Do Not Call regstry question.

I keep getting calls from 914-219-0243, comes up on caller ID as NYS Trooper. 914 is the area code my son lives in.

First time they called, they hung up as soon as my wife answered. Being a Mom, she frantically calls the kid, his wife, their friends etc. until she finally gets the answer; he's fine.

I registered on the national do not call list some time ago, obviously it's not working OR anyone calling registered as a cop doesn't have to play by those rules. A super liberal acquaintance tells me the Tea Party had the DNC list done away with.

Whatever .....

Can anything be done to not be harassed?

I have been getting similar calls from an 845 number. According to this site they are looking for donations: https://www.callercenter.com/914-219-0243.html

The Do Not Call registry works, but only to block people who obey the rules. There are still plenty of scammers out there who ignore it.

The List still allows for charities, political parties and companies you have done business with in the past.

If I don't recognize the name and/or number on the call display, I do not pick up.

If it's important, they will leave a message.

If they don't leave a message, I didn't need to talk with them anyway.

I pick up if I'm at work so I can file a complaint with the FCC. It takes 3 minutes to file the complaint once I know who is calling. Maybe it'll cause more than 3 minutes of legal hassle for them (hah).

My phone is not generally near me at home so I don't pick up there.

Also of note:

With VOIP, number spoofing is incredibly easy. That 914 call may have been coming from Westchester County, NY - or it may have originated in Nigeria or Bangladesh.

I let the answering machine handle all calls. If it sounds worthwhile when the person is talking to the machine, I'll pick it up.

The do not call registry does help, but it's not perfect. Remember too, you have to update it every few years, and during one of the recent budget debacles it became unfunded and they dumped all the numbers stored in it.

If I answer (rare) and is a solicitation (and not a machine) I ask the caller if they are aware this number is on the do not call list, then ask for a supervisor. They usually hang up...

The PA State Police solicit donations that way. Someone with zero phone skills calls businesses from a list of previous donors and seems all scammy but are legit. They send a uniformed trooper to collect it in a PA State Police cruiser and hand you a receipt to write off. That would be hard to fake and totally not worth it to try for my $100.

I stopped short of asking if he was on the clock while doing this.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: The PA State Police solicit donations that way. Someone with zero phone skills calls businesses from a list of previous donors and seems all scammy but are legit. They send a uniformed trooper to collect it in a PA State Police cruiser and hand you a receipt to write off. That would be hard to fake and totally not worth it to try for my $100. I stopped short of asking if he was on the clock while doing this.

They call my office all. the. damn. time. Always ask for Jeff, or Bill, or Bob. I say "you've got the wrong number" and some ass hat always answers "No, I've got the right number, I'm collecting money for our Troopers." Click. I'm not afraid to hang up on them. I'm sure they intimidate folks into donating a lot of money. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for law enforcement, but cold calling for money just irks me for some reason.

bentwrench wrote: If I answer (rare) and is a solicitation (and not a machine) I ask the caller if they are aware this number is on the do not call list, then ask for a supervisor. They usually hang up...

which just means that they'll call again …

I've resorted to this .. since the Charter phone only allows 12 #'s to be blocked

http://www.amazon.com/Incoming-Call-Blocker-Display-Blacklist/dp/B0089IHBE8

and this way I can block political and charity calls …

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: The PA State Police solicit donations that way. Someone with zero phone skills calls businesses from a list of previous donors and seems all scammy but are legit. They send a uniformed trooper to collect it in a PA State Police cruiser and hand you a receipt to write off. That would be hard to fake and totally not worth it to try for my $100. I stopped short of asking if he was on the clock while doing this.

Yes, and the money goes to a police union.

I've seen a huge and annoying rise of spam calls on my cell phone recently, which had been pretty immune. I sort of assumed it was because elections. But that's over and there's been no slow down. Luckily I can easily block numbers on my phone.

Duke wrote: I've seen a *huge* and annoying rise of spam calls on my cell phone recently, which had been pretty immune. I sort of assumed it was because elections. But that's over and there's been no slow down. Luckily I can easily block numbers on my phone.

I keep getting recordings of "Anne, from account services" from various fake phone numbers from all over......which is amusing as I don't have credit cards.

Your super liberal acquaintance is a retard. But then I repeat myself.

Yeah, it works, but only if they play by the rules. You can file a complaint here:

http://www.fcc.gov/complaints

This is why I refuse to give my phone number out at the grocery store, the gas station, Wal Mart, Home Depot/Lowe's, AutoZone 'for the warranty' crap (the receipt is all I need for warranty) and also why I refuse to sign up for those Fuelperks etc discount crap cards. The moment you do, you have given the company the right to peddle your information to ANYONE and the DNC registry is useless against it; there's a loophole which allows calls like that. So as a result of my vigilance my celly doesn't go cuckoo all day.

The girls at the Bi Lo around the corner are obviously trained to push those cards. Every time I walk in there, they try yet again. I refuse politely; one girl kept trying to push it, I finally looked at her, said 'I am going to tell you why I don't want one' and recounted the above. The other girl bagging for her got wide eyed and said 'No wonder I get sales phone calls all day long and Email spam'. Duhhhh...

you do realize that you can give a false # when you reg. for those …

I've used this one 202-456-1414 … it's the public comment # for the White House … LOL

oh … and you can give fake e-mail accounts also … or do like I've done … I've got an email account that is only used for stuff like that … couldn't care less how much spam hits it takes

free money is free money … the "savings" at the store (it's real money, because without the "loyalty card", you're paying full price) .. and the savings at the pump can result in lots of money saved … last time I filled the truck I had 50¢ per gal. off

don't refuse the freebies … just use fake #'s the stores don't care what # you use

I think you got lucky, wb. Here's the deal: when Bi Lo hands you the little Fuelperks/BonusCard doohickey they don't ask for anything. Now, here's what happens when you buy something: they swipe the doohickey then you swipe your debit card, bam they have everything they need.

I also find that I can go to WalMart that's only another 2 miles away (yes I know everyone says they are de debbil), buy the exact same grocery brands and save a heap more $ than the BonusCard saves without me having to hand over a card etc.

Here's another one: When they ask you what your zip code is? Pretty innocent, huh? Well, that's all they need to find you in the great database. They have your name from the debit/credit card and now they have your zip code. Instant junk snail mail. They're not asking you because they want to know where their shoppers are from. They are asking you specifically to find you in the great database.

Every spammer I get includes a 2 second delay after I say hello. I hang up in one. My friends and family know to talk fast.

I called and got the White House kitchen by mistake, shoulda kept that one !!!

wbjones wrote: you do realize that you can give a false # when you reg. for those … I've used this one 202-456-1414 … it's the public comment # for the White House … LOL

ScreaminE wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: The PA State Police solicit donations that way. Someone with zero phone skills calls businesses from a list of previous donors and seems all scammy but are legit. They send a uniformed trooper to collect it in a PA State Police cruiser and hand you a receipt to write off. That would be hard to fake and totally not worth it to try for my $100. I stopped short of asking if he was on the clock while doing this.

They call my office all. the. damn. time. Always ask for Jeff, or Bill, or Bob. I say "you've got the wrong number" and some ass hat always answers "No, I've got the right number, I'm collecting money for our Troopers." Click. I'm not afraid to hang up on them. I'm sure they intimidate folks into donating a lot of money. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for law enforcement, but cold calling for money just irks me for some reason.

MRAPs ain't cheap to maintain

easy you have caller ID... don't pick up the phone if you don't recognize the number. Let it go to voice mail... IF it is important... they'll leave a message....

I no longer answer the phone... and so they keep calling, my call waiting picks up... they hang up..... seems fair to me... they have to pay a connection charge and they get nothing from me

Sometimes, I’ll act like I’m interested and then say “oh, there’s the doorbell, can you hold on a minute” and then just leave the line open until they hang up.