The FTC is offering a $50,000 prize for anyone who can come up with a solution to stop illegal robocalls. The government is already aware of the problem. (Would have put this in my prior post but missed the edit window.)
I pretend to be Yoda or Peter Lorre. I do fairly good impressions. I spew nonsense while doing these impressions.
You’re wrong, and I know this because I do it with good results. True, I don’t always get much information, but you’d be surprised how long you can string along an agent if you sound like a compliant victim who is about to give up his credit card number. And I don’t get rashes of repeat calls as I used to when my strategy was whining and abusing the agent. They don’t want to talk to people who ask questions.
They’re just trying to see how long they can operate in a state until they get banned. Then they’ll scrap the company, start another one, and start over again. That is an expense that they’d like to delay, so for them it makes economic sense to avoid questions.
Well, then the FTC has $50,000 waiting for your winning strategy. You should contact them.
Too bad. If they don’t like it, they can quit and get a less sleazy job, like crack whore or child pornographer.
I have a solution, but I don’t think that the FTC can publicly endorse it. It involves me and a flamethrower, and an unlimited travel budget. I hate traveling, but I’m willing to sacrifice my comfort for the good of many.
:rolleyes: I outlined a strategy that is more effective for individuals to reduce their robocall load than abusing the agent or playing cutesy antics. So please save the glib, mindless reponse for someone who’s claiming to end robocalls for everybody forever, 'mkay?
:rolleyes: yourself. Your strategy might work for “regular” telemarketers. I wouldn’t know as I haven’t got one of those calls in years. For the major illegal operations like Cardmember Services it’s worse than useless. You have clearly not had to deal with these people or you would not be spouting your outdated info about how you just have to ask them some tough pointed questions to scare them off. It is a robocalling operation. They don’t care who asks them questions. You think I and many other people haven’t tried your clever strategy? This isn’t 1998. It won’t work. There are accounts all over the Internet from people who have tried and tried hard to get information on these fuckers, with little success, and without stopping the calls.
“Effective strategy.” As if.
Wait, you’re saying they’re waiting to be “banned” from doing their already illegal activity? And, this whole time they would have went away if I demanded the name of their supervisor? Wow!
With the information you’ve given, I’d guess you’re a telemarketer out for a laugh.
First off, they don’t give a shit, m’kay. They’ve been breaking the law for years and your questions aren’t going the make them do anything but laugh (I DEMAND the name of your company!). The call was robo-dialed, so the telemarketer doesn’t know, or care, who you are unless you’re going to fork over some credit card numbers. I guarantee you have gotten zero useful information from these organized, multimillion dollar criminal organizations (oh noes, he demanded our address!).
Next, you say not the abuse them or play cutesy antics, but then say you string them along like you’re a compliant victim. Which is it, demanding information, or stringing them along?
Well, I can only hope my state “bans” them soon, so they pack up and move on!
Oh yeah, :rolleyes:
Card Services has actually not called back. 
Normally you don’t even get a pause in their harassing calls.
Back in 2007 I used to get the Cardmember Services calls at my job. And I had to answer them because I have to answer all the calls, you know? No way to tell what’s legit and what’s not.
Anyway, one day I was bored and tired of their shit, so I went along with the game.
When it got to the point where they were asking for my name and my employer, I pulled up the FTC site on the web.
“My name? Yes, it’s (whoever was the Chairman of the FTC at the time). My employer? I am the Chairman of the FTC. The FTC. Yes, the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission. No, the Federal Trade Commission, I’m Joe Schmoe, the Chairman. We manage the Do Not Call list.”
I swear to God. Eventually I got tired of it and hung up. And the rep called me back! So I hung up. And then called me back again! And I hung up again. Poor thing, she really did sound naive and new, I think she really did think she was going to make a “sale”.
I felt bad for her, but the calls stopped after that.
(Years later we started getting the false magazine renewal scam. When I told them I was going to report them, they called me back and left a long voicemail on my phone pretending that the supervisor was talking to the rep about how much of a bitch I was and to put me down to be called and called and called. No lie! I took down every word of that voicemail and included it in my complaint. And the calls from those fuckers stopped, too.)
not urban legend here, neighbors would call me and let me know then pop popcorn. I’d tell the religion peddlars twice thanks for your concern bow get off my porch please and then it be anything from grabbing everclear and blowing fireballs at them to doing a striptease.
actually I’ve heard the best thing you can do with the jehovah witless is tell them you’ve been excommunicated from their church
I always say “Excuse me, but who told you you could call me?”
“Uhhh…My Boss. We’re offering a really great deal…”
“Did I say you could call me?”
“No, but…”
“THEN DON’T CALL ME!” Hang up phone.
I know it will not stop all the calls, but for most of them it is pretty easy to file a complaint with the Do-Not-Call Registry - all you need is their phone number (which may appear on most wireless land-line phones), and the name of the company (may also appear). You can get these two bits of info easily from the caller without turning it into an interrogation. I do not have time to deal with these excreasences, so once I have the company name and the phone number, I tell them not to call me again and then abruptly hang up.
I had a real estate company calling us and I asked them several times not to call any more, and I reported it the the website above and they have not called back. YMMV.
Otherwise, if I pick up the phone and see it is some sort of marketing thing, rather than get angry with them, I just take control and tell them not to call me again, then click and it is over. I do fear that somewhere the fact that a live person picked-up on our number is captured, tho. That seems like a risk any time you pick up.