TeleZapper - A Way to Avoid Telemarketers?

VeniDormi asks: "While watching TV on my TiVo, I actually stopped to see an ad for a device called 'The TeleZapper', which claims to foil tele-marketers by convincing their auto-dialers that your number has been disconnected. The FAQ is light on technical details, only mentioning that the device 'emits [a] tone briefly when the line is answered'. I'm hoping Slashdotters with more telecommunications expertise can enlighten me as to: how/if this might work and whether or not it is something I could reproduce with a sound card, say for recording at the beginning of my voicemail message. Could it be as simple as playing back the three shrill tones I hear when I dial a wrong number?" Ah, the telephone equivalent to SPAM. Too bad phones don't have the equivalent of procmail filters.

Comments

It's kinda simple

[StormRider01]

Ever dial a Disconnected number? The tone that's played is part of the telephone system standard, and when a telemarketing computer receives that tone, it thinks the number has been disconnected, and marks the number as such in it's database.

three shrill tones

[wiredog]

Yeah, that oughta work. Never thought of that, maybe I'll give it a try.

Use the "brown tone"

[Dissident]

Wouldn't it be cool if you actually knew how to reproduce the mythical "brown tone?" It's supposed to induce massive diahrea nearly instantly. I'd love to unleash that on all the damned people trying to get me to try their 21% credit cards!

Re:Why? Telemarketers provide hours of free fun!

[twoflower]

Loser :). What are you doing reading Slashdot when you're supposed to be working?

Me? ... oh, well, I was just...

Twoflower