# Tele-Abusing Telemarketers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352 "2011-08-11T16:52:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/21 "2011-08-12T02:45:23Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > From Louisiana: > > Nevada statutes 201.255 prohibits three types of speech communicated over the phone–obscene speech, threatening speech, and annoying speech. > > Massachusetts Laws Chapter 269 section 14A prohibits telephone or electronic communications that are harassing, annoying, or threatening. > > Georgia code title 16, chapter 11, article 2 prohibits the use of “fighting words,” obscene and vulgar or profane language, and harassment over phone calls. > > Many more cites are available. Even just look in the front of your phone book (if you have one) and you will see it cited there. Good luck to the telemarketeer who tries to sue the guy he cold called for harassment. I wonder whose side the jury would be on 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/22 "2011-08-12T04:15:05Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > We have a device called a telezapper. It attaches between the phone and the wall jack. It detects the pause before an automated dialer and sends back the same tone the machine would get if the phone had been disconnected. This in turn causes the automated dialer to remove the phone number from its listings. The only disadvantage is that certain international calls have a similar pause, so if you expect a lot of those you might have a problem. Being too cheap to buy a telezapper, I just recorded that tone (it’s called a SIT tone if you want to find it on Google) and put that at the beginning of my outgoing message on my answering machine. A little more detail: To avoid freaking out the people I do want to call me, I learned that the really good auto-dialers are “smart” enough to recognize the first tone so I only recorded that. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/23 "2011-08-12T06:22:45Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > From Louisiana: > > Nevada statutes 201.255 prohibits three types of speech communicated over the phone–obscene speech, threatening speech, and annoying speech. > > Massachusetts Laws Chapter 269 section 14A prohibits telephone or electronic communications that are harassing, annoying, or threatening. > > Georgia code title 16, chapter 11, article 2 prohibits the use of “fighting words,” obscene and vulgar or profane language, and harassment over phone calls. > > Many more cites are available. Even just look in the front of your phone book (if you have one) and you will see it cited there. Have any of these laws actually been enforced or do they merely sit on the books for people on the internet to argue about? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/24 "2011-08-12T06:42:06Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Good luck to the telemarketeer who tries to sue the guy he cold called for harassment. I wonder whose side the jury would be on 😉 It’s not just jury nullification the telemarketer would have to worry about. If he’s gonna try to sue the person who answered the phone, he’s going to explain why he was calling. Since the telemarketer was breaking the law by calling someone who had asked to be put on the DNC list, he’s liable for fines. Big fines. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/25 "2011-08-12T06:50:49Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > Have any of these laws actually been enforced or do they merely sit on the books for people on the internet to argue about? They are quite regularly enforced – they are the same laws that prohibit obscene callers, heavy breathers, etc. in most states. Enforced against your average citizen who lets loose a cuss word during conversation with a friend? Not so much. Such mutual conversations hardly ever come to the notice of the police. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/26 "2011-08-12T15:02:44Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > They are quite regularly enforced – they are the same laws that prohibit obscene callers, heavy breathers, etc. in most states. Cite please ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/27 "2011-08-12T15:37:08Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > It’s not just jury nullification the telemarketer would have to worry about. If he’s gonna try to sue the person who answered the phone, he’s going to explain why he was calling. Since the telemarketer was breaking the law by calling someone who had asked to be put on the DNC list, he’s liable for fines. Big fines. I would be very happy to pay my fine for losing my temper if a telemarketer would also have to pay his ginormous fine too. Sounds like an excellent tradeoff. I recommend that people feel free to profane any telemarketer they choose. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/28 "2011-08-12T16:05:08Z")
It would only waste your friend’s time. As soon as a telemarketer understands that a call isn’t going to be a sale they disconnect. They are used to obscene rants and angry complaints. You are doing them a favor by letting them know quickly that the call is a dead end so they can hang up and try another call. Even random conversation will cause them to hang up. One of the things their commission is based on is time per call. If they don’t feel a bite on the line it is better for them to hang up and fish elsewhere. If you really want to waste their time go along with their spiel as an interested customer for as long as possible and then hang up. Though that may just get them calling you even more frequently. I just ignore all calls that aren’t in my contacts. If it is important they’ll leave a message. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/29 "2011-08-12T16:26:33Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > If you really want to waste their time go along with their spiel as an interested customer for as long as possible and then hang up. Though that may just get them calling you even more frequently. The unfortunate thing is that nothing seems to affect how often they call. > [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Many more cites are available. Even just look in the front of your phone book (if you have one) and you will see it cited there. Thanks - I will have a look. Although I imagine the law is aimed at those initiating an obscene or abusive call. My question is if someone else calls, it is illegal or in violation of some civic duty to call them nasty and creative names. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/30 "2011-08-12T16:43:06Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > (1) The classic SDMB thread on this topic: [“The Telemarketer Speaks. I Respond.”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=51270) The post that triggered that Pit thread was dated 12-15-2000 and closes with this: “Best estimates say that telemarketing will be a dead issue in 10 years.” I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/31 "2011-08-12T19:05:37Z")
Telemarketing is far less frequent now than it was 10 years ago. Once there was a federal DNC list, a lot of people signed up for it, and the companies that more-or-less obeyed the law found that telemarketing wasn’t nearly as profitable. Yeah, we still get the out-of-country telemarketers, and the lawbreakers, but nowadays it’s rare for me to get even one phone spammer in months. Before the DNC list I was getting about a dozen calls a day sometimes. And companies are learning that even if a consumer buys something, that doesn’t mean that the consumer is willing to be telemarketed to. I’ve called up various companies and requested to be put on the DNC list. Sometimes I’ve been told that it’s legal for them to call me if I’m a customer. My usual response is to say fine, then I’ll quit buying from the company. I follow this up with a letter to HQ, and it’s amazing how quickly I get a letter back, begging me to stay with them and promising that my name and number will be removed from the telemarketing database. I imagine that I’m not the only one who complains, because the letters I get do seem to be canned responses. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/32 "2011-08-12T19:21:50Z")
In some jurisdictions, harassment and stalking statutes are written very broadly; broadly enough to arguably cover an obscenity-laden tirade against a telemarketer. As a practical matter, I doubt that the authorities would take it very seriously if a telemarketing company filed a police complaint in a situation like this. I’ve cursed at telemarketers many times and nothing’s ever come of it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/33 "2011-08-12T19:23:56Z")
Back when I had more free time and was much more easily amused, I used to begin by feigning polite interest, and then gradually and subtly alter my breathing in such way as to suggest the possibility that I \*might \*be masturbating. Nothing over-the-top, but just enough to make the person confused and uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![norvalnormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@norvalnormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norvalnormal)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/34 "2011-08-13T20:52:35Z")
I have received hundreds and hundreds of calls on my landline (I work from my home as a freelancer, so “passively” monitoring incoming phone calls just isn’t practical), “Rachel from Cardholder Services” definitely being the prime offender. My blood so gets to boiling that I recently phoned the FCC’s 800 # to complain and the polite young man on the other end admitted that they still can’t even conclusively determine if these infernal calls originate from inside the U.S. or not, since the numbers that show up on Caller IDs are “spoofed.” 2 weeks ago, I cursed the f\*\*k out of the guy on the other end after pressing “1” and he phoned my phone back 5-6 times in the next 5 minutes, until it became obvious to him that I wasn’t going to pick up the receiver. I am not, generally speaking, pro-death penalty but for the “mastermind” behind “Rachel” and her ilk, I would–gladly–pull the switch. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/35 "2011-08-13T21:36:10Z")
“Rachel” calls me every weekday morning at 8:00 AM\*. I just consider her my wakeup call. I get more done when I get up early. 😃 - I HATE Rachel. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/36 "2011-08-14T04:32:42Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > From Louisiana: > > Nevada statutes 201.255 prohibits three types of speech communicated over the phone–obscene speech, threatening speech, and annoying speech. > > Massachusetts Laws Chapter 269 section 14A prohibits telephone or electronic communications that are harassing, annoying, or threatening. > > Georgia code title 16, chapter 11, article 2 prohibits the use of “fighting words,” obscene and vulgar or profane language, and harassment over phone calls. > > Many more cites are available. Even just look in the front of your phone book (if you have one) and you will see it cited there. And every single last one of them is unconstitutional, unless you can show me them going to the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/37 "2011-08-14T05:56:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And every single last one of them is unconstitutional, unless you can show me them going to the Supreme Court. I think you may have it backwards. While IANAL, my understanding is that a law, once passed by the Legislature & signed by the Governor, is presumed to be constitutional, until that is challenged in a court, and ruled unconstitutional. Further, people have been arrested, convicted, and punished for obscene phone calls for something like 100 years now. If such laws were actually unconstitutional, surely one of them would have appealed their conviction to a higher court. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/38 "2011-08-14T06:33:29Z")
I think someone posted this link a while back, but I can’t find it on the SDMB. Still, worthwhile…[link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7OgWcwgB50). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/39 "2011-08-14T11:20:56Z")
I just went through this with Sears Credit Card. I reported them to the Do Not Call list each time and after the forth time they stopped calling. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352/40 "2011-08-14T17:05:09Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Further, people have been arrested, convicted, and punished for obscene phone calls for something like 100 years now. If such laws were actually unconstitutional, surely one of them would have appealed their conviction to a higher court. How many times are you going to claim this without providing a cite? Do you have any cites where someone was charged with being vulgar when an unsolicited telemarketer contacted them? Do you have any cites where anyone at all made an unsolicited call of any kind, was met with vulgarity, and was then charged and convicted? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tele-abusing-telemarketers/592352.md?page=3)