Ask Slashdot: How Would You Stop a Debt Collection Scam From Targeting You? 497
An anonymous reader writes "I'm currently being targeted by an overseas debt collection scam. My landline rings every 10-15 minutes all day every day. I considered getting a blacklisting device to block the incoming calls, but the call center spoofs a different number on my caller ID each time, and it's gotten to the point where I've just unplugged the phones. I'm already on the Do No Call Registry and have filed a complaint with the FTC. Aside from ditching my landline, changing my number, and/or blowing a whistle into the receiver anytime I actually pick up, are there any real solutions out there? Has anybody had luck with a blacklisting device?"
landline? (Score:5, Funny)
what's a landline?
Re:Leave the call open (Score:5, Funny)
THIS.
I have done this a bunch of times to great amusement. Leave it open for 3-4 minutes, then pick up and say "I geez, I forgot, sorry, let me get that statment (or whatever)..." Then put the phone down again. Call out to an imaginary spouse, and respond to their unheard questions a few times. Maybe make the doorbell ring...again, leave the call open a good ten minutes. Similar variations involve giving them the wrong card number or whatever, repeatedly. A great couple of hours fun can be had, all arranged around your own schedule, of course. Like the previous poster said, this costs them money.
Re:Need more information (Score:4, Funny)
Annoy, annoy, annoy (Score:5, Funny)
Try the whistle every time they answer. If that fails, try Asterisk + Lenny:
http://www.itslenny.com/ [itslenny.com]
Re:Need more information (Score:4, Funny)
Yes, the solution to this is witty ripostes! Shame them! Make them feel bad!
Re:Asterisk, SIP Gateway, Whitelist (Score:4, Funny)
This is when a bipolar family member is handy (Score:5, Funny)
Set up a whitelisting system. Meaning, calls you enter into the white list are passed on to you. Everything else gets forwarded to my mentally ill mother.
Now, before anyone says this is cruel, she LOVES talking on the phone. In fact, if it were an Olympic sport, she'd be on the podium each time. In fact, I have to keep her number blacklisted because she'd call me 400-500 times a month.
Re:Need more information (Score:3, Funny)
Agreed, I'm so utterly obsene and racist when I get an email from a Nigerian scammer, I doubt I hear from the same one again. I'm pretty descriptive and imaginative in my replies, couple it with some American history and close with my wishes for their family. I relegate all that sort of crap to my "spam catcher" accounts anyway.
I began years ago, when I was home from work, shed my clothes and was nursing a beer in front of the tube. The doorbell rang, if they came to see me, they were close enough to not mind my underwear. Wul, LOLZ , it was the Jehovah Witnesses, "well, come on in brothers, what can I do for you today? Beer?" "Sure, let's pray for my household., my cat's been lethargic.". Never came back again... Not exactly scammers, but, the seed was planted, I can de-troll my life by being the biggest, most unpleasant jackass , that no one could imagine being told those unimaginable things by. Being a big lager lout and part time hoodlum didn't hurt either. There was a time I could cut through Christmas crowds at the mall with just a scowl, a Manson T-shirt, and more spikes than a leather convention. I could make debt. collectors cry and call their manager, Neighbors minded their own damn business. I was fucking invincible. Then all of a sudden, it was just too much effort to be a prick. I was pricked out. I gave up and accepted the nomination and became your Pope.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Leave the call open (Score:2, Funny)
I've often wondered what would happen if I gave them credit card numbers off of this list [paypalobjects.com].