me it is true, you could be rolling the dice on yourself.

[Master Blaster]

I usually just lay the pone down and let them prate on.  To them time is money, and the quicker you hang up the quicker they go to the next number on their list.  Doesn't bother me to waste their time.

[Jess Tolbirt]

To a call phone or a land line?

cell phone,, i didnt know there were still land lines available

[dreamaker]

To a call phone or a land line?

cell phone,, i didnt know there were still land lines available

I respect to technology, On occasion I noticed something, when the technology takes a crap or fails, persons tend to revert back to, what they call old school.  (Back to the basic)The reason why is, its proven it work and mostly every time.

[wiggydotcom]

Simply put, Doors Not Call lists do not work and can be circumvented by certain groups. While I haven't tried the program of the OP, I do use one called Call Control and it works like a champ. It uses both White and Black lists also and can have filters to only let contacts or numbers on the White list through. All other calls, it hangs up on them after one ring or sends them straight to Voicemail, your choice. It will also log the blocked calls. It's a thing of beauty!

[Jess from VA]

I'm on do-not-call but they still do (you have to renew yourself on this list periodically).  I simply do not ever answer the phone if I do not know the caller or if caller ID is blocked.  The idea of this app is interesting, except I know that the telemarketers come at me from many different numbers, with Area Codes from all over the country.

For years, my answering machine said:  Hello, if this is a friend or acquaintance, or someone I'm currently doing business with, go ahead and leave a message, if it's not, take me off your list and do not call back.  If you fail to take me off your list and do call back, I will hunt you down and kill you.  

They often did not leave messages, but the comments overheard by the machine were funny.

I would suggest for you to rethink that message, they take treats very serious these days, even in the event it is a kind of sarcastic humor they will use it against you, be-careful.

Could always change it to: "hunt you down and take you out.  

I ran that message for almost 6 years.  I had a couple threaten to turn me in (to whom, they didn't say).  I said.... go ahead and turn me in, but don't call back...... or I'll hunt you down and kill you.

I took it off the machine about the time I retired 4 years ago.

Now it says:      You know what to do and when to do it..... beep.  The shorter your message, the more dead air will exist before a telemarketer tries to pick up, the easier it is to ID them as telemarketer calls.  There is almost never any message (but there are a few).

But there's one friend who calls, and after my message says:  Wait a minute.  I don't know what to do. What am I supposed to do?  I need more instructions.  Can you please repeat the instructions?  My memory is no good, and I've forgotten your previous instructions. And on and on.  He's a corksucker.  LOL

[old2soon]

If the name or number is not on my call list I DO NOT answer. I have NEVER had a robo call or telemarketer leave a voice mail!   I have the minutes to eff with them just don't have the inclination.   WHEN I still had my land line   had way more of those calls then I ever had on my cell.   Can NOT for the life of me think of one cursed thing I'd want from a telemarketer!   RIDE SAFE.

[dreamaker]

My problem is, on many occasions I would be doing things or indisposed and running to the phone, because I thought it may be a family member. I have some family in poor health, so that is why I got the Sentry blocker, so when the phone rings, I know it is someone I want to talk to.  Other wise I don't get bothered, don't have to look or check anything, just continue what I am doing. On this unit it gives a message in three languages, I put it on German message.