We use an answering machine to screen calls. I put SIT tones (the tones usually followed by a network message such as "we're sorry but the call cannot be comple

We use an answering machine to screen calls. I put SIT tones (the tones usually followed by a network message such as "we're sorry but the call cannot be completed as dialed" -- google SIT.WAV) at the beginning of our outgoing message. We don't pick up until the message ends. We get a lot of 'ghosts', calls dropped before the message is done -- those were automated calls. We get callers which are partway through delivering a canned spiel at that point because their delivery system triggered on the tones as if 'your-turn' beep -- those were automated calls intended to be left as recorded messages. It's not exactly what the contest is about, but it does provide some personal relief on a landline.