SCAM So many people care

[SlipperySlope]

Since I was expecting a service type call today I had to answer the phone. Although my family doesn't care ,I am so lucky that Amy at Medical services is so concerned about me that she called 3 times on 3 different numbers within an hour this am. Then the car warranty folks were anxious that I am unprotected in my car maintenance. Finally ,my beloved grandson called me talking breathlessly and hung up when I informed him I didn't have a grandson. I really feel for those who are mentally incapacitated and have to deal with this garbage. I normally don't answer my phone but I was expecting a call and didn't know where it could come from. This doesn't count the 3 calls that did show spam risk on them.

 

[AlfaMan]

My wife has a neat little trick to deal with calls that come in on our landline at the house. First off; NOBODY we know has the number; if you can't reach us on the cells you aren't going to reach us.
But the home landline rings all day long. Nothing but junk calls.......... Wife picks up the receiver, then picks up the little air horn (available at party stores for next to nothing) , puts it to the receiver and presses the button for a good 5 second blast.

Needless to say they hang up immediately. And they probably need hearing aids after calling our home phone.

 

[Faroe]

I would happily blow someone's ears out, but most of ours are recordings.

 

[SlipperySlope]

When DH was alive he happened to know a few Indian words which he used to tell the Indian callers. One of them was an ugly name for elephant boy. He would also tell them to get a real job. I just hang up but he would say that they annoy me so I'll annoy them. I sure miss him! Most of them are recordings now though.

 

[Krayola]

I normally don't answer my phone but I was expecting a call and didn't know where it could come from.

Same here. I am too cheap to pay for caller ID on my land line so I have no idea who is calling. If I am expecting a call, I have to pick up. But the vast majority of the time, I let it go to the answering machine and they hang up.

 

[Southside]

My wife has a neat little trick to deal with calls that come in on our landline at the house. First off; NOBODY we know has the number; if you can't reach us on the cells you aren't going to reach us.
But the home landline rings all day long. Nothing but junk calls.......... Wife picks up the receiver, then picks up the little air horn (available at party stores for next to nothing) , puts it to the receiver and presses the button for a good 5 second blast.

Needless to say they hang up immediately. And they probably need hearing aids after calling our home phone.

LOL, my uncle used to do that 50 years ago, for crank calls(My cousin was/is ultra hot). The air horn always sat right next to the phone.

 

[Profit of Doom]

LOL, my uncle used to do that 50 years ago, for crank calls(My cousin was/is ultra hot). The air horn always sat right next to the phone.

Ultra loud sounds don't really transmit that loud thru the phone. Like gunshots.

 

[AlaskaSue]

Ultra loud sounds don't really transmit that loud thru the phone. Like gunshots.

Exactly. I know from personal experience. Landline current can’t transmit like that…it comes across sounding like the slam of an old screen door.

Still, it would be satisfying to blast that horn under the circumstances!

 

[kyrsyan]

No landline here. None of the family has landlines anymore. But mine was the practical decision made when we realized that we would have to replace all of the phone wiring. Nope, not worth it.
Mom and Dad resisted until they moved to the last house. They realized it wasn't worth it.
The downside I've discovered is that if I need to reach someone, or someone is in trouble, if you don't have the phone number for another family member you can't reach their family. Not a good thing.

 

[Profit of Doom]

Exactly. I know from personal experience. Landline current can’t transmit like that…it comes across sounding like the slam of an old screen door.

Still, it would be satisfying to blast that horn under the circumstances!

I was so sorry to hear about that. Read it here, wasn't sure from who.

 

[SlipperySlope]

I get these calls on the cellphone too but they almost all show their identity.

 

[JMG91]

My wife has a neat little trick to deal with calls that come in on our landline at the house. First off; NOBODY we know has the number; if you can't reach us on the cells you aren't going to reach us.
But the home landline rings all day long. Nothing but junk calls.......... Wife picks up the receiver, then picks up the little air horn (available at party stores for next to nothing) , puts it to the receiver and presses the button for a good 5 second blast.

Needless to say they hang up immediately. And they probably need hearing aids after calling our home phone.

When I was younger and we'd get spam calls, I'd pick up the phone and whisper "Preciousssss..." in Gollum's voice, then hang up. Had me and my mother in stitches so many times.

 

[Shooter]

I um,, im over 21 and not married,

SOOO I got a very noisey porn video link on my computer, she is very loud, I tell them wait a minute im almost done, then set phone next to the speaker, had one guy stay on over 25 minutes listening,

 

[dstraito]

I usually answer "is itsecret, is it safe"? and then hang up never knowing if they get the LOTR reference

 

[meezy]

That's been happening to me a lot both on my cell phone and work phone -- three or four calls in a row from different numbers. I don't answer any of them. The last time they leave a message. It's supposedly Duke Energy with an important message about my bill. Nice try.

 

[Faroe]

Any *grandson* trying to scam an old person should simply be hung.

 

[Cag3db1rd]

I answer with, "YOU'RE ON THE AIR!" And they hang up.

 

[SlipperySlope]

I'm not even that old but I do have grand daughters...no boys at all.

 

[Wildwood]

DH and I both turn 65 this year and it's been hell on the land line. We get multiple calls every day from ins companies trying to sell us a supplement for medicare. Some mornings they are calling by seven and they call til about eight at night. Cells don't work on our property so we have to keep a landline or do without.

 

[Ragnarok]

I love the car warranty scam. It's so easy to fluster them on that one.

They call and say my warranty is about to expire and can I tell them the make and model to verify their information. I always tell them that I have several cars and don't know the warranty information on them all but I would be happy to discuss with them if they could tell me what vehicle, specifically, they are calling in reference to.

Of course, they have no clue what car you have and will hang up shortly after.

 

[Dobbin]

Owner will answer any or all calls and typically say "Hello."

This most frequently followed by a recording, possibly a person inquiring to Owner's health or well being.

Owner leaves the line "open." He won't press any numbers, won't talk, won't even hang up. All of these confirm that an actual human exists at the other end of the line.

Instead he lets THEM hang up. One imagine this leaves them with the impression "dead line."

This so he doesn't get his number sold?

He rarely now gets "those" calls.

Dobbin

 

[Dozdoats]

I do a variation of that on my mom's phone. First, I let it ring until the machine is ready to pick up. When I answer, I say nothing, but do put the handset on speaker. With the scanner going in earshot. Till they hang up.

I can burn their time ...

 

[fish hook]

Same here. I am too cheap to pay for caller ID on my land line so I have no idea who is calling. If I am expecting a call, I have to pick up. But the vast majority of the time, I let it go to the answering machine and they hang up.


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Caller id is included in my basic package. I see unknown name or a name that shouldn't br there (i have actually had my own number show up ). The trouble i have now is they are leving messages.

 

[fish hook]

I don't know why they think i would do businss with some one who starts out with deception.

 

[Griz3752]

There's a crap load of talk from Industry & FedGov about coordinated efforts to defeat phone scams etc which is of course, as I said, a crap load and all lies.

Industry has the ability to determine which calls are legit or not but choose not to because it might cut into their usurious profit margins. Gov't doesn't want to because giving you the ability to clearly ID every inbound call might inhibit the plitical parties efforts to robo dial for contributions or to deliver 'their important message'.

Its like junk mail; check out the list of 'allowed mailers' no matter what you do to stop receiving that stuff.

Same with the 'Do not call' list

 

[Signwatcher]

Lately I've been getting calls with silence...probably robo calls...IDK, but today I whistled loudly like a dropping bomb and yelled BOOM!!!

 

[ShadowMan]

If you have an answering machine record the tone sounds of a disconnected phone message....then after the tones add your own message. The Robo call computer will automatically mark your number as disconnected and not sell or pass it on to another telemarketer. However a human might stay on and then leave a message.

 

[Walrus Whisperer]

Since I was expecting a service type call today I had to answer the phone. Although my family doesn't care ,I am so lucky that Amy at Medical services is so concerned about me that she called 3 times on 3 different numbers within an hour this am. Then the car warranty folks were anxious that I am unprotected in my car maintenance. Finally ,my beloved grandson called me talking breathlessly and hung up when I informed him I didn't have a grandson. I really feel for those who are mentally incapacitated and have to deal with this garbage. I normally don't answer my phone but I was expecting a call and didn't know where it could come from. This doesn't count the 3 calls that did show spam risk on them.

I LOOOOVE the screener thing on this phone. Peace descended on my home when I discovered that feature.