Author Topic: Nuisance phone calls  (Read 15780 times)

a non-amos

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #15 on: February 16, 2013, 05:31:20 PM »
Another approach is to have some fun with the nuisance calls.  For proper motivation, you need to keep in mind the fact that they are salesmen.  Every minute of their time that you waste is income they are not making.  You also need to keep in mind that hanging up on you is not within their creedo; if you can get them to hang up on you, you have achieved a significant accomplishment.

Plan 1: George and/or Mary
You answer the phone, and quickly realize it's another telemarketer with a scam.  If the caller is male, the name is Mary.  If the caller is female, the name is George.  Pretend to recognize his/her voice.  Call out to your significant other: "Hey, Honey, you would not believe this!  Mary called us, and is pretending to be a scumbag of a salesman!  Even better, she is pretending to be a guy!"  Keep them on the line, and occasionally comment that they are not very good at pretending to be the opposite gender.  After a few minutes of this, pretend to actually be interested in what he/she is saying.  Keep that up for a few, then laugh and tell them that you were just kidding.  You were just pulling Mary's (George's) leg.  With enough loud and boisterous interruptions and comments on his/her gender, this can annoy the caller to the point where he/she hangs up on you.  This is a high accomplishment.

Plan 2: your call is very important to us
You answer the phone, and quickly realize it's another telemarketer with a scam.  You tell them that you are very glad they called, that what they have is exactly what you really need, but could they please hold the line for a minute or two.  Put the phone down and go have some dinner or watch TV.  Several minutes late pick up the phone and reemphasize that their call is extremely important to you; please hold.  Repeat as needed.

Plan 3: bad connection
You answer the phone and quickly realize it's another telemarketer with a scam.  You say "hello" louder.  After a few seconds, you say it louder yet.  You holler that you can barely hear him/her.  By now they are screaming into the phone, so you tell them you were just having some fun.  This is really a recording.  Please leave a message after the beep.  Put the phone down, with no beep.  Have some dinner.

Plan 4: confusion
You answer the phone, and quickly realize it's another telemarketer with a scam.  You congratulate him/her in a mock-recorded voice, saying that they have actually gotten through to a real person.  In the same mock-recorded voice, tell him/her that your voice mail is not currently available.  If he/she would like to leave a message for the voicemail, please do so after the click.  Hang up.
Carpe digitus.
(Roughly translated, this is possibly the world's oldest "pull my finger" joke)

ensiform

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #16 on: February 16, 2013, 06:46:07 PM »
These are people like you and I, who hold jobs they do not necessarily believe in, but which they have taken to put food on the table for their family.  Playing pranks on them or stringing them along is cruel as well as petty.  Why not be a mature adult, say "No thank you, good luck elsewhere," and hang up?

I cannot understand people's enthusiasm for being rude and nasty to people who are trying to make a living.  You're free to say no and hang up.

pat

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #17 on: February 16, 2013, 07:53:13 PM »
I can usually get cold callers to hang up on me without even being rude to them. My phone number is in the book as just an initial and a surname, so when someone rings me and asks for Mrs. X, I know it's no one who knows me. Astonishingly, even in these enlightened times, it never enters people's heads that the name in the phone book might belong to a single (shock, horror!) woman.

The phone calls go like this:

Caller: Hello. Is that Mrs X?
Me: No.
Caller: Is Mrs. X there?
Me: No.
Caller: Is Mr. X there?
Me: No.
Caller: Do you know when Mr. or Mrs. X will be there?
Me: No.

If the caller hasn't hung up on me by now, he or she usually gets the hint after the next question:

Caller: When would be the best time to speak to Mr. or Mrs. X?
Me: Never.

Tom

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #18 on: February 16, 2013, 10:14:49 PM »
ENISFORM: hear, hear. Totally agree. People just like us trying to make a living. Most of them would probably prefer another line of work but they can't always be choosy. No need to be rude or play pranks on them. "Do unto others..."

Morbius

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #19 on: February 17, 2013, 11:30:28 AM »
I agree with ensiform's and Tom44's comments, although there are times when you need to be rude.  The only time I have ever abused a telemarketer was when she called me six times over the course of about a year.  After patiently explaining the first five times that I was on the 'do not call' register, that I wasn't interested in what she was selling, that I had told her this on previous occasions and had repeatedly asked to be removed from her call list, on the sixth occasion I got quite angry.  I haven't heard from her again.

ada

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #20 on: February 17, 2013, 11:34:10 AM »
If cold-callers are serious about their work, then they should state who they are and what they
want first up.  We are warned constantly about giving away personal information to strangers.
I think, for example, Pat's answers both safe and encouraging a more thoughtful line of enquiry
considering the caller had not identified themself first. It was an insulting way he/she had chosen
to start a conversation, and they may think twice about trying that tack again.
And why do strangers want to know or need to know about one's health?  They don't really care.
It is a trite 'polite' and annoying question which immediately puts me on guard.    
My elderly mother was terrified by such a caller telling her she had been chosen to receive a free
houseful of carpets, and she would be on TV, etc.  When I checked with the company it was a fake
call, so we involved the police.  Mother spent the next couple of weeks scared that someone would
break into her house.  And ever since anyone who is not up-front with what they want is given
short shrift.     ADA

pat

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #21 on: February 17, 2013, 08:16:26 PM »
I agree that many of these cold callers are simply doing a job they're paid to do, and 'I'm not interested, thank you' is a civilized way of getting rid of them. Unfortunately that often doesn't work and they try to bully you into talking to them, at which point rudeness is justified (in my opinion).

Unfortunately many of them can be very rude themselves, and others will start the conversation with an outright lie. For example I had a call a while back that started along these lines: 'I know you've already got double glazing because you told me when I rang you last year but we agreed that I'd ring you again in a year's time'. As that person was happy to insult me with a lie I was happy to respond with rudeness.

And I'm afraid I have no qualms whatsoever about being rude to the people who call, on a regular basis, to inform me that my computer is sending them error messages, as they're simply lying con artists hoping to cheat people out of their hard-earned money. They're common thieves and deserve no respect whatsoever.


mkenuk

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #22 on: February 18, 2013, 12:12:20 AM »
I'm all for people working hard to make a living for themselves and their families, but it's a very sad indictment of society generally when the only way they can do this is by making a nuisance of themselves.
MK


cb

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #23 on: February 18, 2013, 06:44:51 AM »
These are people like you and I, who hold jobs they do not necessarily believe in, but which they have taken to put food on the table for their family.  Playing pranks on them or stringing them along is cruel as well as petty.  Why not be a mature adult, say "No thank you, good luck elsewhere," and hang up?

I cannot understand people's enthusiasm for being rude and nasty to people who are trying to make a living.  You're free to say no and hang up.

No, these are criminals, engaged in attempting to defraud people out of thousands of pounds, by lying to them that their computer is producing "errors", and then persuading them to download and install a "fix" which is actually a program giving the criminals access to the computer which then results in any of a combination of stealing money from their banks, stealing passwords to accounts and/or locking the computer and holding it to ransom, demanding vast sums of money to unlock it again.

A friend of mine, her 12 year old son answered the phone, believed the story, downloaded and installed the program, and when he told his mum that evening there was £3000 taken from their bank account and the computer had to be completely reformatted, losing all their data, photos etc to get it working again.  (Yes, I know they should have had a backup, but they wouldn't have needed it in this instance were it not for the criminals.)

So, no, I shan't be wishing them "good luck elsewhere".  They are safe from being caught and stopped because they operate at such vast distances from their victims, in different legal jurisdictions, but I, for one, will certainly continue to do all I can to inhibit their activities.
cb

ensiform

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #24 on: February 18, 2013, 08:20:14 AM »

No, these are criminals, engaged in attempting to defraud people out of thousands of pounds, by lying to them that their computer is producing "errors", and then persuading them to download and install a "fix" which is actually a program giving the criminals access to the computer which then results in any of a combination of stealing money from their banks, stealing passwords to accounts and/or locking the computer and holding it to ransom, demanding vast sums of money to unlock it again.

That's a different species of kettle of fish altogether.  I was referring to the original post of nuisance phone calls --- salesmen and the like.  Scam artists and fraudsters should be, of course, reported to the police.  Sorry, but salesmen and con artists are not the same thing.

cb

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #25 on: February 18, 2013, 08:32:31 AM »

No, these are criminals, engaged in attempting to defraud people out of thousands of pounds, by lying to them that their computer is producing "errors", and then persuading them to download and install a "fix" which is actually a program giving the criminals access to the computer which then results in any of a combination of stealing money from their banks, stealing passwords to accounts and/or locking the computer and holding it to ransom, demanding vast sums of money to unlock it again.

That's a different species of kettle of fish altogether.  I was referring to the original post of nuisance phone calls --- salesmen and the like.  Scam artists and fraudsters should be, of course, reported to the police.  Sorry, but salesmen and con artists are not the same thing.

Sorry, Enisform, but Pat's original post WAS specifically about Asian callers claiming to be following up on errors from her computer - she didn't mention the fraud specifically, but those calls very definitely are from criminal gangs.  And my post about stringing them along was about that too.  Which is why I took exception to your defence of them.
cb

Valerie

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #26 on: February 18, 2013, 10:06:11 AM »
Exactly, cb.  Nuisance phone calls are nuisance phone calls whatever their form.  And how you deal with them is entirely up to you.  Being a bleeding heart or showing haughty contempt of other people's reactions to these UNSOLICITED calls is, in itself, unsolicited.

ensiform

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #27 on: February 18, 2013, 02:11:00 PM »
Cb, I take your point.  I suppose it's an English trait to be delicate and say "nuisance" calls rather than "criminal" calls.    :)

Nuisance phone calls are nuisance phone calls whatever their form.

Simply untrue.  A salesman is not the same as a con artist or hacker, sorry.

And how you deal with them is entirely up to you.  Being a bleeding heart or showing haughty contempt of other people's reactions to these UNSOLICITED calls is, in itself, unsolicited.

Unsolicited?  No.  Actually the exact opposite.  This was posted so people could comment on it.  A specific reaction was not defined or required.

Having sympathy for working salesmen = a bleeding heart now?  Gosh, how uncivil our society has become.  Bleeding heart, forsooth.  And here's me in favor of the death penalty and everything...

a non-amos

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Re: Nuisance phone calls
« Reply #28 on: February 18, 2013, 03:21:00 PM »
A note to those who have chosen to judge me harshly:  I am guessing that you have not yet walked a mile in my shoes.

In my case, the primary offender had been a service provider.  They provided little service, more than unreliable, and in fact I could rely on zero service with no support.  Their billing department was spot-on, requiring immediate payment for service that did not occur.

I switched to a different provider, and I was immediately hounded to switch back to the original non-provider.

Yes, I was on the "no call" list, for what little that was worth.  They told me this was not a sales call, that in fact this was a survey to determine why I chose do discontinue their non-service.  They informed me of this fact several times every night for days on end, starting at dinner time and trailing off at about 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning.

Blocking their number did no good.  They have many numbers from which to call.

I tried turning the phones entirely dead, which was not well received when there was a death in the family and people really needed to contact us.

It is generally agreed that sleep deprivation is a means of torture, and with sufficient application you can get anyone to agree to anything.  I didn't want to give the bastards that measure of success.  I hope you can respect this position.

They do not respect the "no call" database, so the only thing left to me is to motivate them to take me off of their "must call" database.  This is a study in motivation and behavior modification.

Yes, I came to recognize the voices of the offenders.  These unusual measures were reserved only for the known offenders.

Yes, of course I treat the new callers with respect and dignity as I politely say "no".  We do need some measure of civility, and we absolutely do need to consider the plight of the person on the other end of the line, and some of the time they are doing this as a means to put food on the family table.  Yes, on a personal level I have also seen that side of the coin.

We need to draw a line in the sand.  There are bounds beyond which Thou Shalt Not Tread.  

Don't. Tread. On. Me.

Regarding the original topic, this is a means to get people to pay money to have a virus installed on his/her computer(s).

Yes, it's deplorable.  Yes, it's illegal.  Yes, the phone operators know that it's deplorable and illegal.  They tried that on me, too.  I was polite, but it didn't work as they had intended.

Best regards,

- A
Carpe digitus.
(Roughly translated, this is possibly the world's oldest "pull my finger" joke)