They are at it again, damn cold callers

Forums › Off topic › They are at it again, damn cold callers

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#976023 28-Jan-2014 16:19

Not that I've tried it, but I've heard that blasting their ear drums with a whistle gives them a bit of an incentive.

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GregV

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#976046 28-Jan-2014 16:41

With the PC fix scammers, I've done various things, but the most fun one was simply repeating everything they said to me. They didn't last very long on the line

mattwnz

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#976069 28-Jan-2014 17:26

Finch: Ive got caller ID but they just come up 0000

I have set my phone to blacklist and not ring when it gets an 0000 number. If it is important they can still leave a message. Has so far been 100% effective for not receiving these scam calls.

Buzz Bumble

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#976147 28-Jan-2014 19:21

DarthKermit:
Not that I've tried it, but I've heard that blasting their ear drums with a whistle gives them a bit of an incentive.

The problem with that is these days you'll be the one who gets strung up in court for damaging the "poor innocent" spammer's / scammer's eardrums thanks to the hopeless "policitically correct" fools in charge of the justice system. :-(

andrewNZ

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#976154 28-Jan-2014 19:27

As all of these calls will be PC-VOIP, it'd be wonderful if someone would come up with a way of hacking their system over the phone... Impossible I know.

Abo

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#976168 28-Jan-2014 19:39

I just tell them i'm starting up the computer or to hold on a sec then I put the phone down somewhere and go back to what i'm doing.

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coffeebaron

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#976194 28-Jan-2014 20:10

WorldxChange VFX line + advance features = problem solved :)

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JimmyH

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#976341 28-Jan-2014 23:17

Kyanar: I'm also getting calls late at night from some insurance company telling me I owe it to my family to get their insurance, and to press 1 to leave a message with my details so they can actually get a real bloody human to call me. Nuisance in the extreme, shouldn't even be legal to robocall like that.

A couple of months ago, every 3-4 days, I was getting a call at between 4.30am and 5.30am. When I picked it up I got a loud blare of trumpets (literally), then the same very loud (almost shouted) recorded voice saying "The following is an announcement of critical importance to all PARENTS".

Never did hang on long enough to find out who it was, as I would just reflexively groggily swear loudly and slam the phone down. Given that I was working late and sometimes not getting home until 10.30-11pm, and not getting to bed until around 1am, it wasn't doing wonders for the amount of sleep I was getting.

Trouble is I had to be available because of a sick family member, so taking the phone off the hook each night wasn't an option.

If only Telecom would offer a configurable phone solution where, for example:

white-listed numbers always go through, and non-white-listed numbers can be set to go straight to voicemail (either always or only between specified hours) rather than the phone ringing
numbers with blocked caller ID or "000" can (at the customers option) either be sent to voicemail, get a recorded message played to them and then dumped, or just simply get an engaged tone
types of calls - eg VOIP calls, non-NZ POTS calls, or calls from specific geographic regions (Philippines, India etc) can be set to get the same treatment, and
specific numbers can be blacklisted so than the caller simply gets an engaged tone every time they call.

Unlike call waiting and caller ID, that is a value added service that if the priced it reasonably I would be prepared to pay for. Particularly in election years when the pollsters and political cold callers start to rev up (shudder). It might also persuade me to keep a land-line which, if these types of annoyances continue, I may instead drop - cell phones seem pretty free of this issue.

nedkelly

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#983699 10-Feb-2014 21:42

Just had another one come through again.
And my grandparents had one at 11.30pm, if they called me at 11.30pm I would not be very happy at all.

turnin

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#983728 10-Feb-2014 22:13

coffeebaron: WorldxChange VFX line + advance features = problem solved :)

OK got the vfx, how do the advanced features tell me who to block since caller ID is usually 0000, and the worst thing is my parents live overseas so I assume a call at 2am from overseas is probably an emergency of some type. The lady who rang me a couple of nights ago was selling beds, very good beds apparently so I told her there was no point in us having a nice bed as we never get any sleep, since the phone rings all bloody night with bed sales people . She laughed and hung up. Then I lay back in bed and pretended it didn't annoy me, for nearly an hour.
I put our phone number on the do Not call list run by the Direct marketing assn a year or so ago, it stopped Sky TV but that's about all.

Fred99

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#983729 10-Feb-2014 22:13

I tell them I'm busy - need to put them on "hold" - then subject them to a recording of an american gospel televangelist in full flight. A surprising number are still there after 5 minutes - so I just give them 5 minutes more.

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Aredwood

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#983754 10-Feb-2014 22:31

The flatmates just set the ringer volume to 0. We were lucky if 1/4 of the incoming calls were actually for a person in the house instead of scammers, surveys, direct marketing ect. Whenever the phone rang there was a round of "bags not" to see who had to answer the phone.

And since fibre will hopefully be connected next month. I will be ditching the landline for good. Told the flatmates - No landline when fibre is connected. Technically it is already ditched since it is a VOIP line over ADSL.

Journeyman

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#983806 11-Feb-2014 01:20

Just have this on standby and play it down the phone. I'm not sure if it will work but it will be fun nonetheless ;)

Then again, I don't have a landline and don't get bothered with this sort of crap so maybe my advice can be taken with a grain of salt...

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#984739 12-Feb-2014 08:59

We have had about 15 cold calls from the "Windows Service Centre" over the last 12 months - sometimes two calls in one day - always with an Indian accent.
The calls are to our listed home number. They do not call me by name.
They seem quit disorganized, sometimes unaware of what country I am in.
Things hit a new low when I was cold-called whilst asleep at 12:30am this morning, and asked to start my computer.
They got a very abrupt response.

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MikeB4

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#984746 12-Feb-2014 09:05

I just say, I am too busy right now, and say goodbye.

Telemarketers are just people trying to make a living, asked yourself would you like to be abused and damaged ( blowing whistles down the phone nonsense) for doing your job?
What they are doing is better than being unemployed.

As for Windows scammers I just put my landline on silent at night, if anyone I know wants me urgently they will use my cellphone.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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