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Being on the Do Not Call list has blocked most of mine.
I was getting calls from the Indian drug pushers, but those have stopped, thank goodness.
You can just use the caller ID and not answer calls from numbers you do not recognize.
The charities I just ask to remove my number from their calling list.
If you get calls and no one responds when you answer, those are apparently fishing calls solely to determine when someone is likely to be at home. Apparently hitting the "#" key quickly and repeatedly confuses the system. I've tried it, and the calls from India stopped. I cannot prove that was a cause and effect, however.
Oh my, getting calls from India is the worst by far. I used to get calls from my cable company wanting me to take surveys and the calls came from India. I don't know what type of training/education they give these people in the English language, but it can't be much more than maybe a 1 week crash course. I had to repeatedly tell them that I couldn't understand what they were saying & to please not call me anymore if you understand what I'm saying lol.
I'm on the national do not call list. My only phone is a cell phone, but it is my old landline phone number, so I've had to gradually filter out all the charities and political groups. Most of the time, if it says "Blocked number" I just don't answer, but sometimes I do, just to see if I can get a live person. I tell them that I am on the do not call list, and that my phone is a cell phone with only 300 minutes per month (true) and to put me on their internal do not call list. Works about 95% of the time. I only get a few calls now.
Ironically, one that it hasn't worked on is the police department. They still call me every year, and I always answer, because my caller ID says "POLICE". Every year, I tell them if they want to send me something in the mail, I will look at it, but please put me on their do not call list, and every year, they call me again.
The other one it hasn't worked on is the political groups. I've had several that are automated, and have no opt-out choice on them, which I believe is illegal.
The ones that annoy me most are the telemarketers that call at work. I have to interrupt what I am working on to answer the phone. I answer it in a way that is obviously a business, and they ask for the lady of the house. I tell them this is a business, and they apologize, hang up, and 10 minutes later, they call again. I've opted out of dozens of automated messages, but the next week I get a new message from the same company in a different voice. But the worst are the faxed solicitations. They ignore the opt out option completely. They waste my paper, and my toner, tie up my fax line, and I get at least 10 a week, sometimes more. Mostly for vacation deals. I have tried opting out and it doesn't work. They should be heavily fined.
Have you considered switching to an internet based fax system? Faxes go to an email account, and you can just delete the spam. You do not have to print out any faxes if you do not actually need a paper copy.
We are switching to a VOIP system at my husband's office. We are not using the fax system that's available with the VOIP only because the boss would find it impossible!
The politicians and charities are exempt from the Do Not Call rules.
Oh my, getting calls from India is the worst by far. I used to get calls from my cable company wanting me to take surveys and the calls came from India. I don't know what type of training/education they give these people in the English language, but it can't be much more than maybe a 1 week crash course. I had to repeatedly tell them that I couldn't understand what they were saying & to please not call me anymore if you understand what I'm saying lol.
The calls I was getting were from scam artists based in India allegedly trying to sell narcotics. People who actually sent them money never got their drugs, though. The callers were persistent and nasty. They just laughed when you told them about Do Not Call, and the numbers on the caller ID were fake. I got a lot of calls, but apparently fewer than some people did.
I agree that the companies who outsource to India and use people who cannot be understood are not doing themselves any favors. The survey people should be subject to Do Not Call rules. You can report them if they do not stop. If I do answer one of them, I make it clear that I do not wish to participate and that I do not want any calls from their company, not just the company they are doing the survey for.
Have you considered switching to an internet based fax system? Faxes go to an email account, and you can just delete the spam. You do not have to print out any faxes if you do not actually need a paper copy.
We are switching to a VOIP system at my husband's office. We are not using the fax system that's available with the VOIP only because the boss would find it impossible!
The politicians and charities are exempt from the Do Not Call rules.
I use a VOIP (Skype) number that I give out to everyone who needs my contact. That number forwards to my cell phone. There's an option to block certain numbers in Skype but not for my cell phone (where the vast majority of telemarketing calls come from.)
I use a VOIP (Skype) number that I give out to everyone who needs my contact. That number forwards to my cell phone. There's an option to block certain numbers in Skype but not for my cell phone (where the vast majority of telemarketing calls come from.)
Caller ID that announces who is calling, keeps me from talking to telemarketers, as well as some in laws and out laws as well.
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