Automated sales calls...*&$%#*

Ten minutes ago, my cell phone goes off and I do not recognize the calling number.

I say "hello?" The person says my I speak to (NW Trucker...cough, cough,) and I bark back "who are you?". Turns out it was a valid and important professional call. I make my apologies, explain that I've been receiving both automated and live sales calls from people who shouldn't know my phone number. Even know the year and make of my car!

An embarrassing moment. I've had my fill.

What to do about it?

I suggest we follow-up on these calls and worm the name of the company that is utilizing this 'service' and then inform them that company will be added to a list with the intention of boycotting their product or service. We can run an expanding thread with a list-although, I'm sure the big boys at ATS may squirm at the idea...LOL.

Even if we just do this on a personal basis enough times, perhaps adding to it by word of mouth, these people will get the hint and BACK OFF.

Thoughts?

a reply to: nwtrucker

How do the people get the info about the make and model of your car?! I'm in Canada and I get these calls and emails all the time from local dealerships, even about cars I owned 5-10 years ago. Who gives them this info!

a reply to: nwtrucker

If I don't recognize the number, I don't answer. I let it go to voice mail, then if it's important, call them back. After a while, the sales calls stop because the morons finally realize I'm not going to answer. I use to answer, wait to see if it was a sales call, then cut loose with a string of profanity that would make a sailor blush, letting them quickly know I did not want to buy what they were selling. I stopped after I started repeating myself. We need new curse words.

I constantly get calls from these no win no fee insurance companies and never understood where they got my number. .
It turns out, as I sell cars for a living they were looking through gumtree (classified ad site) and picking up on the adverts for cars that were in previous recorded accidents and calling to offer their service...
parasites in my opinion and one of the reasons car insurance is so high.
Occasionally though when I'm bored I do keep them on the phone for ages with ridiculous stories.. had them tell me to f off on more than one occasion. .

My advice to you? Never get a phone service like MagicJack. We have it just to maintain a home phone because we use our cells for most everything, but we value that home phone still. It opens you up to every telemarketer known to man. We plan to figure something else out or just give up on home phone line.

a reply to: nwtrucker

" revenge on the telemarketers" is a great listen.

I can't link it from my POS phone.

Lots of clever ideas to make sure they avoid calling you, it worked for him, he said they have him on some do not call list now because of his pranks.

a reply to: Atsbhct

I suspect someone either sells access to or hacks the data bases of the local DMVs....

a reply to: ketsuko

We're getting them on Verison, both home number and cells....

a reply to: ketsuko

What makes it even worse is half of them are in Spanish and I can only swear in Spanish....

I have been lately getting calls not even in the country. My phone says people are calling me from Egypt now....

Like why the F would I answer a call from Egypt?.... Some long lost entity trying to call me? Or is it some sort of extremist (enter religion here) trying to recruit me lol. Either way I never answer and never get a voice mail.

They are getting sneaky though, a lot of calls I get now are from numbers in my region making it seem like it's going to be important. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, who is to shame when these people are getting crafty.

How many people actually fall for this?

a reply to: TheLotLizard

Apparently, it's against the law for automated services to leave a voice mail. They have to hang up.

At least, I've heard that....It raises the question that if there ARE 'regulations' on these 'services' then when did they happen? Why don't we know about them and, even worse, these services have gov't approval??

a reply to: nwtrucker

On my cell phone I can "block this caller".

I had some calls for a few weeks (by a few weeks I mean like 2 months!) on the house phone from a company in Hohenwald TN. They wanted to sell me a security system. My BIL answered a few of them (I was at work). He said they were very polite, would not leave a message or return number.

Anyone from the Nashville area know there is NOTHING in Hohenwald...
Hardly any people either. They have finally stopped calling as of last week (knock on wood).
The elephant sanctuary which I love and support is there and THIS is the only thing that I can imagine connected me with this "security" company...

Well, I shouldn't say NOTHING...there IS Devil's backbone and Laurel Hill management area but...other than that...nothing...except the elephants.

a reply to: nwtrucker

They must. It drove me insane the first time, thinking maybe someone was trying to buy a car with my info; but nope! It's just someone's unfortunate job.

I say "hello?" The person says my I speak to (NW Trucker...cough, cough,)

I didn't know this was your literal name.

But I get these kind of calls a lot on my home phone. I'll answer to silence, hear a click and THEN someone speaks. What I do now is pretend like my wife is doing something, uh naughty to me and enjoy the uncomfortabelness (?)

These calls will always happen no matter what we do, have fun with them.

Here is the problem.

A large enough percentage of the population is too stupid to ignore these calls. As much as we hate telemarketing, the reality is that it works.

It is like nigerian spam. You send out enough emails, sooner or later you are going to get a senile old person or certified idiot who will buy said product.

If it didn't work, businesses would not spend money on it.

a reply to: mymymy

These calls will always happen no matter what we do, have fun with them.

Ditto. They eventually stop calling if you do.

Oh yea...I get calls even from Nigeria...quit answering if I don't know the number. But I had one caller I spoke to and it truly sounded real...but i had a strong suspicion it was not a person...even if you interrupted him he would stop and say..."what was that"??? So when he asked for my email...I said...okay, my email is kissmybut.com and he said ok, I'll make a note of that!!! That's when I knew for sure it was not a person!!!! Shame on them!!!

a reply to: nwtrucker

Hey didn't you hear that the new 'budget' included a clause that student loan servicers can text and phone you as much as they want even if requested not too. Consumer protections against harrassment - not so much.

I want to know, too, who sold my number to 'marketteers'. Your idea about making it very loudly public which companies are doing this is terrific and ATS is too small of a platform. Check with The Consumer Union (consumersunion.org...) - seems they are conducting a current campaign about robocalls.

Best wishes in Company Town USA.

The last car I had purchased and registered, calls came in offering warranty insurance as well as mail. Suspected that the DMV had a hand in that. Similar to how when you have a credit card, the scam cred cards "magically"contact you, not to mention their mail, name and cards look familiar to the name brand ones.

Speaking of phone automated scams:
The latest one that called me is the IRS scam. One automated call had the audacity to say threaten "the IRS is suing you..." Worried for the people who are unaware. News says they made a lot of money already by this.
Scam Alert: Arizona warning
to
Memphis

Another one was banks calling, proclaiming your bank card was found and/or other things pertaining to a supposed account. It wasn't automated but they will hang up when you say tell them they are scamming, not to call again and you will contact the authorities.

I had a company call me a while back when I bought a motorcycle. The best way to get them off of your phone is to answer it as someone else, and stating that you just got this phone number 'yesterday' do it three times and they will finally back off. Another tactic for the automated system contacting you is to actually reach someone and immediately question them on the purchase. Say this: what! I didn't just #ing buy a car! I did not just buy one. Holy # someone stole my #ing identity." Then continue to get as much information out of the people as you can on the pruchase and where it was bought in an effort to catch this so called sob for buying a new car in your name using your phone number and try to get them to bring up the dealership that made the sale. By which they can not call that company or bring up that information. Just turn the whole thing into an interrogation on their time. Make them sweat it out if they say they can't help you or they ask you to verify the name always make them spell it out for you. Then just pick a letter at random to change. It has to be the name.

Seriously this works on so many fronts its not even funny.