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Until our government or phone companies fix this problem in the US, I don't see another way to make a difference other than answering the phone, getting put thr

Until our government or phone companies fix this problem in the US, I don't see another way to make a difference other than answering the phone, getting put through to a human being, and wasting their time. Have fun with it, don't give out any personal information, and slowly take your story into ridiculous territory until the person on the other end catches on that you are playing them and hangs up on you.

reza_n 9y ago
> answering the phone, getting put through to a human being, and wasting their time Not sure if that is the best strategy. I started doing that a while back only to find I started getting even more calls from a lot of different companies. In my case, they were all credit, loan, and debt related offers. I even had one person tell me in a snarky tone that they will "keep me in the system". Now I just hang up if its a robocall (opt out if possible) or if its a live person, bluntly tell them I am not interested and why. I now get less calls overall.
jonathankoren 9y ago
The FTC Do Not Call List exists ( donotcall.gov ), and threatens fines against violators. Problems with it (beyond the janky lowest bid government website), is that you have to report the violators phone number, and anymore these are spoofed. Also, it feels like the FTC doesn't do anything. You never hear about enforcement actions. For a while after the DNCL came out, calls stopped, but they've been ticking up recently. I keep getting calls selling me solar panels. When I asked how they got the number, they said, "we're calling every homeowner in California." Well, that's a violation.
bmurphy1976 9y ago
You have to be careful what you say: http://www.crimeonline.com/2017/04/04/can-you-hear-me-phone-scam-calls-increasing-in-chicago/ http://www.crimeonline.com/2017/04/04/can-you-hear-me-phone-... And, anecdotally, I live in the Chicago area and have noticed a significant increase in this garbage the last couple of weeks. I once had somebody splice a conversation they surreptitiously recorded with me to sound like I was agreeing to a service I never agreed to. Messing with them can be fun, but it's still risky.

reza_n 9y ago

> answering the phone, getting put through to a human being, and wasting their time Not sure if that is the best strategy. I started doing that a while back only to find I started getting even more calls from a lot of different companies. In my case, they were all credit, loan, and debt related offers. I even had one person tell me in a snarky tone that they will "keep me in the system". Now I just hang up if its a robocall (opt out if possible) or if its a live person, bluntly tell them I am not interested and why. I now get less calls overall.

jonathankoren 9y ago

The FTC Do Not Call List exists ( donotcall.gov ), and threatens fines against violators. Problems with it (beyond the janky lowest bid government website), is that you have to report the violators phone number, and anymore these are spoofed. Also, it feels like the FTC doesn't do anything. You never hear about enforcement actions. For a while after the DNCL came out, calls stopped, but they've been ticking up recently. I keep getting calls selling me solar panels. When I asked how they got the number, they said, "we're calling every homeowner in California." Well, that's a violation.

bmurphy1976 9y ago

You have to be careful what you say: http://www.crimeonline.com/2017/04/04/can-you-hear-me-phone-scam-calls-increasing-in-chicago/ http://www.crimeonline.com/2017/04/04/can-you-hear-me-phone-... And, anecdotally, I live in the Chicago area and have noticed a significant increase in this garbage the last couple of weeks. I once had somebody splice a conversation they surreptitiously recorded with me to sound like I was agreeing to a service I never agreed to. Messing with them can be fun, but it's still risky.