No more telemarketing calls

[Doug Bowe]

If any group can get to the facts, this group can.
Here's the ad from the Lifestyle catalogue:
---
TeleZapper hooks up to your phone in less than a minute...Every time a telemarketer calls the TeleZapper sends out a special tone that tells autodialers your number is disconnected. It traps telemarketers by their own technology!
...With TeleZapper the calls won't come back, and eventually your number is erased from calling lists forever.
---
Okay, is this to good to be true?

[Violet]

Wouldn't it be more fun to say "Just a minute," then put the phone on its side and walk away leaving them wondering?

[honkytonkwillie]

There was a thread around here, maybe a year ago, about telemarketers and how to deal with them. I'm far too lazy to search.

Someone posted a link to download a .wav file that produces the _beeeee beeeee ^beeeep tones that precede the industry standard "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service..." message for disconnected service.

Supposedly, if you put those tones on your answering machine's greeting message the telemarketer's robot dialers think your phone service is no longer, and won't waste its time dialing it again. I'm sure the TeleZapper works on this theory.

I've yet to put the .wav on my answering machine. I don't get many telemarketers calling.

[matrix]

A spent a lot of time phreaking (phone hacking) as a kid... and I can believe that the telemarketers would actually use a device that detects these tones. But I can not believe that they wouldn't simply just either ignore the tones or add you to a 'to be checked' list that they have other computers dial and WAIT for more then 1 second to hear a voice.

The only thing I don't know for sure is that they DO use a device to detect the tone of a disconnected or invalid number... mostly because there are lots of numbers that nobody ever answers, lots of busys, etc. The telemarketers get your numbers from the phone company, and they also sell numbers to each other of people who have answered.

So basically - if it works now - it's unlikely to work universally, and they have a very easy way around it. If they can program their computers to wait for 3-4 rings, then can program them to wait 2 seconds for a voice.

[handy]

i really of all people would like to do something about it cause they are voice calls & I can't hear them. For $4.50 one time, my local phone comp can block any phone calls that are 'unavailable' or 'anonymous' on the caller ID. Would this keep them at bay or would they know to hit that code (*82 ?) that lets their nbr through & thus their call too?

If you use that OP gizmo, what's to keep it from blaring that recording when your friends with an autodialer call you?

[CnoteChris]

A couple of people, including omni-not, talked about this only a few days ago in the pit- <Pit Thread>.

In it, they linked to a Business Week Online article talking about this product. It sure seems like it would work. And from the response this product is getting from the The Marketing Research Roundtable forum, it seems like it has the marketers nervous.

Ya gotta like that!!

[LordVor]

Sorry, this is sad. All you have to do is learn the simple phrases "Hello" and "I do not speak English, do you speak <blank>?" in the foreign language of your choice, and apply that knowledge when you hear the 2 second telemarketer silence after you say your initial "hello".

Within two weeks of applying this approach, the 2 TM calls I received nightly dried up to once in a while.

-LV

[Gala Matrix Fire]

Lord Vor, I wouldn't put too much faith in your no-speekee-da-english approach. I called my cable provider once to request a Spanish-language channel (speaking English, of course), and almost immediately started getting both junk mail and telemarketing calls in Spanish. We got one telemarketer who just kept calling and calling, getting confused because we answered the phone in English. I'm sure she spoke English, so I don't know why she didn't just clear up the whole matter after calling half a dozen times.

Evasion is never the way to go with telemarketers. You need to confront them directly and express your deeply-held principle of never, EVER buying anything from anyone over the phone. Get them to tell you their name and their company's name, and have them put you on their do-not-call list.

[Tedster]

http://www.junkbusters.com

There, you can print out their Telemarketing script and keep a copy by all your phones. Woe to the T-scam company who does not play by the law. It works.

Still, I would love to see T-scams be illegal, or at least pay me $50 each time they call. My time is valuable, unlike theirs, apparently.

[miatachris]

The phrase that pays is, "Take me off your list, please. Thank you." [hang up phone]

Takes a while, but it works eventually.

I personally don't buy the premise that they buy and sell lists of anything but "suckers" because it's too easy to "exchange dial": i.e. dial 555-0000,555-0001,....555-9999. That way everybody has the same "great opportunity".

[jharding]

I've always been tempted to say,

Me: "No, <insert your name here> isn't home right now."

Telemarketer: "Well, when would be a good time to reach him/her?"

Me: "Oh I'd say in about 5 to 10 years. He's/She's doing a stretch in the state prison for credit card fraud."

Either that or just telling them that whoever it is they are looking for is deceased.

I just haven't had the guts to try either one of those yet.

[Podkayne]

So, with this telezapper thing, everyone who calls you hears the beeeeee _beeeee beeeee thing, right?

That'd be kind of annoying and tacky, no?

[handy]

Pod, I bet my TTY makes a noise like that anyway. Doesn't keep them from calling back.

LordVor, I have picked up the phone & said 'Im deaf I can't hear you so don't call back' doesn't seem to keep them from calling back though.

[CnoteChris]

From the Business Week article linked to above, Podkayne-

The Telezapper aims straight at the auto dialer's Achilles' heel. Before ringing, the device sends out a short beep that indicates to the auto dialer that your phone has been disconnected. It sounds like the beep of an answering machine, but it's actually the first tone of the three-tone tune you hear when you call a disconnected number. The auto dialer hears the beep, records your number as disconnected, and hangs up. All other incoming calls get through without interruption.

It appears that it isn't audible to those who don't use an autodialer.

[Sn-man]

The local phone company in the Denver area offers a screening option. All calls are answered with a statement that the number does not accept solicitations, blah, blah. If you want to talk to the person(s) state your name. The call then rings through and the “owner” can choose to accept the call or hang up. I found this out when I had to go through the procedure. I’m not sure how much it costs, but according to my friend, it definitely cuts down the calls.

[AndrewD]

An important note concerning what Sn-man said. That feature works for all incoming calls that are out-of-area, anon, etc. A regular caller will get through just fine.

[Balthisar]

Originally posted by Sn-man
The local phone company in the Denver area offers a screening option. All calls are answered with a statement that the number does not accept solicitations, blah, blah. If you want to talk to the person(s) state your name. The call then rings through and the “owner” can choose to accept the call or hang up. I found this out when I had to go through the procedure. I’m not sure how much it costs, but according to my friend, it definitely cuts down the calls.

Here in Ameritech-land, we call that privacy manager, and it sorta worked okay. However, my wife's non-English friends and family from Mexico (you know, number unavailable) never could get the hang of the instructions. But, we kept it anyway until them DAMN BASTARDS at Ameritech (the phone company that SOLD the service) kept bugging me.

I'm at the point of getting Caller ID disconnected, since we have to answer the "unavailable" calls anyway, in case my wife's family/friends call. Ugh!

[Tedster]

Somebody wrote:
"The phrase that pays is, 'Take me off your list, please. Thank you.' [hang up phone]"

That isn't even close. You will always be on someone's list, as the numbers are sold to a number of T-firms, or at best randomly dialed.

You must ask to be put *on* a list--

"Please put me on your Do Not Call List."

If you've read the Junkbusters link I posted [apparently not] you'll note the correct routine has a bunch of questions, mainly to determine the name, location, address, who is calling, do they make phone calls for other firms, requesting a written copy of their do not call policy, all of which can garner you money if you are so inclined to sue the bastards. Have Fun!

[Kamandi]

I sent my name and info to the Direct Marketing Association's Telephone Preference Service (see Tedster's link) about six months ago. It cut the telemarketing calls way, way down. It's well worth the stamp.

[Mr2001]

Asking to be removed from the list is not like casting a magic spell, folks.. even the low-paid stoned college students who call you during dinner trying to sell siding know that "put me on the do-not-call list" and "take me off your calling list" and "don't call me again" all mean exactly the same thing.

Your goal is not to find the One True Phrase that will force them to bend to your will, it is to stay on the low-paid stoned college student's good side so he won't put you on "redial" out of spite. You'll have better luck saying "we get these calls all the time and we never buy anything, please just take us off the list" than "you goddamn scum, just wait till I find my Junkbusters script! here we go. I would like my number placed on your Do Not Call list, fucko."

[Tedster]

Actually, if you follow the script routine, you can call them anything you want, including "you fucking bastards."

They are required by law to provide this information, and will be fined $500 per violation. The trick is to find out exactly who it is who's calling, their address and other pertinent information before they get half a clue in their dim brain and decide to hang up on you. I've no idea if this is true, but I've added the "Don't hang up on me, it's against the law" which seems to work swell.

The T-marketing has dropped considerable, and it's in fact so rare at this point I rather enjoy putting them through the routine.

[Morgainelf]

As a direct marketing professional (yes, I am the scum of the earth...or at least I get paid by them...)

Reputable direct marketers don't want to call people who don't want to be called. It's a waste of time and money. If you ask a REPUTABLE dm'er to remove you from their list, they will. However, many don't have the ability to remove your name, because they have rented the list. So, if you ask to be placed on a Do Not Call list, they will do a merge/purge of their phone list and you will be removed the next time a list is rented. This can take some time.

The Direct Marketing Association (the-dma.org) offers a service on their website that will help to stop REPUTABLE direct marketers from calling you. I think it costs about $5. They will place you on a list of people who do not wish to be called. Companies who are members of the DMA use this list to scrub their calling lists before starting a campaign. This also takes some time.

I emphasize, this all works for REPUTABLE direct marketers. As we all know, there are way too many dis-reputable companies out there, who don't give a rat's a** that you don't want to be called. The fine isn't a deterrent, because so few people have the tenacity to follow up on their complaint with the attorney general. A few small fines are worth the price of doing business.

Yes, I know, how do I sleep at night? Well, I've convinced myself that you all really *want* to receive mail from my company, and that our telemarketers are really interesting conversationalists.

Really.

[handy]

Sn-man, I can get that feature in California, costs nothing but $4.50 to add it. Any anon or unavailable calls can't get thru unless they hit *83 or *84 (I forgot what the code is) & then the number displays on the caller id & the call can come through.

[Mr2001]

Originally posted by Tedster
Actually, if you follow the script routine, you can call them anything you want, including "you fucking bastards."

They are required by law to provide this information, and will be fined $500 per violation.

Sure, you have the power to say anything you want on the phone. But if someone had called me a fucking bastard and then asked me to take them off the list, I think my finger might have accidentally slipped from "T"ake Off to "R"edial. (A simple mistake.. the keys are right next to each other!) Then they would have gotten another call the next week, sworn at someone else, and been put on redial again.

The information you're trying to get isn't really a secret, either.. every time I'd make a call, the first words out of my mouth were "this is (my name) with (my employer) calling for (the organization)". Occasionally people would ask for phone numbers and addresses, hoping to trip me up, and I'd happily give them the information and volunteer so much more that they got sick of it.

[Mr. Duality]

I turn the ringer off and use the phone answering machine to screen calls. If its someone I want to talk to I'll pick up the phone. You are wasting your money if you pay for Caller ID.

The Wall Street Journal interviewed a Las Vegas oddsmaker years ago. They asked what the odds were that a caller would be someone he didn't mind talking to. He said " one in three." Then he was asked about the odd that a caller would be someone he really wanted to talk to. He said "one in a thousand." Then they interviewed the lady who writes the 'Miss Manners' column. She said it's perfectly acceptable to screen calls.