I know that must be somewhat satisfying, but we have so many I'm completely bored with these callers. Half the time no one is on the line when I do pick up. Be careful, though, once I was rude to a legitimate caller for DH. Embarrassing.

LOL! I think that's a really neat idea!! And by the way, telemarketers aren't restricted to landline phones, I get plenty on my cell phone. Mostly I just ignore calls from numbers I don't recognize, but I may try this sometime. Who knows, maybe you're giving a little 'spark' to the telemarketer's day, too.

Rusty

Seagrass, I love it! I'd emulate you, but we have call vetting, so don't get many telemarketer calls (not that I am complaining about that!). =)

I grew up going every summer to P-town, and later to family cottage in Truro. Loved being there...

Just answer with.......,Dominos. If they keep talking ask them what type of pizza they want and ask for their address.

As has been mentioned in the forum several times (but some may have missed those threads) there is at least one and maybe more easily obtained "landline" alternatives, potentially cheaper than what some have now, that can completely eliminate receiving unwanted calls. We've been using one for almost 10 years and the only time our phone rings is when someone whose number we've previously authorized calls us. That list is transferred from your mobile phones or can be entered manually. Otherwise, calls go silently to voicemail, which you can check periodically at your leisure using your phone or a PC/tablet/smartphone. I've found that the unwanted callers rarely leave a message. Keep your existing phone number for a small one time charge.

Or, keep getting annoyed by unwanted calls.

I too have a landline,, with caller id, and I sometimes answer because I'm bored.

One time a guy with an Indian accent...said his name was robert, right?....was trying to do the IRS scam with me...have me arrested and all that. So I asked him if he was aware that by doing this he was taking advantage of people who were most vulnerable...that he was making his living by hurting people...that he was damaging his karma. He went silent for awhile, and then sincerely asked me, "What should I do?" I told him that he sounded like a nice and decent person with ability and talent, that the world was full of people who were suffering and in need and that he could do so much better for himself and the world by helping those in need. He was quiet for a moment, then thanked me and rang off.

We have caller ID. Also signed up a long time ago to block our number from these types of calls but have not kept up to date with that. Almost all of the calls we get are junk, because the people we know are few and we use email, basically.

Sometimes I answer and just hear clicks. But recently I've just cheerfully answered "Hello" and gone from there. I actually feel bad for people who do that work, and I'm not at heart a rude person. Sometimes I want to understand why they're calling me but it's usually a fruitless endeavor.

seagrass

Love your sense of humor, seagrass!

Elmer - we have spotty cellphone service where we live. In the summer, tourists literally stand in the street with their mobile phones to talk. Our seasonal neighbor is unintelligible when we talk by phone and can see each other from our houses. Sign language would be more efficient.

socks - you're right, and I am very careful. I have a lifelong friend who has recently been splitting her time between Cape Cod and St. Petersburg. I didn't recognize the number, and didn't say anything when I picked up the phone, but she said my name and I knew who she was. So all went well.

seagrass

I was referring to the Ooma product and service that uses an internet connection to provide "landline" service. They have a new model that will use a cell signal instead and it has a backup battery so it works when there's a power failure.

You need to purchase their Telo box, a one time charge. It's $75 from Amazon. Switching over your existing phone number, $40. After that, depending on tax rates in your home area, it's a bit more than $15 per month including $10 for the premium call blocking service. Without that, it's about $5 per month. Unlimited domestic calling, no further charges. Excellent sound quality. It can even forward calls placed to your home number (only those allowed, if you have that service) to your cell phone, if you're expecting a call and need to leave home.

socks - a long time ago I answered the phone when DH was away on business. He is now retired but was a systems engineer with a think tank that worked classified defense systems. The woman asked to speak with him, and identified herself calling from the Secretary of the Department of Defense. I kept my cool and told her he wasn't home. I could easily have dropped the phone but it was on a cord.

seagrass

I've had fun with the calls from a "grandson* needs me to send him money. I use a fake name , hello "Joe" it's so nice to hear from you. I ask all sorts of questions how is your sister, is your mom doing better since her broken leg. Then when they ask for money I remind him he already owes me $2,000 and he has to pay me, what about all the money you inherited from you uncle Harry and you never paid me back. They eventually get frustrated and hang up on me. I figure I waste their time they have less to call others.

That's funny seagrass. Keeps you on your toes when you feel like it.

We got rid of our landline and the scam calls dropped by 95%. We are getting a few on our cell phones once in a while. But Apple has now identified most of these calls and labels them Spam Risk then sends them to the disappeared can. Most of the time my phone won't even ring. The flip side to that is that sometimes, important calls are getting sent to Spam Risk and I don't know they called. The only reason I know this is that our credit card co tried many times to reach us recently and couldn't get through the Apple filter. I had to find out the hard way when I tired to log into our account and was locked out. Tried calling them and had to go through the Fort Knox dealio, was an unpleasant day.

I've been answering Spam Risk calls lately in case it's the health dept saying I can come in for a no-notice covid vaccine. They will not call back or leave a voice mail if you don't answer and just go down their list of names and numbers instead. Most of the time my cell phone doesn't let those ring past 1/2 or one ring.

Have fun with your spammy callers.

Elmer - that just makes my eyes glaze over. We do pay too much for our Verizon landline but it functions when we lose power and we have hurricanes and Nor'easters where we live. We also have a well and septic. We fill our bathtub before forecast storms so we can flush our toilet, and we fill vessels with water for our dogs and for ourselves. A gas stovetop is also a precautionary choice.

Do you experience earthquakes where you live? We've had a few shakes, even though we live on a sandbar.

I'm sorry, I was trying to be helpful. Click on my name and send me a message if you'd like more information or would like to discuss offline. I don't have nor ever did have a relationship with the company nor have any vested interest in whether anyone uses their service or not. But it's a hard combination to top - cheaper, better, more useful features.

Do we have earthquakes? Yes. I've experienced 3 big ones near or over 7.0 in my lifetime The first, when a baby, the Tehachapi quake. The second, when in college, the Sylmar quake. The third, a bit over 30 years ago, the Loma Prieta quake that much of the US saw on TV because it happened at the start of a World Series game in San Francisco. Earthquakes are disruptive, the experience and aftershocks make people jittery for some time afterwards, there can be a lot of damage to repair, but few people are seriously injured except those few with the bad luck to be in the wrong place when it happens. The Loma Prieta inconvenienced millions of people but I think the death toll was something like 57 people, most of whom were victims of shoddy construction locations (buildings, roads and bridges).

Sandbars and landfill areas can be dangerous and undesirable places to be during earthquakes because such ground is subject to what's called "liquefaction". Normally solid ground turns to mush and buildings and structures can collapse. The area of great damage from the Loma Prieta quake in 1989 was in the Marina District of SF, where uncompacted sandy soil turned to jello and a number of structures slipped or collapsed.

I thought this was going to be about having to answer calls from unknown phone numbers, in the hopes that it's offering you a vaccination appointment. Apparently here at least, the health workers are not supposed to leave messages so we're all supposed to answer our phones. Yeah, right.

My phone shows when a call is a spam call. I too have been bored and have had some fun with them. I don't even let them start.

"County Morgue, you stab 'em, we slab 'em!" Click.

"Pete's Pool Hall, who in the hall are ya calling?" Click.

"What are you wearing?" Click.

"I'm so happy you called. I've just memorized the Gettysburg Address. Wanna hear it?" Click.

"Can you belch the ABC's? I can, here, check it out." Click.

"I'm working on my jokes for my next Toastmaster's meeting. Knock knock!" Click.

And so on. After I ask them something ridiculous, I hear "click," and they're gone. Never to call my number again 🤣

Oh, Sephia! You come and sit here right by me!!! LOLOL

Elmer, You have to have unlimited internet to make your system work but did I have that before now? No. Or you need reliable cell service. I dont have that today. My now unlimited internet comes over the enhanced land line service. I am lucky that we finally had DSL extended to where we live or we would still have only 10 gigs for more than I pay now. I now get my land line for free with free long distance and it costs me less than my old satellite internet which had me choked after 10 gigs. Your fix will only work for some people. Because you dont know about life in the boonies you keep putting out this fix when it isnt a universal fix as I have said before. I am very aware that there are plenty of people around me who dont have my present fix. DSL doesnt reach them. How about a world where no matter how much you pay you cant get unlimited gigs? My world in the recent past. My nearby neighbor's world.

lol Sephia!

My phone also shows when it's spam, but when I want to have fun I will answer with the name of a police department and then fraud unit or homicide. I've never had anyone stay on the line.

That's hilarious! I used to have fun with people who would call me saying I owe the IRS money and that I could go to jail if I don't stay on the line to talk to someone. First: I'm Canadian. We don't have an IRS. We have the CRA. Second, they always ask for my name to which I will say, "but you called me, shouldn't you know that already?" They hang up....

I recently found out I can put a stop on all those unwanted calls through my cell phone provider. I just slide a button on their website and it not only stops those "robo" type calls, if you phone me, it prompts you to push a number before the call can go through. You push that #, my phone rings. And then I can go to the website to add your # to the list of approved #'s that can phone me. So far I have only my children and husband on that list. Not a single robo call in over a month on either of our phones.

Some of the comments on here have made me wonder how many people who have been waiting for the call to either come in because there was additional vaccine or to schedule their shot simply have not connected in their brain that right now they need to answer the calls that they receive. While I have not received one through various media announcements I am aware some companies in this area were allowing employees working at home to volunteer their time making these calls. If someone does not answer or it rolls over to an answering machine the caller goes to the next phone number on the list.

My response, "I'm on my way! Are you naked"?

I used to collect "sound bytes" from tv shows, cartoons, movies, etc. When the telemarketer thing was just revving up years ago, I'd pick up the phone and immediately hit play on a sound byte and hold the telephone receiver up to my computer speakers. My favorite one was a short rendition of "Singin' in the Bathtub" sung by Tweety Bird. Another favorite was Clint Eastwood saying a line from one of his spaghetti westerns about laughing at his mule.

Now with caller ID I don't bother to answer at all. However, sometimes the number looks as tho it could be legit and I take a chance and pick up.

What you don't want to have happen during COVID is answer the phone and it's Death calling.

patricia, stats I first found suggest that over 90% of homes in the US have access to high bandwidth internet service. Maybe that isn't the case but I found it from multiple different sources. If you didn't have reasonable service before but do now, that's great. Before, you were in a rather small minority. I know that sat internet offers only small amounts of monthly use, too little to do much with, and is expensive.

My suggestion is something nearly everyone can use who wants to. I know people like to think that others may need to put up with disadvantages they have but in this instance before your service choices improved, it wasn't many.

High band internet is practically non existent in WV. Those stats are simply wrong. I have satellite internet- it's all I could get after dial up. It's better than dial up but unusable for videos, live streaming, and has long delays with Skype/zoom etc. And yes, it's expensive.

I like the Jerry Sienfeld way of handling it. 'Oh Hi, I'm busy right now but if you give my your home number I will call you back later, Oh you don't want to be interrupted at home, now you know how I feel, CLICK. ' In a cost cutting move we no longer have caller ID and on the off chance one of my kids is calling we answer the phone (we keep the land line so everyone can chat when they call) When I have an unwanted call--the kind where they don't breath for five minutes of talking after hello, I just put the phone down and walk away. Back in the day leaving my line open would prevent them from making any other calls. I think these spam calls all have multiple lines and phones disconnect themselves but I still don't care to listen and I dont' care to verbally spare with them. I just LET IT GO.

When I get those from (my non-existent) grandson in jail and needing money, or the income tax or other gov't. dep't. threatening me, sometimes I ask them if their Mom is proud of them for being paid to be such a liar stealing/bulldozing money from worthy citizens.

ole joyful

When I was at university (in Houston), some friends of mine had a phone number that was very close to the number for the gas company, and so they would answer their phone with "Houston Natural Gas - we make it, you smell it." People who called them accidentally would then hang up immediately - people who knew them knew that they had the right number. Also, when I was a freshman, I got an obscene phone call (Does anyone make those anymore?) and after I listened for a while, I said, "Could you be more specific?" and the caller hung up. I wanted more details but was unable to get them.

The only scam calls I get are recordings - not a live person - and so I just hang up, although usually I do not even answer calls when I do not recognize the number that is calling. The area code for my phone is 424, which is an overlay for 310, and the robo calls are mostly from 424. If the call is from 310, it might be from a doctor's office, and so I do pick up, even if I do not recognize the number.

Another thought I’ve had, especially about local telemarketers, is that these people often have my address so I don’t want to be too rude or insulting.

We signed up for nomorobo but it only catches some of the calls. I mean the other day the caller id announced "fraudulent call" and it still rang through!

I was happy to find a setting on my cell phone though that suppressed ringing for spam calls. Thank goodness!

I never get scam calls.

I work for a market research firm and do legitimate surveys. I often wish I'd get called so I can voice my opinion too. I regularly get told how nice I am, and that they seldom do surveys, but that I sounded nice. I also get asked if I'm a robot, and I say No I'm human. And they say that I was so professional that they thought I was a recording.

A real funny case was a fellow put me on speaker phone and went about his business tinkering in the garage or whatever. At the very end I thanked him for his time and input, and he said OMG are you a human? I said "after all this time you thought it was a recording?" He was absolutely mortified and kept apologizing and calling me ma'am and I was laughing.

I've also gotten offered a job because they liked how I handle myself on the phone.

Landline here too with caller ID and an answering machine. I'd never get so bored as to answer an unknown number calling. My out going machine message ends with "....and Telemarketers please scratch our number off your list, Thank you". It seems to work since our unknown calls have dropped by over half. Maybe my Capt Kangaroo approach (Please & Thank You) works.

For some reason I had this idea that there were more people living in cities than small towns and in the country which might explain the 90% of homes have access to high speed broad band. Not certain that everyone realizes this.

In olden days when telemarketers actually used a physical paper list depending on how much the company wanted to pay for the list it could have anything from just your name and telephone number to almost complete information about you including address, family members, church affiliation, etc. There is no need now for them to have more than a computer screen because much of your information including where you live is on it. The idea that your information is private probably stopped back in the 1950s. Actually before that but I do not remember/know when telephone directories started putting names and addresses in the phone book.

"For some reason I had this idea that there were more people living in cities than small towns and in the country which might explain the 90% of homes have access to high speed broad band. Not certain that everyone realizes this."

I think that's right.

DSL from a Telco has a distance limitation and it's not very far - depending on the DSL flavor, not more than a few miles and speed falls off with distance. In the olden days, DSL availability used to be described as the distance from a telco "office". That's changed because they've run fiber lines out to neighborhoods and then the relevant distance is from the on or in ground cabinet where the fiber line terminates and signals are switched from digital to analog for what's called the "last mile" connection. I remember waiting for the buildout for my neighborhood - at the time, the telco had its construction schedule available for customers to see on its website. I remember my anticipation as the scheduled day approached for my neighborhood and my excitement the morning I was driving to work and I passed the telco crew at work to provide the service that became available to me a few weeks later.

Perhaps more frequently seen in less dense areas are cable service lines, which can all provide TV, telephony, and internet services. These have signal amplifiers in their neighborhood networks and are not distant dependent.

Like others here, I have no access to high speed internet, even though it’s a suburbanish neighborhood. Not a development but homes built at different times with density increased over the years. There is no cable on my street, the phone lines haven’t been switched to fiber optic so the only option is DSL, the kind that slows down the more people using it. Barely better than dial up. I can tell when my neighbors are using it for something data heavy because I sometimes can’t even open a webpage. And I live in the state capital just a few miles from the city limits.

Cable company says they will extend the lines if we pay for it. It is cost prohibitive even split among all who could benefit. And even if a few of us agreed to pay, those who didn’t pay could then access service and the cable company would reap the benefits, not those of us who paid for it.

With some government regulation they could be forced to provide services to most people but there is no regulation of them in my state.

DSL is a form of what's historically been called 'High speed internet", even though the available bandwidth for some location may leave much to be desired because of the distance factor from where the hub is located.

Both telcos and cable companies are what's called "regulated monopolies", just like power distribution utilities. One system in each area, to avoid what otherwise would be duplicative double or triple wiring or more for systems for each desiring competitor. In return for the monopoly, they're subject to governmental regulation. If you want more or better service where you are, your complaint should go to the body that does the regulation or grants the franchise. The telco isn't going to do the work for free but will do it if paid, if required, or if they think the money spent will lead to a payback from enhanced revenue.

Ages ago, 30+ years ago, we moved into a hilly neighborhood that had zilch for over the air TV reception and a very old basic cable system that sucked. Basic cable, like a community antenna, in the days before the internet and before mega-TV service offerings. There were plenty of complaints to the local government that regulated the monopoly franchise. When the contract came up for renewal a year later, the cable operator was required as a condition to upgrade its hardware to improve service. 6 months later, we'd been upgraded to available services that compared to the neighborhood we'd moved from.

Mine go in streaks...most are recordings. The caller idea changes..made up

cities and numbers mostly. I very rarely answer if the number isn't on my call

list. Someone said, that they do "legitimate market research calls". To me,

if I don't ask you to call and take up my time...that is a spam call and unwanted.

If I want to know something about a product...I will research it myself and not

take the word of someone I don't know. I really don't like being rude...but, all

rules are off if I get an unwanted call like that. If someone tries to make the calls to anyone at my work, they are immediately taken care of before they can disturb anyone. And the caller is put on an "unwanted" list. Do yourself a favor, don't get into the nuisance-calling business. In the long run it will do you

more harm.

You're right Elmer, I should have been more specific in my post. Both the phone company and cable companies are regulated. But nothing in the regulations requires them to provide workable internet. Internet, apparently, is not a "utility" so does not fall under regulation as such. Our whole community has tried to get help with the bad internet service here and there is no help.

If we don't like what we have, we can cancel it, but the gov't won't force them to provide a workable service, or any service at all. (I am only speaking of the internet portion, not phone service). Our state's Utilities and Transportation Commission has taken our complaints but can't do anything about them.They also will not force them to upgrade to fiber optic.

I once was canceled by an old provider (Earthlink) in error and could
NOT get reinstated by the phone company because they claimed their
facilities were at capacity. Earthlink had a grandfathered in contract
with the old phone company, but did not have a contract with the new
company, so they couldn't get a hook-up for me either. Even though my
own connection should have been available. It was a mess and I had to
get satellite internet for 2 years until I was able to get a workaround
to get back with the phone company. The phone company 2 years later was still saying they had no capacity to add me back, but I was able, through persistence and avoiding customer service, to sign up online and get hooked up again. It took me TWO years. No one in gov't could do a thing, because it was internet and not phone service that was the problem.

The FCC regulates cable tv companies, but the same problem exists. There is no regulation that requires them to extend their service lines and they will only do so if they find it financially beneficial to them. Based on the number of complaints I hear, they must not be required to provide great service either, but I've never been able to get cable, so don't know first hand.

In California, local jurisdictions (cities and counties, for unincorporated areas) control cable company contracts and regions in which they're granted monopolies. Many political jurisdictions have granted exclusive territories to a few different companies within their borders, though there's no overlap, it's never more than one at a time for any neighborhood or geographic area. The FCC isn't involved. I have to believe it works that way where you are too. Though it was several decades ago, too long ago to necessarily apply today, I once did a work project that involved a cable company in the Puget Sound area that was owned by the same family that had historically owned what was the major newspaper in Tacoma. I forget all the names. I do remember spending a few weeks working in their pleasant downtown, older (even at that time) office building just a block or two from a view of water. The cable system's patchwork quilt of territories at the time had been granted territory rights that were negotiated with and controlled by local political subdivisions. It may be different now, I don't know, but I doubt it.

You might want to check to see if it works that way for the city or county you live in and if so, find out what department coordinates and regulates the contract granted to the company. If climbing that knotted rope gets you anywhere, see what you find out.

We don't have any choice where we live. It's Comcast or bust.

seagrass

That's normally the case, seagrass. Same for all "utilities" at any one given address - telephone, electricity distribution company (what in the old days would be an integrated electricity company generate and distribute, some of which may still exist), water, cable. Just one to choose from.

Unfortunately, all enforcement is only for cable tv, not for internet. Same with the phone companies; internet seems to be exempt from regulation. I, and all of my neighbors, and the larger community that cannot get cable extended into our area, have been dealing with this for 20+ years and have jumped through all the hoops. There is no help from the govt regarding internet - quality or availability.

I believe you. Not a typical situation. Too bad.

We have a well and a septic system, our location is still very rural. But there are a few choices now for electricity - solar is also becoming popular but our home is more than 30 years old and originally built as a vacation property before we moved to live in it full time. We are not sited to take advantage of solar.

We have in the past year considered new construction but always fall back to our default comfortable abode. Silly to say, a big factor in that is where would we put our collected art. We would have to design our new space around canvases and mobile sculptures we have collected over many years...and also artisanal furniture that many people would never consider. So we will adapt and stay in place.

seagrass