How to block " Private Caller" ?

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JDcluster

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I've been getting allot of this the last 3 days on both home and cell phone.
I won't pickup knowing it's probably a recording or automated message.


JD
 
Just answer the phone, "Sherriff's fraud line".

Or, if you're really twisted like my friend Butch, treat it like a phone sex line. Ask them what they have on, etc. (I'll let you use your own imagination, I wouldn't have a *clue* what to say...).
 
In the UK we have a service called TPS. Google it, gotta have something there?

I do agree of playing them at there own game. It'll make your day and there's.


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
Well you could try this ...

https://www.hark.com/clips/qlztssnyzk-telemarketer-calls-murder-scene

I usually answer and give them a run around. Normally I answer the phone and tell them I am a friend just visiting but that the person they want to speak to is in the garden, I ask if they would like me to call the person in. Normally they say yes so I go to the hallway and shout 'hey someone on the phone for you' and tell the caller they are on their way. Leave the phone a couple of minutes and see if they are still there - if yes I tell them its a very long garden and to hold on as they ARE coming. I just see how long they will wait for - the record is about 15 minutes. We have a sort of uinofficial score in the house to see how much of their time we can waste.

Theres loads of ways to turn it into fun - pretend your Winnie the Pooh and ask for a loan to buy Honey
Pretend your HAL 9000 from 2001 - I'm sorry Dave I dont think I can do that.
Tell them you have a super bad gambling habit and have the mob on your case - can they lend you a few thou fast to save your fingers from being cut off.
The possibilities are endless to have some fun with cold callers.

I sometimes pretend that there are two of in the flat with the same name - oh you want that Ms Smith - hang on I will get her. Hello MS SMith - oh I am sorry you want the other on - hang on I will put her back on the line - and so on.
 
I had a few telemarketers call for my wife. I simply said she passed away.

No more calls.

(disclaimer: Make darn sure who's on the other end of the call. You don't want to do this with a government agency.)
 
The State Trooper that's handling my Case from when my Home was Burgled comes up "Private Caller", as does my Sons Teacher.
Just sayin', it might be from a legitamate Caller.
 
I agree with what's been said so far, but keep in mind "Private Caller" just means the caller ID is blocked. My wife's cell phone shows up as Private Caller. Her sister shows up as Private Caller.

Most telemarketers have some sort of caller ID showing. "Telefund" or "Consumer Research" or something cryptic but not Private Caller.

Private Caller calls get answered in my house, and are rarely telemarketers.

Marc
 
I've been getting those for years. I just ignore them. If it turns out that it's someone I know, they'll usually leave a message on the machine. I screen a lot of calls on purpose. If it's not someone I know, they usually hang up during the recording. Generally, I won't answer the phone unless it's someone I know.
 
The best I have seen, and used is the Business line approach. Tell them that you are a business (I use CTCSS Enterprises for example) and they know that they will not be able to sell their product, and they will almost always stop calling. Wastes very little of your time and little of theirs, and it knocks you off their registry of phone numbers usually too. I don't like to be too mean to them, call centers while annoying, are low paying jobs that someone may have to take.


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Have you ever used the national Do Not Call Registry? https://www.donotcall.gov/

This is about the only thing I can think of that the government has ever done that I completely approve of, and actually worked as intended, and is of real tangible benefit to the citizens of the country. I used to get many marketing calls every single day. As soon as they set up the registry, I registered our numbers and after a few weeks, the calls completely stopped. It made a real difference in our quality of life! I only started getting marketing calls again a year or so ago. I found out that your number drops off the list after a few years, so you need to reregister them, which I did just a couple of weeks ago. Give it a try.
 
When you call our home land line you get the answering machine... We don't answer the phone even if were sitting right by it... You announce yourself to the machine and if we want to talk to you and were available we'll pick up. If were busy we won't, just that simple. If we don't want to talk to you, if you're a telemarketer, phone survey jerk, or whomever, we don't want to talk to you and they can call til the phone melts-- we'll never answer or talk to them, so they might as well go somewhere and die for all I care... If you don't want to announce yourself to the machine first, don't bother calling at all because you'll never talk to anybody at all at our house unless we know who's on the line and we want to talk to you right then... If we're busy or out we'll call you back... Unless we don't want to talk to you... Too bad so sad...

I have a very Amish attitude when it comes to the phone... Its there for MY convenience not yours... I talk when I want to whom I want, not the other way around... And I refuse to pay the phone company for caller ID to tell me who I don't want to talk to...

Later!
OL JR
 
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... I have a very Amish attitude when it comes to the phone... Its there for MY convenience not yours... I talk when I want to whom I want, not the other way around... And I refuse to pay the phone company for caller I'd to tell me who I don't want to talk to...

Amen.

Greg
 
Amen.

Greg

I love those little telephone booths out at the corner between Amish or Mennonite houses in Indiana... They can't have a phone in the house, but they can have one at the corner to use when they need to... I'd have our phone out in a little shed if the wife would let me... I don't even like having the thing in the in house.

Later! OL JR :)
 
Remember when every caller was a "private" caller? I bet many people here do not.
 
Have you ever used the national Do Not Call Registry? https://www.donotcall.gov/

This is about the only thing I can think of that the government has ever done that I completely approve of, and actually worked as intended, and is of real tangible benefit to the citizens of the country. I used to get many marketing calls every single day. As soon as they set up the registry, I registered our numbers and after a few weeks, the calls completely stopped. It made a real difference in our quality of life! I only started getting marketing calls again a year or so ago. I found out that your number drops off the list after a few years, so you need to reregister them, which I did just a couple of weeks ago. Give it a try.

Hey, thanks for that!!! Just signed up! I get a lot of Telemarketing Calls. Maybe this will alleviate some of them.:)
 
Years ago back when I lived in Dallas, I was constantly getting calls from the Arthur Murrary Dance Studio soliciting me to join their club for dance lessons. At first I was polite and simply declined. But they just wouldn't stop. The last time they called it went something like this:

Me. "Hello"

A.M. "Hi, this is the Arthur Murray Dance Studio calling and we'd like you to come visit us for your free introductory dance lesson. There's absolutely no obligation and we just know you'll have fun!"

Me. "I'm sure that's right...but I can't dance."

A.M. "Oh come now, Mr. Macklin. Anyone can learn to dance!"

Me. "Sorry, but you just don't understand. You see, I'm a double amputee."

A.M. .........................(stunned silence followed by gasp and hang up click)

For some reason they never called back, EVER! :rofl: True story.
 
Years ago back when I lived in Dallas, I was constantly getting calls from the Arthur Murrary Dance Studio soliciting me to join their club for dance lessons. At first I was polite and simply declined. But they just wouldn't stop. The last time they called it went something like this:

Me. "Hello"

A.M. "Hi, this is the Arthur Murray Dance Studio calling and we'd like you to come visit us for your free introductory dance lesson. There's absolutely no obligation and we just know you'll have fun!"

Me. "I'm sure that's right...but I can't dance."

A.M. "Oh come now, Mr. Macklin. Anyone can learn to dance!"

Me. "Sorry, but you just don't understand. You see, I'm a double amputee."

A.M. .........................(stunned silence followed by gasp and hang up click)

For some reason they never called back, EVER! :rofl: True story.
Excellent.
 
I have done a few good ones over the years. I don't answer the phone if I don't recognize the number. If it is important, they will leave a message.
 
Obscene Phone Call laws do not apply to incoming calls. Anybody who calls you is taking their chances as to what kind of language you use on the phone.

The only possible problem you can run into is if you make a direct and plausible threat of physical assault.

Otherwise, you can say whatever you want.
 
Hey, thanks for that!!! Just signed up! I get a lot of Telemarketing Calls. Maybe this will alleviate some of them.:)

I hope so. When we signed up, it took a few weeks, maybe even a month, but it definitely worked.
 
Remember when every caller was a "private" caller? I bet many people here do not.

Meaning back in the old rotary phone days, way back before answering machines, when you just had to pick up and say "Hello" before you had ANY idea who was calling you??

Yep, I remember them days... Heck I remember party lines out here on the farm, but that ended when I was a kid-- mid 70's IIRC...

We had one old biddy up the road who listened to EVERYBODY's phone calls... nothing better to do...
Her and her husband would drive around at least once a day, looking to see what everybody else in the world was up to...

Course, back then we didn't have idiots shooting up their buddies on Army bases or shooting up schools and stuff...

Later! OL JR :)
 
Well you could try this ...

https://www.hark.com/clips/qlztssnyzk-telemarketer-calls-murder-scene

I usually answer and give them a run around. Normally I answer the phone and tell them I am a friend just visiting but that the person they want to speak to is in the garden, I ask if they would like me to call the person in. Normally they say yes so I go to the hallway and shout 'hey someone on the phone for you' and tell the caller they are on their way. Leave the phone a couple of minutes and see if they are still there - if yes I tell them its a very long garden and to hold on as they ARE coming. I just see how long they will wait for - the record is about 15 minutes. We have a sort of uinofficial score in the house to see how much of their time we can waste.

Theres loads of ways to turn it into fun - pretend your Winnie the Pooh and ask for a loan to buy Honey
Pretend your HAL 9000 from 2001 - I'm sorry Dave I dont think I can do that.
Tell them you have a super bad gambling habit and have the mob on your case - can they lend you a few thou fast to save your fingers from being cut off.
The possibilities are endless to have some fun with cold callers.

I sometimes pretend that there are two of in the flat with the same name - oh you want that Ms Smith - hang on I will get her. Hello MS SMith - oh I am sorry you want the other on - hang on I will put her back on the line - and so on.

This subject comes up from time to time on the farm forums... farmers get TONS of soliciting calls from various hucksters or "reps" (is there a difference??) wanting to sell you some "miracle product" or other...

Some of the better games I've seen include:
1) the "How interesting... tell me more" game: You're only allowed to say "that's interesting- tell me more!" to the caller once they've identified that they're a telemarketer... every time they look for a response from you, you say "that's interesting-- tell me more" and they launch into the next phase of their spiel... Of course be prepared to have a sweaty ear and waste a lot of time, but like a drinking game the idea is to see just how many times they'll accept that as a response and keep trying to huckster you until they finally give up and hang up... At least since you're wasting their time, they can't be messing up anybody else's day...

2) handing the phone to a baby (who cannot talk of course) to play with while keeping said telemarketer stuck on the line. Many telemarketers aren't allowed to hang up on people they call without getting in hot water with their supervisors, so handing the phone off to an infant to babble, squall, or otherwise keep the hucksters occupied, completely wasting their time, is a good game to play...

Later! OL JR :)
 
It kinda sucks. You cannot call someone you know from a phone that is not yours, as they usually will ignore it of they don't recognize it. WTF is this world coming to?

We're moving backwards.
 
It kinda sucks. You cannot call someone you know from a phone that is not yours, as they usually will ignore it of they don't recognize it. WTF is this world coming to?

We're moving backwards.

I'm lucky I answer if I know the person. Certainly if I do not, I will not answer. 99% are job recruiters that I do not need now. If it is important, leave a message - then I decide if it is important. If I know you, I will likely call back so a message that adds nothing but name, number and call back is worthless. My parents leave the worthless voicemail a lot. The only purpose of opening it is to delete it.
 
It kinda sucks. You cannot call someone you know from a phone that is not yours, as they usually will ignore it of they don't recognize it. WTF is this world coming to?

We're moving backwards.


It is the "Me" attitude that everyone seems to have now days. Don't bother me, I don't know you leave a message.

I admit, I have this attitude also.

So where does it begin to stop, we are all into our phones and computers, with a don't bother me I'm busy with my life attitude. Our community any more, begins and ends with a keyboard. How many of us know our neighbors? How many of our neighbors would get mad that you show up at their door and just talk face to face? I do realize that many of us "need" the phones and computers to conduct business and manage our lives. It seems like our whole lives have become an electronic whirlwind. How many of us can go a 24 hour period without computers and smart phones? I live in a small suburban area, and none of my neighbors stop by and say hi. The closest I get to anything like that is when they blow by on their quads and dirt bikes. Or when we eat dinner on our deck they slow down and gawk at us "crazy" people eating outside. I know 4 of my neighbors, the rest of them lock themselves in their yards and homes never to be seen, unless they are going to work or the store. Out of the 4 neighbors I know, I rarely see them.
 
It is the "Me" attitude that everyone seems to have now days. Don't bother me, I don't know you leave a message.

I admit, I have this attitude also.

So where does it begin to stop, we are all into our phones and computers, with a don't bother me I'm busy with my life attitude. Our community any more, begins and ends with a keyboard. How many of us know our neighbors? How many of our neighbors would get mad that you show up at their door and just talk face to face? I do realize that many of us "need" the phones and computers to conduct business and manage our lives. It seems like our whole lives have become an electronic whirlwind. How many of us can go a 24 hour period without computers and smart phones? I live in a small suburban area, and none of my neighbors stop by and say hi. The closest I get to anything like that is when they blow by on their quads and dirt bikes. Or when we eat dinner on our deck they slow down and gawk at us "crazy" people eating outside. I know 4 of my neighbors, the rest of them lock themselves in their yards and homes never to be seen, unless they are going to work or the store. Out of the 4 neighbors I know, I rarely see them.

I don't know most of my neighbors. I do not watch the news either. Don't really care what they are doing. Say Hi if I see them, that's it.
 
(snip)... My parents leave the worthless voicemail a lot. The only purpose of opening it is to delete it.

Glad to see I'm not the only one in that boat... my parents leave voicemails on my cell phone that typically go something like this... "Are you there?? Pick up the phone! I need to talk to you... can you hear me?? Pick up the phone!!! "

Yeah... Sure, I can hear ya... a few hour later when I call voicemail... I hear a dimwit is what I hear...

Saddest thing is, I've explained it to them before, that NO I cannot hear you talking to a recorder at the cell phone company somewhere... the voicemail server isn't sitting by my chair, hooked up to a speaker... and yet they STILL do it!!!

Old people... :eyeroll:

Later! OL JR :)
 
I don't know most of my neighbors. I do not watch the news either. Don't really care what they are doing. Say Hi if I see them, that's it.

Quite true... I don't know my neighbors and I don't want to know them... I stay on my side of the fence, and they can stay on theirs... Got my A-hole cousins on the north side of us, and if its not them, it's their BIGGER A-hole renters tearing up and down the road all night like lunatics... Then there's my dad's childhood friend's brother, who's a drunk and nutcase... and the rest are city slickers moving out here and mucking up the country...

It's getting too crowded around here... I need to move somewhere where the nearest house is two miles away...

People suck... the less I have to see them or deal with them, the better...

later! OL JR :)
 
Glad to see I'm not the only one in that boat... my parents leave voicemails on my cell phone that typically go something like this... "Are you there?? Pick up the phone! I need to talk to you... can you hear me?? Pick up the phone!!! "

Yeah... Sure, I can hear ya... a few hour later when I call voicemail... I hear a dimwit is what I hear...

Saddest thing is, I've explained it to them before, that NO I cannot hear you talking to a recorder at the cell phone company somewhere... the voicemail server isn't sitting by my chair, hooked up to a speaker... and yet they STILL do it!!!

Old people... :eyeroll:

Later! OL JR :)

I get the voicemail It's Mom (or dad). Then they tell me what time it is they are calling. Then for me to call them back. The missed call notification has every last bit of this information. All they need to do is hang up. I guess it is better than them thinking I can hear it live.
 
I get the voicemail It's Mom (or dad). Then they tell me what time it is they are calling. Then for me to call them back. The missed call notification has every last bit of this information. All they need to do is hang up. I guess it is better than them thinking I can hear it live.

Yep... it is...

Actually I do the "it's 3:30 pm and I was giving you call for *whatever*" thing myself...

Usually it's MUCH handier than having to check the call logs to see when someone called and missed me...

Thank goodness for being able to set the ringtones different for various callers on the cell phone... I don't even have to dig it out of my pocket to see if I want to talk to them at that moment... very handy when I'm working...

Downloaded some .wavs from the net... when the wife's calling, I get Vader saying "What is thy bidding, my master??" (appropriate LOL:)) When the old folks are calling me, which is usually with their latest "emergency" (which 99% of the time is absolute stupidity or crapola that is completely meaningless) I get the Star Trek "Red Alert" klaxon...

When my brother calls, I get the "Uncle Rico" music from "Napoleon Dynamite"...

Pretty much everything else is the "Imperial March" from Empire Strikes Back...

Except one friend who can be annoying sometimes... his calls ring through with a Chewbacca scream/talking... "blah, blah, blah..." LOL:)

Later! OL JR :)
 
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