Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a new group to hunt down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.

On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:07:51 -0800 (PST), Charlie Self
wrote:


Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a new group to hunt down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.


Just ask em for a credit card number so you can bill them 3.99 per
minute for the use of your phone. it shuts em up just long enough to
hang up on em. caller ID helps. if I dont recognize the number I
usually dont answer.

skeez

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...

Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a new group to hunt down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.



Tell your friends to not call for a few days except after a certain time of
day. For the time of day that you get most of the crank calls forward your
# to the FBI. :~)

Charlie Self wrote:
Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?


Another scam are the jerks who tell you your car warranty is about to
expire and have no idea what your cars VIN is - but they do want you to
buy extended coverage. They've been bugging us about 10 times weekly
for the past month or so, and we still have warranty coverage for two
years on the truck and 8 years on the KIA.

skeez wrote:


Just ask em for a credit card number so you can bill them 3.99 per
minute for the use of your phone. it shuts em up just long enough to
hang up on em. caller ID helps. if I dont recognize the number I
usually dont answer.

skeez

The old modem I have in my computer no longer gets used except for the
"Caller ID" function built into it (many fax/modems have this feature).
I use a freeware program called "Call Alert" which pops up the callers
name on the computer screen when a call comes in. One of the things the
software allows is to build a "Blacklist" of undesired numbers. The
program answers these calls and hangs up immediately, usually within 1/2
ring.

You have to be careful not to enter... ummm, lets say your prescription
plan's phone number into the blacklist by mistake cuz' you won't know
they've been trying to reach you for about... say three weeks.

Call Alert web site:
http://www.ivrsoft.com/call-alert.htm

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:07:51 -0800 (PST), Charlie Self
wrote:


Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a new group to hunt down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.

Blowing a cheap whistle into the phone is a pretty good hint that you don't want
a call back..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Charlie Self wrote:


Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?


Haven't got that one that I know of (we don't pick up on "out of area"
or "number unavailable" calls). Did get a new one (to us) from Bank of
America last night. Caller ID said Bank of America, and since we have an
account there decided to pick up. Was told this was a courtesy call, they
had our credit card ready and wanted to confirm some information. Now,
since I have a Bank of America MasterCard (was originally MBNA before they
got bought out) and it expires in May, thought this was legit to just
confirm information on the new card. Then after confirming address and zip
code, she makes the comment, my new card will be sent with a credit limit
of (really small amount compared to existing card). I asked if this was a
new card and new account, after she affirmed that it was, I called a halt
and told them not to send.

"Courtesy call" my Aunt Sadie.



--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

"Nova" wrote in message
news:qn2yj.27$H%3.24@trndny01...
skeez wrote:


Just ask em for a credit card number so you can bill them 3.99 per
minute for the use of your phone. it shuts em up just long enough to
hang up on em. caller ID helps. if I dont recognize the number I
usually dont answer.

skeez

The old modem I have in my computer no longer gets used except for the
"Caller ID" function built into it (many fax/modems have this feature).
I use a freeware program called "Call Alert" which pops up the callers
name on the computer screen when a call comes in. One of the things the
software allows is to build a "Blacklist" of undesired numbers. The
program answers these calls and hangs up immediately, usually within 1/2
ring.

You have to be careful not to enter... ummm, lets say your prescription
plan's phone number into the blacklist by mistake cuz' you won't know
they've been trying to reach you for about... say three weeks.

Call Alert web site:
http://www.ivrsoft.com/call-alert.htm

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA


Another good one: http://www.phonetray.com/ptfree_features.htm

"Charlie Self" wrote:

Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Don't pop a blood vessel, take control.

Make the son of a bitch hang up.

As soon as they ask a question, very pleasantly respond,

"That's a very interesting question"

"May I ask you a question?"

"Why did you ask me that question?"

Shut the f**k up and wait for the answer which will undoubtedly be another
question.

When question is asked, repeat above response.

Trust me, I can make anybody quit since I am in total control.

It all depends on how long they want to endure the pain before they quit.

My longest encounter was with a Jehovah Witness which was less than 3
minutes.

SFWIW, the "Bible Thumpers" give up in less time than the JWs.

Lew

Charlie Self wrote:

Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a new group to hunt down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.


I do this:

Answer the phone and listen to what they are trying to sell, give
me, or tell me that I have won. I then say: "Oh wow, I am VERY
interested in this, can you hang on just a minute?"

Then I set the phone down and walk away. When you come back in
15 minutes or so, they are usually gone. If they aren't, I say
"Sorry about that, now where were we?" As soon as they begin
talking, I then say: "Damnit! You'll have to hang on again.
I'll be right back."

Repeat as necessary.

What this does is keep them occupied for at least a little while
so they can't bother someone else.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

In article , "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"Charlie Self" wrote:

Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Don't pop a blood vessel, take control.

Make the son of a bitch hang up.

As soon as they ask a question, very pleasantly respond,

"That's a very interesting question"

"May I ask you a question?"

"Why did you ask me that question?"

Shut the f**k up and wait for the answer which will undoubtedly be another
question.

When question is asked, repeat above response.

Trust me, I can make anybody quit since I am in total control.

It all depends on how long they want to endure the pain before they quit.

My longest encounter was with a Jehovah Witness which was less than 3
minutes.

SFWIW, the "Bible Thumpers" give up in less time than the JWs.

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

On Mar 1, 4:35 am, (Doug Miller) wrote:
...
What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

Cheap entertainment.

--

FF

If my caller ID tells me that it is a call I dont
want, out of area or no information, then I just
turn on my fax. The computer auto dialers will
automaticaly delete your number if it is a fax or
computer line.
Puff

"Charlie Self" wrote in
message
...

Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call,
a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop,
Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously
with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm
screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the
assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might
back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so
much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a
couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a
new group to hunt down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce
their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital
age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.

Doug Miller wrote:

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

I have fun with it. Nothing like playing them like fish and having a good
time doing it.

My favorite was years ago when some phone company wanted me to switch long
distance carriers. Now I'm in the telecom business know about this stuff.
Anyway the conversation went like this:

Salesdroid: "Would you like to save money on your long distance calls?"

Me (in my best country drawl): "Don't make long distance calls."

SD: "You don't call your friends and family?"

Me: "Ain't got no friends. Can I call you?"

SD (a bit flustered): "ah, uh, surely you have family you want to call."

Me: "Naw, they either drunk themselfs to death or I owes them money for
my drinkin'. Ya wanna come over and help me finish this case of
beer? I've still got a few left, but ya gotta get here soon"

Anyway this goes on 15 minutes. As fun as it is, I do have to get on
with my day. So I drop the drawl and go into my fast telecom consultant
voice

Me: "Now that you mention it, what kind of provisioning dates can you give
me on frame relay data circuit? I only want it if its running on an
OC3 carrier... (and other telecom jargon thrown in)"

You could pretty much hear the whiplash hit him as he hung up the phone.

--
Frank Stutzman

Charlie Self wrote:


Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a new group to hunt down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.

There is the Ultimate Entertainment. One of our boys sent me an audio
copy which I am hunting for. Guy gets the sales call and asks how long
the caller has known Mr. Bumstead and why are they calling. Then goes
into a Sgt. Friday at the scene of Mr. Bumsteads Murder routine, where
the corpse is currently being examined and when was the last time the
sales guy saw him. Turns out the sales guy is in Denver and never met
him, but can he Prove it. Goes on for about ten minutes with the sales
guy's voice cracking and Sgt. Friday telling him not to leave town. It is
an absolute Howl!!

On Feb 29, 7:48 pm, Doug Winterburn wrote:
Charlie Self wrote:
Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Another scam are the jerks who tell you your car warranty is about to
expire and have no idea what your cars VIN is - but they do want you to
buy extended coverage. They've been bugging us about 10 times weekly
for the past month or so, and we still have warranty coverage for two
years on the truck and 8 years on the KIA.

I get this in the mail all the time. My car is 8 years old, and way
past warrantee, my truck is 10, and bought used.

On Feb 29, 9:43 pm, Mark & Juanita wrote:
Charlie Self wrote:

Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Haven't got that one that I know of (we don't pick up on "out of area"
or "number unavailable" calls). Did get a new one (to us) from Bank of
America last night. Caller ID said Bank of America, and since we have an
account there decided to pick up. Was told this was a courtesy call, they
had our credit card ready and wanted to confirm some information. Now,
since I have a Bank of America MasterCard (was originally MBNA before they
got bought out) and it expires in May, thought this was legit to just
confirm information on the new card. Then after confirming address and zip
code, she makes the comment, my new card will be sent with a credit limit
of (really small amount compared to existing card). I asked if this was a
new card and new account, after she affirmed that it was, I called a halt
and told them not to send.

"Courtesy call" my Aunt Sadie.


I get that one on occasion, too.Recorded voice: "It is urgent that you
that you get in touch with us about your credit card. There is no
problem with the account, but get in touch soon." They have a hope.
The recording gets to "urgent" and I hang up. What's urgent to them is
nonsense to me. If they really need me, they can write a
letter...which was always my response to sales calls that got through
years ago--put it in writing.

My problem with out of area call refusal is a simple one: I've got
friends all over the U.S. I also often get business calls on one of
the home phone lines, and they can be from almost anywhere.

In article , Frank Stutzman wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

I have fun with it. Nothing like playing them like fish and having a good
time doing it.

You must lead a dull life, if you have to do stuff like that for fun. g
Me, I'd rather just hang up and go back to what I was doing before. "I'm going
to hang up now. Bye." click

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Lobby Dosser wrote:
Charlie Self wrote:


Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents,
so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble
is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just
hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago,
and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a new group to hunt
down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.

There is the Ultimate Entertainment. One of our boys sent me an
audio
copy which I am hunting for. Guy gets the sales call and asks how
long
the caller has known Mr. Bumstead and why are they calling. Then
goes
into a Sgt. Friday at the scene of Mr. Bumsteads Murder routine,
where
the corpse is currently being examined and when was the last time
the
sales guy saw him. Turns out the sales guy is in Denver and never
met
him, but can he Prove it. Goes on for about ten minutes with the
sales
guy's voice cracking and Sgt. Friday telling him not to leave town.
It is an absolute Howl!!

Friend of mine's father in law lived in his mother-in-law apartment
for many years. When the old guy died at 100+ he willed his remains
to Yale, and his son-in-law kept the line and the phone number and set
the call-forwarding to pass his calls on to the Yale Anatomy Lab.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:07:51 -0800 (PST), Charlie Self
wrote:



Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off.

I have a feature on my land line known as "Privacy Manager."

If the incoming call doesn't fully and correctly ID, they caller is
sent to a menu tree with several options. My phone doesn't ring
unless the correct option is chosen and an extra step is taken.

That and the federal and state Do Not Call lists add up to me not
remembering my last telemarketing call. Seriously, it's been years!

On Mar 1, 7:50 am, "Bonehenge (B A R R Y)"
wrote:
On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:07:51 -0800 (PST), Charlie Self

wrote:

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off.

I have a feature on my land line known as "Privacy Manager."

If the incoming call doesn't fully and correctly ID, they caller is
sent to a menu tree with several options. My phone doesn't ring
unless the correct option is chosen and an extra step is taken.

That and the federal and state Do Not Call lists add up to me not
remembering my last telemarketing call. Seriously, it's been years!

I don't have that, and, until the recent primaries, didn't get any
telemarketing calls until these demented baboons started up. And I
really don't think they're telemarketing: any call that starts with,
"Your number has been chosen to receive a prize of..." is a swindle,
pure and simple.

Charlie Self wrote in
:

On Feb 29, 9:43 pm, Mark & Juanita wrote:
Charlie Self wrote:

Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Haven't got that one that I know of (we don't pick up on "out of
area"
or "number unavailable" calls). Did get a new one (to us) from Bank
of America last night. Caller ID said Bank of America, and since we
have an account there decided to pick up. Was told this was a
courtesy call, they had our credit card ready and wanted to confirm
some information. Now, since I have a Bank of America MasterCard
(was originally MBNA before they got bought out) and it expires in
May, thought this was legit to just confirm information on the new
card. Then after confirming address and zip code, she makes the
comment, my new card will be sent with a credit limit of (really
small amount compared to existing card). I asked if this was a new
card and new account, after she affirmed that it was, I called a halt
and told them not to send.

"Courtesy call" my Aunt Sadie.


I get that one on occasion, too.Recorded voice: "It is urgent that you
that you get in touch with us about your credit card. There is no
problem with the account, but get in touch soon." They have a hope.
The recording gets to "urgent" and I hang up. What's urgent to them is
nonsense to me. If they really need me, they can write a
letter...which was always my response to sales calls that got through
years ago--put it in writing.

My problem with out of area call refusal is a simple one: I've got
friends all over the U.S. I also often get business calls on one of
the home phone lines, and they can be from almost anywhere.

We got a call from Sears/Mastercard/Citibank to call them back. I did.
They said did I really order over $9000 in merchandise over the past day
or so? I said no, just bought a $12 item 3 weeks before that, and don't
use the card often at all. They said OK, we'll cancel the charges. I
said Fine, cancel the whole account, and seek out the bozos at the local
Kmart who saw the card that one time I used it.

I work at a VA Hospital and when I call home from there, it shows
unknown. Spouse knows enough to pick up. When I'm home we adjust for
the fact grin.



--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

"Bonehenge (B A R R Y)" wrote in message

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off.

I have a feature on my land line known as "Privacy Manager."

If the incoming call doesn't fully and correctly ID, they caller is
sent to a menu tree with several options. My phone doesn't ring
unless the correct option is chosen and an extra step is taken.

That and the federal and state Do Not Call lists add up to me not
remembering my last telemarketing call. Seriously, it's been years!

I've received a few unsolicited faxes. The one that came yesterday had a
toll free fax number to respond to with my order. I've sent them back a six
page all black copy so far. Three times. Oh, I also changed the headers in
my sending to show that it came from them too.

On Mar 1, 10:23 am, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"Bonehenge (B A R R Y)" wrote in message



Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off.

I have a feature on my land line known as "Privacy Manager."

If the incoming call doesn't fully and correctly ID, they caller is
sent to a menu tree with several options. My phone doesn't ring
unless the correct option is chosen and an extra step is taken.

That and the federal and state Do Not Call lists add up to me not
remembering my last telemarketing call. Seriously, it's been years!

I've received a few unsolicited faxes. The one that came yesterday had a
toll free fax number to respond to with my order. I've sent them back a six
page all black copy so far. Three times. Oh, I also changed the headers in
my sending to show that it came from them too.

Now, that one I like. At least there is some way to even think you're
getting back at phone intrusions of one kind or another. With on-line
spam, ANY answer just assures the thugs at the other end that they've
got a live email address.

I see by my spam traps on other sites that the dominant theme, at
least to people they identify as male, is now penis size, and
increasing it with their magic formula/exercise/whatever. That
probably says a great deal more about the average spammer than it does
anything else, is my guess. They are all probably hung like stud field
mice.

Charlie Self wrote:
Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity is telling them we've formed a new group to hunt down
everyone who ever made such a call and pierce their eardrums with a
hot ice pick. Then remind them, in the digital age, they are ALWAYS
connected and traceable.

If you have a cell, you might want to take a look at
https://www.donotcall.gov/, the national do not call registry.
Apparently the last enrollment did not cover cells. FYI.
j4

On Mar 1, 7:50 am, "Bonehenge (B A R R Y)"
wrote:

...

If the incoming call doesn't fully and correctly ID, they caller is
sent to a menu tree with several options. My phone doesn't ring
unless the correct option is chosen and an extra step is taken.

That and the federal and state Do Not Call lists add up to me not
remembering my last telemarketing call. Seriously, it's been years!

When the federal DNC list went into effect my telemarketing
calls stopped completely for several months. And get this,
I wasn't even on the list!

--

FF

On Mar 1, 5:44 am, Charlie Self wrote:



I get that one on occasion, too.Recorded voice: "It is urgent that you
that you get in touch with us about your credit card. There is no
problem with the account, but get in touch soon." They have a hope.
The recording gets to "urgent" and I hang up. What's urgent to them is
nonsense to me. If they really need me, they can write a
letter...which was always my response to sales calls that got through
years ago--put it in writing.

Has it been Heather who has been calling lately?

I thought for a long time that those were from a
'credit counseling' company. But after a little g
oogling I found that they are a well-known identity
theft ring.


My problem with out of area call refusal is a simple one: I've got
friends all over the U.S. I also often get business calls on one of
the home phone lines, and they can be from almost anywhere.

I have one friend who uses a phone permanently set to "private
caller".

--

FF

On Mar 1, 10:31 am, Charlie Self wrote:

...


...

I've received a few unsolicited faxes. The one that came yesterday had a
toll free fax number to respond to with my order. I've sent them back a six
page all black copy so far. Three times. Oh, I also changed the headers in
my sending to show that it came from them too.

Where I used to work there was always a stack of junk faxes sitting
by the fax machines. every once in a while I would stack them up
in the machine and send them all back to one of their numbers.


...

I see by my spam traps on other sites that the dominant theme, at
least to people they identify as male, is now penis size, and
increasing it with their magic formula/exercise/whatever. That
probably says a great deal more about the average spammer than it does
anything else, is my guess. They are all probably hung like stud field
mice.

Is there really a name/gender dichotomy in the spam received at
those? I was under the impression that the 'make penis fast'
were among the least sophisticated.

Although it has been a while since I have received a spam
offering to help me attract men with bigger breasts. Just as
well since I really don't find men with bigger breasts to be
particularly sexy in the first place. For me, the sight of
big heaving hairy man boobs just isn't a turn on.

--

FF

Here are some proven ways to rid your life of them for good...

1. If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy
and you could sure use some money.

2. If they start out with, "How are you today?" say, "I'm so glad you asked,
because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems. My
arthritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died . . . "

3. If they say they're John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their
name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is
located, how long it has been in business, how many people work there, how
they got into this line of work if they are married, how many kids they
have, etc. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their
company for as long as necessary.

4. (This works great if you are male) Telemarketer: "Hi, my name is Judy and
I'm with XYZ Company. " You: Wait for a second and with a real husky voice
ask, "What are you wearing?"

5. Cry out in surprise, "Judy? Is that you? Oh my God! Judy, how have you
been?" Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of terror as she
tries to figure out where she could know you from.

6. Say "No" over and over. Be sure to vary the sound of each one, and keep a
rhythmic tempo, even as they are trying to speak. This is most fun if you
can do it until they hang up.

7. If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up for the Family and Friends
Plan, reply, in as sinister a voice as you can, "I don't have any friends,
would you be my friend?"

8. If the company cleans rugs, respond: "Can you get out blood? Can you get
out goat blood? How about human blood?"

9. After the Telemarketer gives his or her spiel, ask him or her to marry
you. When they get all flustered, tell them that you can't just give your
credit card number to a complete stranger.

10. If the Telemarketer is selling raffle tickets, tell him or her that you
work for the same company, and that employees cannot participate.

11. Answer the phone. As soon as you realize it is a Telemarketer, set the
receiver down, scream, "OH MY GOD!" and then hang up.

12. Tell the Telemarketer you are busy at the moment and ask if he/she will
give you their home phone number so you can call him/her back. When the
Telemarketer explains that telemarketers cannot give out their home numbers
say, "I guess you don't want anyone bothering you at home, right?" The
Telemarketer will agree and you say, "Me either!" and proceed to hang up.

13. Ask them to repeat everything they say, several times.

14. Tell them it is dinner time, but ask if they would please hold. Put them
on your speaker phone while you continue to eat at your leisure. Smack your
food loudly and continue with your dinner conversation. For added effect,
clanging of cutlery and dishes is recommended.

15. Tell the Telemarketer you are on "home incarceration" and ask if they
could bring you some beer.

16. Ask them to fax the information to you, and make up a number.

17. Tell the Telemarketer, "Okay, I'll listen to you. But I should probably
tell you, I'm not wearing any clothes."

18. Insist that the caller is really your buddy Leon, playing a joke. "Come
on, Leon, cut it out! Seriously, Leon, how's your momma?"

19. Tell them you are hard of hearing and that they need to speak up...
louder... louder!

20. Tell them to talk very slowly, because you want to write every word
down.

On Feb 29, 7:07 pm, Charlie Self wrote:
Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity

Or, leading them on. Go throught the motions of purchasing as if
George Herbert Walker Bush and give his address an redit card ino
(make up what you don't really know like cc card nos).

Take up their time and energy reverse scamming them. Maybe, once they
think they have a sale, they wll stop calling back. Always give them
the non-emergency number of your local police department as abest time
to call number or work number and a poice department fax number if
asked for one.

Get creative! Have fun with them!

Charlie Self wrote:

On Feb 29, 9:43 pm, Mark & Juanita wrote:
Charlie Self wrote:
.... snip

My problem with out of area call refusal is a simple one: I've got
friends all over the U.S. I also often get business calls on one of
the home phone lines, and they can be from almost anywhere.

That's a reasonable reason. I should clarify, our answering machine is
set to screen, so if one of the out-of-area, or unavailable numbers is
legitimate and the person starts to leave a message, we will pick up.


--
If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough

On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 10:23:03 -0500, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


I've received a few unsolicited faxes.

I get 'em at work.

The one that came yesterday had a
toll free fax number to respond to with my order. I've sent them back a six
page all black copy so far. Three times. Oh, I also changed the headers in
my sending to show that it came from them too.

Unfortunately, they probably come from a computer, not a fax machine,
so you can't use up their toner. 8^(

On Mar 1, 10:49 am, Fred the Red Shirt
wrote:
On Mar 1, 10:31 am, Charlie Self wrote:



...

...

I've received a few unsolicited faxes. The one that came yesterday had a
toll free fax number to respond to with my order. I've sent them back a six
page all black copy so far. Three times. Oh, I also changed the headers in
my sending to show that it came from them too.

Where I used to work there was always a stack of junk faxes sitting
by the fax machines. every once in a while I would stack them up
in the machine and send them all back to one of their numbers.



...

I see by my spam traps on other sites that the dominant theme, at
least to people they identify as male, is now penis size, and
increasing it with their magic formula/exercise/whatever. That
probably says a great deal more about the average spammer than it does
anything else, is my guess. They are all probably hung like stud field
mice.

Is there really a name/gender dichotomy in the spam received at
those? I was under the impression that the 'make penis fast'
were among the least sophisticated.

Although it has been a while since I have received a spam
offering to help me attract men with bigger breasts. Just as
well since I really don't find men with bigger breasts to be
particularly sexy in the first place. For me, the sight of
big heaving hairy man boobs just isn't a turn on.


That mental image is truly repulsive. Maybe it was put in your mind by
the same spammer trying to sell me replica Timex watches. That one had
me choking on my coffee.

On Mar 1, 12:58 pm, Hoosierpopi wrote:
On Feb 29, 7:07 pm, Charlie Self wrote:

Hey, have you noticed a new kind of sales call, a scam about your
number having won whatever the hell--laptop, Rolex, in a sing-song
accent?

Six of 'em today. They're offshore, obviously with those accents, so
the "Do Not Call" list is a waste of energy. I'm screaming at them,
and swearing at them. I figure if enough of the assholes, male and
female, go home every day in tears, they might back off. Trouble is,
Frances is getting ****ed at me for swearing so much. She just hangs
up, but this nonsense seems to have started a couple months ago, and
is gaining intensity daily.

Next possiblity

Or, leading them on. Go throught the motions of purchasing as if
George Herbert Walker Bush and give his address an redit card ino
(make up what you don't really know like cc card nos).

Take up their time and energy reverse scamming them. Maybe, once they
think they have a sale, they wll stop calling back. Always give them
the non-emergency number of your local police department as abest time
to call number or work number and a poice department fax number if
asked for one.

Get creative! Have fun with them!

Just saying "F.... you!" and hanging up seems much more economical of
my time.

On Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:35:34 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

I can tell you why I do stuff like that. First of all, I'm retired.
Time is not money to me, but it is to them. The longer I can keep them
on the line (to no end, for their purposes), the more it amuses me,
but most importantly, the more it costs them. Not only that, the more
time they spend on me the less time they have to call you.

No. No need for thanks. Your understanding is thanks enough.

By the way, I got turned over to a collection agency recently (for a
bill I've already paid, twice, by the way). A couple of days ago I got
a call on my cell phone (probably about the third one from them). The
guy asks for me. I said, "who are you?"

"My name is Jacob (or something). Can you verify that I'm talking to
LRod?"

"I don't know who you are. What do you want?"

"Please verify that I am talking to LRod."

"Your name is not familiar to me. Who are you?"

"I'm sorry. I have personal business to discuss with LRod. Can you
verify that is who I'm talking to?"

"You're the one who called me. If you don't know who you called,
that's your problem."

"Yes, I called, but anyone could answer the phone. I have personal
business to discuss with LRod and I must verify you are him."

"And anyone could be calling me. I don't have to give you any
information whatsoever without knowing who you are."

This went on, back and forth, for a couple of minutes. Finally, he
said, "we are not getting anywhere here. We are wasting time."

"Then perhaps you should review your calling courtesy protocol. You
called me. I don't owe you anything. It's your responsibility to
identify who you are and what your business is if you want to continue
a conversation with me."

He hung up.

That was fun.

Incidentally, the bank is on the case. I also had a very pleasant chat
with a supervisor at the company in question. He was not pleased that
one of his CS reps hung up on me when I refused to dance her tune
earlier in the day.

It's not like I'm any sort of deadbeat.


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net
http://www.normstools.com

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

"J. Clarke" wrote:

Friend of mine's father in law lived in his mother-in-law apartment
for many years. When the old guy died at 100+ he willed his remains
to Yale, and his son-in-law kept the line and the phone number and set
the call-forwarding to pass his calls on to the Yale Anatomy Lab.

LOL!!

Somebody wrote:

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

CONTROL!

The SOB makes the decision do so something that is counterproductive at
best, a most unpleasant task, which is the point of the exercise.

Basic Psychology 101.

Lew

On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 15:29:53 -0800, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote:

Somebody wrote:

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

CONTROL!

The SOB makes the decision do so something that is counterproductive at
best, a most unpleasant task, which is the point of the exercise.

Basic Psychology 101.

Your post shows as a response to mine, yet you quoted Doug's text
without attribution. So, I'm a little confused to begin with.

Then you assign the description of "SOB," To whom? Doug? Me? The guy
who called me? Someone else?


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net
http://www.normstools.com

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

In article , "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
Somebody wrote:

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

CONTROL!

The SOB makes the decision do so something that is counterproductive at
best, a most unpleasant task, which is the point of the exercise.

Basic Psychology 101.

Had your blood pressure checked lately, Lew? I'll bet it's higher than mine.
Control? When you keep talking to somebody that you don't want to talk to,
perhaps it's time to rethink your ideas of who is controlling whom in that
conversation. I prefer to think of it from the perspective of controlling my
_time_, rather than controlling another _person_. Simply hanging up the phone
the moment I realize the caller is someone I don't want to talk to is the
simplest and most comprehensive method there is of controlling my time in
that situation. I don't care at all what the caller does with _his_ time, as
long as he's not wasting _mine_. By hanging up, I prevent him from doing so.
OTOH, when you keep talking to him, you allow him to continue to waste your
time even as you waste his. Why? What's the point?

Common Sense 101.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:55:01 +0000, LRod wrote:

On Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:35:34 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

What exactly is the point in going through all this rigamarole? Some jerk
calls that you don't want to talk to -- how hard is it to just hang up the
phone? Why do you need to make him hang up?

I can tell you why I do stuff like that. First of all, I'm retired.
Time is not money to me, but it is to them. The longer I can keep them
on the line (to no end, for their purposes), the more it amuses me,
but most importantly, the more it costs them. Not only that, the more
time they spend on me the less time they have to call you.

snip
When I had an office, I'd just put them on hold.. in the "old days", you could
tie up someone's line for quite a while that way..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing