| Author | Message | ||
     Ratbuell |
So...when I left my job at the RV place, the first thing I did was work on reducing my monthly bills. I wasn't behind on anything, but I figured with no real income for the time being, I'd knock every penny off my bills I could. I called my cable company, whom I had cable TV and internet with. They told me I could reduce my bill if I ADDED a home phone. I haven't had (nor wanted nor needed) a home phone since sometime in the '90s...but in order to save some bucks I went ahead and got their bundle. Ever since, the robocalls have hit. I immediately registered the number with the unbelievably WORTHLESS "do not call" list. But I still - DAILY - get a call from one particular "collections agency". No messages, they call before I get home from work, but it's EVERY ••••••• DAY. iPhone? I'd block the number and be done with it. Home, though...any tips? Tricks? Any reliable way to get these meatballs to quit bugging me? I have ZERO collections. I have ZERO bills that are late. I have NEVER had late bills. I'm the son of a CPA fercrissakes...I balanced a checkbook before I was writing cursive as a kid! And looking up this number online, it is definitely a scam/spam/robocall... | ||
| 1313 |
Just because you have a home phone number doesn't mean that you have to have a home phone. I got an old rotary phone hanging on my wall, not connected to anything. I pilfered it from the house I rented for 8 years because the sticker on it had an emergency number ended in 1313 - go figure... But back on track, I have a home phone number, but I don't have any phone connected to a phone line/phone jack. Can I interest you in a phoneless cord?  | ||
| Froggy |
Not a solution, but if you aren't using the phone, I'd just unplug it. Keep it nearby just in case you need to call and your cell is dead or something, but yea I wouldn't bother keeping it plugged in. Robo dialers are going to robo dial, and there is no way to stop them. | ||
| Greg_e |
How about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzedMdx6QG4 watch far enough to see the results. | ||
| Etennuly |
Put in an answering machine with a really long greeting. Get one with a tape give it a five minute greeting message. See if you can win by wasting their time. Use it to screen your calls. | ||
| Hootowl |
I've got to go with just unplug the damn thing. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
If you do the answering machine route, you have to make it start with "hello?" and a long pause. This is the only way their computer will connect you to a person. You want that person's time. ALL of it. A good answering machine message: "Hello?.............could you repeat that?..............What kind of a thing?.........." Get the fish on and give them enough line. | ||
| Jaimec |
http://www.nomorobo.com Works WONDERFULLY but you have to have a digital service that supports it. Works wonderful with FiOS. Check the website to see which services are compatible. There is no charge. | ||
| Ltbuell |
..usually when "they " call..i first ask"What's this all about?"...most of the time they'll hang up....also in case that fails and they persist...i have one of those portable boat horns, that i bought specifically for that at Wally World, and was inexpensive.I have it in my Jeep also for those distracted drivers who can't seem to get to just drive and not do the seven basic ballet moves while talking on their phones,eating while driving,putting on their makeup,drinking coffee,reading something in a book,or just plain being a brain dead moron and not paying attention...really scares the cr*p out of them.....sometimes pretty amusing at best.Makes my day that much happier....good for a chuckle or two or three.....LT | ||
| Ducbsa |
I scoffed at people who only answered calls from numbers they knew, but lately, I've started doing that, too. If it is a legit call, they'll leave a message. Doing that goes along with the theory that the scammers are seeking to confirm if the number is good to go on a list to be sold, so answering to waste their time is counter-productive. True theory or not, maybe? We get a lot of single ring calls that we assume are intended to get you to call back to incur charges that go to the scammer, sort of like the old 900 calls. | ||
| Jaimec |
OH! One more thing about "NoMoRoBo:" Unlike the FTC's "Do Not Call" registry (which doesn't seem to work anyway as Froggy pointed out above), NoMoRoBo DOES block political campaign calls! This was a GODSEND last election season. This is how it works: Most digital landline services allow you to register a second number to ring if someone calls your main number. This is handy if most of your calls go to your landline, but you're going away on vacation. What you do is make the NoMoRoBo number your "Ring Also" number. When someone calls you, the NoMoRoBo "phone" will also ring and will compare the caller's number to a database of known robo-callers. If it finds a match, it disconnects the call. You only have to answer the phone if it rings a SECOND time. We've been using this for over two years now and it is WONDERFUL. For awhile there we couldn't remember what it was like to eat an uninterrupted dinner. We also have an old-school answering machine (instead of using Verizon's own voice-mail system). That way on the very RARE occasion a caller gets through (some places still use people instead of robo-dialers, but this is getting rarer and rarer) we can listen and decide if it really is someone we want to talk to. | ||
| Froggy |
I was reading about NoMoRoBo this morning, came here to share but Jamie beat me to the punch. Looks like it might do the trick. |
