A
First, let me just say I was a telemarketer, so I have nothing against telemarketers. I have much against scammers. I also have a sense of humor, but limited creativity. With that, I thought I'd tap into the good folks on this site and come up with ways to deal with them.
Second, yeahyeahyeah, most modern people have caller ID, blocking capabilities on their phones, and then there is that useless Do Not Call register, that's much like telling people not to shoot others with their slingshots and expecting everyone to listen. I'm not that modern. I have caller ID, unfortunately, I also have five siblings that are forever changing their cellphones without necessarily keeping the same phone number, plus they only have their phone number as their caller ID, and I'm not that good at memorizing numbers. So, let's just say the purpose of this is not to give advice on logical ways to deal, since scammers are out to figure them out and try something different each time.
So, with that, here are methods that have been tried and were quite fun:
1. Dad's method: He pretended he was the family servant and the owner of the house was outside, so it would take a while to get him. Then he put down the phone, go about his business, return in five minutes, and pretend he was the servant again confused that his boss hadn't picked up. Before the scammer could get a word in edgewise, he'd say he'd go get him again, and put down the phone. His record? Four times (somewhere between 15-20 minutes) before the scammer gave up and hung up.
2. Best excuse (if it was an excuse) ever used on me: I used to call IT professionals at work to sell journals and manuals. (Back in the days of mainframes, therefore back in the days when two "no thank yous" was enough for me to quit.) One guy said, "Can you hurry up? Our office is on fire and I got to get out." Hey? Excuse or not, who would make him stay? lol
3. One that didn't work the way I had hoped: I shouted into the phone to leave me alone. Why didn't it work? Because I got two phone calls shortly after that (within two hours) from the same scammers but different voices. Apparently, the one shouted at passed my number to others. lol
4. One that I just tried: After being told they are Google and know my business (which is interesting, since I have no business), then I was supposed to press 1 to talk to someone, where they then checked to see if I was a business. (Um, you just told me I was. Why check now?) And then after having to pick 1, I was "person #12 on hold," which is pretty amazing since the 11 people before me took a whopping 1 second to help. First question asked? What's my name and business. (Which part of telling me you are my business company did you miss?
) I stuttered and said, "Hold on," Then I talked out loud to myself, and came back a minute later to see if he was still there. Then I asked, "Who are you again?" He said, "Did I call at a bad time?" So I answered truthfully, "You always call at a bad time. It's not like I ask you to call me, so I was just wasting your time too." And then I hung up.
So, what are you tricks?
Second, yeahyeahyeah, most modern people have caller ID, blocking capabilities on their phones, and then there is that useless Do Not Call register, that's much like telling people not to shoot others with their slingshots and expecting everyone to listen. I'm not that modern. I have caller ID, unfortunately, I also have five siblings that are forever changing their cellphones without necessarily keeping the same phone number, plus they only have their phone number as their caller ID, and I'm not that good at memorizing numbers. So, let's just say the purpose of this is not to give advice on logical ways to deal, since scammers are out to figure them out and try something different each time.
So, with that, here are methods that have been tried and were quite fun:
1. Dad's method: He pretended he was the family servant and the owner of the house was outside, so it would take a while to get him. Then he put down the phone, go about his business, return in five minutes, and pretend he was the servant again confused that his boss hadn't picked up. Before the scammer could get a word in edgewise, he'd say he'd go get him again, and put down the phone. His record? Four times (somewhere between 15-20 minutes) before the scammer gave up and hung up.
2. Best excuse (if it was an excuse) ever used on me: I used to call IT professionals at work to sell journals and manuals. (Back in the days of mainframes, therefore back in the days when two "no thank yous" was enough for me to quit.) One guy said, "Can you hurry up? Our office is on fire and I got to get out." Hey? Excuse or not, who would make him stay? lol
3. One that didn't work the way I had hoped: I shouted into the phone to leave me alone. Why didn't it work? Because I got two phone calls shortly after that (within two hours) from the same scammers but different voices. Apparently, the one shouted at passed my number to others. lol
4. One that I just tried: After being told they are Google and know my business (which is interesting, since I have no business), then I was supposed to press 1 to talk to someone, where they then checked to see if I was a business. (Um, you just told me I was. Why check now?) And then after having to pick 1, I was "person #12 on hold," which is pretty amazing since the 11 people before me took a whopping 1 second to help. First question asked? What's my name and business. (Which part of telling me you are my business company did you miss?
) I stuttered and said, "Hold on," Then I talked out loud to myself, and came back a minute later to see if he was still there. Then I asked, "Who are you again?" He said, "Did I call at a bad time?" So I answered truthfully, "You always call at a bad time. It's not like I ask you to call me, so I was just wasting your time too." And then I hung up.So, what are you tricks?
