Telemarketers

I've never understood how telemarketers succeed.  I NEVER do ANY sort of business with a cold-caller on the phone or a door-knocker.  If I want something, I go find it myself, do some research about the best versions, and then go looking for the best price. 

And besides that, I seldom answer the phone.  It is sort of circular reasoning.  Why answer the phone when it is almost always (like 99%) telemarketers.  So my family knows to send an email, which means that the only people who call are telemarketers...  LOL!

And speaking of door-knockers, the only people who visit are salespeople or charities (and I give in an organized online way).  So most times I don't even answer the door (I open the computer room window and talk from there).  It's just easier to brush off salespeople that way.  

I do understand that telemarketing works on some people and that if 1 of 1,000 calls is successful, they make money.  I don't want to sound mean here, but they prey on those who are old, confused, gullible, or "pushable".  

Heck, *I* could talk to a telemarketer all day and it wouldn't do them any good.  And sometimes I have,  just to waste their time.  But it wastes my time too, so unless I'm really "in a mood" I don't bother.  Just as an example, I was expecting a call from a repairman and answered the phonefor once.  It was some guy saying my Windows  O/S had been corrupted and he needed to help me fix it for a "small fee".  

I knew right away it was a scam because I don't have a Windows computer online (I have an old standalone for a few Windows specific games I can play against an AI).  But I went along with it for fun.  I asked for proof and he gave me places to look for certain files.  I pretended to go along, but always reported finding some different files or menus.

He finally got quite frustrated and demanded to know if I was stupid.  I laughed and told him I knew for "an absolute fact" that he was a scammer.  When he asked to know what made me think that, I said I wouldn't tell him because that might help help him scam the next person he called.  Keep in mind I didn't have an online Windows computer...

Two things happened then.  First, his carefully-cultivated but fake American accent vanished.  Second, he said "May you drink poison and die" before he hung up.  For those of you who do not know, that pretty much means he was Asian-Indian (I regret the day Euopean Colonists called Native Americans "Indians" because that confuses things greatly) .  But it was 15 minutes of fun.

I only mention all this because things changed Thursday.  I use NoMoRoBo for my phone.  It is a free service that screens calls against a huge database of known scammers.  A scam call comes to my phone number and their servers are fast enough to check the database.  If the caller is a known scammer, I get one ring and the call is disconnected.  I still have delete the "missed call", but I don't exactly have to wonder who they are before routinely deleting them all.

Scammers use all sorts of tricks, a main one being to use a fake name and number (usually a local one and often one that is a real business.  I once called a number back to ask why they kept calling me.  Turned out they were a small oriental carpet cleaner business who didn't call people; I had to advise them their number had been spoofed (they were quite upset and apologetic, but I assured them they were not to blame).

So what usually happens with a scam call on NoMoRoBo (I encourage everyone to net search them and sign up) is that the phone rings once and the call is disconnected.  My voice mail kicks in after the 3rd ring.  So, if the phone rings 3 times, I expect a voice mail from a legitimate caller.

Yesterday, that stopped happening.  The phone kept ringing 3 times every 20 minutes or so while I was in bed.  I finally decided there must be some family emergency and got up.  I'd only been in bed for 5 hours but if someone had been arrested or hospitalized, I had to know.  

Five 3-ring calls and no voice mail.  OK, sometimes scammers get new numbers and it takes NoMoRoBo "some" time to learn of it.  So it was either that or something had failed about my voice mail.  I called someone and asked them to try to leave me a voice mail to test it.  It worked fine.

So it was scammers.  More thoughout the day.  I remembered the first 5 calls and started ticking off more as the barrage continued.  When it reached 20 calls, I waited near the phone and answered.  Yeah, I know.  The rule is "don't answer the phone and they will stop calling".

Wrong.  It doesn't cost them anything to call.  But it would to delete my phone number.

So I picked up and said "Who ARE you" (because it was that spoofed oriental carpet cleaner number and I recognized it).  That didn't work because it was a prerecorded message.  So I listened to the message waiting for which number to push to speak to an agent.  You press "1" and get a salesman.  If you press "2" to be removed from their calling list that goes to a database of "active human phone numbers" as opposed to fax machines or computers I suppose and it keeps you on their list.  

The sales pitch was for Medicare supplemental insurance.  I told the agent I didn't HAVE Medicare (I worked for the Govt and have a different kind of insurance) and that whatever company he worked had called me 20 times that day.

He said that certainly seemed unreasonable and that he understood I was not a possible customer and would handle it "from his end".  I thought he might, but naturally the calls kept coming...  It became a game while I was watching TV.  The phone would ring with the same spoofed number and I would pick up on the 2nd ring from that site.  And immediately press 1 to get an agent.

It became a sort of game.  I would quickly say "I don't have Medicare, so remove me from your list because you actually CAN'T sell me any service").  Usually the response was a disconnected dial tone.  Sometimes someone would say they would remove my number.

I told one guy I could string him along for 15 minutes and then hang up.  And he said "Drink poison and die", which confirmed he was from India...  I actually did it to the next one.  He said the same.  Apparently, that is a popular curse in India.  

Which I find rather interesting.  It isn't actually a direct threat.  More of a hope that someone who annoys you will eliminate THEMSELVES.  And, BTW, every agent  I spoke to regardless of differences in voice were named "Jay".  Must be a popular name there.  ;) and LOL!

Friday, I got only a couple calls in the morning.  Maybe they really did delete my number.  But more likely, NoMoRoBo caught up to their new numbers.

Peace reigns again...

That's not me.  But I've been in similar places and feeling similar peace.  But that is some future post...