29 replies to this topic

[Hum]

I just say I'm homeless, living under the bridge

[+Xinok]

They're not telemarketers as much as they are scammers. They're automated machine messages, with crap like, "Win a free cruise!" The number does appear though, which is why I'm able to Google the numbers (which is why I can verify the DOC list does nothing for us Americans), as well as block the numbers. But they have a multitude of numbers to call from, and I'm sure they're constantly changing them as well.

[Nashy]

Xilo, on 25 September 2012 - 00:21, said:

Nope. I've seen some people get old hooker numbers and such

That must be a pain in the ass. Given any phone number in Australia is always owned by one particular carrier, once it is cancelled, it is quarantined with whatever carrier the number is currently being used at for 6 months, because being sent back to the original carrier for at least another 6 months.

Eg. My phone number is a Telstra number, but I'm with Vodafone (I moved from Telstra years ago with the same number).

If I cancel, my number will stay with Vodafone for 6 months, go back to Telstra and be re-used after 6 months sitting with them.

[Haggis]

I like to wind them up, making them hold on for excessive time, pretending i am extremely dumb and making their call as long as possible lol

[+-T-]

As a former Telemarketer, I laugh at the suggestions here to irritate the reps on the calls. By making the calls as long as possible you're doing them a favour, do you really think they want to rush off your call onto some other douchebag who's likely to rant at them over how inconvenient a phone call is.


My personal favourites were always those that rant about why calling them during dinner, when the factual answer is usually, because you weren't home earlier. If I didn't want to talk to someone/anyone on the phone, I simply don't answer it

Oh I use Call Filter to block unknown numbers automatically, it's great as I never even know they've called unless they leave a voicemail, which most don't

[Haggis]

lol i used to do cold calls too

and yes dinner is an obvious one its the time most people are at home

I love the Scam microsoft calls those amuse me to no end lol

[Michael Dwells]

I share your sentiment. I also have doubts with these apps. So before I download a app, I do a little research and check on forum discussions regarding the app. I read reviews, comments and if I'm convinced it's working and safe to use, that's when I install it.

But if you're not into blocking apps, there are two other ways to block phone numbers. Be aware that call blocking is primarily controlled at the telephone service provider level. You can simply call them and give the phone numbers you wish to block. Or, you can also check out steps to block numbers depending on the make and model of your phone. You just have to update settings.

And I strongly suggest you report these telemarketers to www.callercenter.com as well. Expose them and raise a warning.

[+McKay]

-T-, on 25 September 2012 - 09:13, said:

As a former Telemarketer, I laugh at the suggestions here to irritate the reps on the calls. By making the calls as long as possible you're doing them a favour, do you really think they want to rush off your call onto some other douchebag who's likely to rant at them over how inconvenient a phone call is.


My personal favourites were always those that rant about why calling them during dinner, when the factual answer is usually, because you weren't home earlier. If I didn't want to talk to someone/anyone on the phone, I simply don't answer it

Oh I use Call Filter to block unknown numbers automatically, it's great as I never even know they've called unless they leave a voicemail, which most don't

Whats your record for staying on the line? When I can't be more imaginative I say "I'll go and get him" Leave the phone on the table and go into a different room to continue what I was doing. The record so far is 17 minutes.

[+-T-]

McKay, on 01 December 2012 - 20:45, said:

Whats your record for staying on the line? When I can't be more imaginative I say "I'll go and get him" Leave the phone on the table and go into a different room to continue what I was doing. The record so far is 17 minutes.

My record was over an hour as the person just put the phone down incorrectly, it was like an hour long extra break. At one point as we were calling from a phone company, at the end of the day, we'd tell people that some maintenance was being done on the line, and it'd go dead silent, so please leave it off the hook. Then we'd sit on mute until the shift ended

[Hum]

"Hold on .... I'm on the toilet ... oohhhh"

[AbandonedTrolley]

I use rootcall blocker, it allows you to use wildcards in the numbers you wish to block in blacklists or allow in whitelists.

https://play.google....h_result#?t=W10.

[smooth_criminal1990]

UKDarkJedi, on 24 September 2012 - 23:34, said:

Just wondering here...

In the UK we have an option called the Telephone Preference Service. It's governed under something call the Direct Marketing Association. Essentially you register your number for free (you just have to prove you own that number every 12 months or your registrations lapses) and any companies using direct marketing techniques (as you seem to be plagued by) who call you while your number is registered will earn a "strike" once you've reported them. Three strikes and those companies are fined heavily and repeated offences after that will have them investigated by the national watchdog (OfCom in our case) which means they essentially have to stop business for a few days to have everything they do gone over with a fine tooth comb.

I'm assuming however, you're not a resident of our green and pleasant land but there should be something like this available where you live?

I didn't know you had to prove you own the number, might explain why the parents have been getting loads of nuisance calls for the last few years

[+Xinok]

I finally found an app that does what I wanted without being sketchy: Call Control - Call Blocker. It's not free (well, it is, but the "lite" version is largely useless) and I have no idea how much it costs. However, it has the "community blacklist" which is what I was looking for.

For those with CyanogenMod, it has a call block feature built in, no 3rd party app necessary.

[alwaysonacoffebreak]

This is the easiest way.

[z0phi3l]

Nashy, on 25 September 2012 - 00:17, said:

Do USA carriers not put number into quarantine for a certain amount of time before re-using the number?

Actually they do, telemarketers just keep pinging the number till it's active again, same with bill collectors, I worked for a phone provider, we had just gotten access to a block of numbers, as soon as we started issuing them the telemarketers started calling, it was a mess to deal with, forget how they got the numbers or what was done to fix it


As for blocking, Galaxy phones have it built into TW, works very well, I have no clue they called unless they leave a massage