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Fighting Telemarketers with Technology
prostoalex writes "According to an MSNBC story, 104 million telemarketing calls are made daily in the U.S. alone and technology is on the way to fight those special offers and incredible credit card rates. Zenith EZ HangUp, The Phone Butler, TriVOX VN100 and ScreenMachine are quoted in the article as new gadgets that allow phone owners to avoid the plagues of telemarketing."
Requirements: 1 answering machine
Turn the answering machine on, but set it so that you can hear the messages people are leaving. Then, screen every call. Period. If people start to leave a message, and it's a message you want, pick up the phone.
Let people who you want to talk to, know that you screen your calls for this reason, so that they will leave a message.
You are under no obligation to pick up the phone. Ever. Don't do it unless the call actually matters to you. And even if it does, but you're busy at the moment, let the machine take the call and you can call back later.
The phone is there to serve you, not the other way around. I have let someone leave a message, just because I was in the coding zone at that moment, or enjoying an ice cream cone, or even awake-but-trying-to-nap, and didn't feel like picking up the phone. So I didn't.
ChicagoFan
I use a Stargate to handle my incoming calls. I can filter on any CallerID string, including Private and Unavailable numbers, and play a custom outgoing message, based on the time of day, day of week, CID, temperature outside, etc.
.WAV files of SIT tones on the 'net, just adding the "disconnected number" tones to the beginning of your answering machine message will accomplish the same thing that many of the $40 gadgets do.
Telemarketers and other nusance callers get a SIT tone, a "DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER" message, and then a click.
On sundays, the custom filters are disabled (telemarketers legally can't call on Sundays).
You can find
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Since I had Qwest enable an anti-marketing feature they sell. Basically if the call would be "Unknown" on my caller ID box, the person calling gets a message that this line does not accept phone solicitations and if they're not a telemarketer, please dial their number now. It even seems to have worked for the Qwest telemarketers. Of course, that's an extra buck or two on the phone bill each month, but I've gone from 5-10 telemarketing calls a week to 0. Once my spam load gets obnoxiously high, I'll be implementing a similar solution for that.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I've used this service, too, and it works great!
We used to get calls from "Out of Area" where you would pick up, you could hear the heavy breathing (and the telemarketers in the background), and then they'd hang up. This would happen 3-4 times a day, besides the other telemarketing calls.
However, my in-laws in Korea got really ticked with the thing, because it took them forever to figure out how to record their names, and when they did, it always added another 4-5 minutes to their call! I tried to explain how to use the direct dial code, but that didn't work too well, either (it's 10 digits!... mess it up, and you got to do it all over again)
So, when AG Jay Nixon of MO got a law passed that requires telemarketers to sign up for no-call lists, I tried it out. Recently, I turned off the screening service, and I still get one telemarketing call per week or so. Perhaps my number just automatically left the lists because the service was on so long, or maybe folks really are obeying the law. (Miss Cleo got socked with several thousand dollars in fines recently for disobeying this law.... too bad she didn't see it coming!)
Would I be right in assuming that it's a side effect of the free local calls you guys get? Whilst the whole idea sounds rather tempting it just seems like you have a lot of hassles and issues with the whole system - especially when it's possible to buy 6 or 7 different call screening devices!
Ps. the English accent on the Phone Butler really made me laugh :o)
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That's how this Telezapper works.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
Plus, the machine also has a feature to send caller-id-blocked numbers right to voice mail (after a special message). The neat thing is listening to the different kinds of response -- some hang up during the "Your number is being sent to voice mail..." which tells me that it's a human calling. Some wait through the message, and then there's a pause, and then a click and a dial tone, which suggests to me that it's a machine that waited a certain amount of time and then gave up.
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
Make it illegal.
These calls have been getting ridiculous lately.
If I want your service, I will call you.
You don't think you can get money from these scumbags? Think again. Friend of mine has gotten $1500 (if not more). See here: http://osiris.978.org/~brianr/telemarketing/
Most of the time they're in another state and it's far more expensive for them to send somebody to represent them in small claims court then it is to just pay you the $500.
Free Mac Mini
The problem with the list in Pennsylvania is that charities and organizations you have a "prior business relationship" with are exempt from the do not call list. This represents 90% of the tekemarketing calls I receive. For example, I get at least a call or two each week from the newspaper I already subscribe to, my credit card company wanting to sell me new services, and (ironically) the phone company trying to sell me DSL or some other phone feature.
Pennsylvania recently passed the "No Calls Please" law, where, if you register with the state, you are added to a do not call list and Telemarketers have to download the list and remove you from their database if you're on it. Adding yourself to the list is free!
When a telemarketer actually does call me, I explain to them about the law. A lot of telemarketers actually tell me they don't believe me. I then ask to speak the supervisor on duty because I need to get the companies name and address in order to report them to my attorney general so they can be fined $5000 for disturbing me. They usually hang up real fast and don't bother me any more.
What we really need is an active law NO ONE in PA can receive telemarketing calls unless they ADD themselves to a list.
I would like to see a more high tech version of this running on a PC. I think it would be liberating to press a button and have an Eliza-like program take over the call from my end. Initially, it could ask the telemarketers to repeat everything several times... then play dumb for a while - asking for things to be repeated in more and more depth - then present an automated sales pitch for some ludicrous randomly chosen product - finally thanking the company for an amusing conversation - and hanging up. I think this would be a particularly effective anti-scam as a result of the way in which I suspect many call centres are run - I understand that those making the calls are required to be polite at all times and are frequently are required to follow strict rules about how they must direct conversations and answer questions. I'm having fun ideas about stock phrases like - "Very interesting - but I'm afraid I was distracted by my next door neighbours' cat - please could you repeat all that" on a rule where the caller has spoken for over 3 minutes. "I'm very interested in this idea - please would you wait while I get a pen I'm back again - what was it we were talking about again?" "Can you explain to me what you meant by that first bit again?" (The possibilities are only limited by our imagination :-)
Okay, I used to program call centers, and I really don't think this Telezapper works, unless they have MAJORLY changed hardware and software since 1998. This is how telemarketing was done:
_ __ __
- Autodialer dials number from read-only database
- Upon pickup, it picks the next available agent, your info shows up on their computer terminal via application bridge from the switch to a computer on the LAN.
- If you hang up, agent gets dialtone, and they hit a button to flag they are available for the next call
I don't care what signal you send to the switch, your number is in a read-only computer database that automates the dialer, not some dynamic read-write database. I mean, think of the security holes in that model! And if you made such a model, then you lose phone numbers, which means less calling stats, and lower numbers. Or some angry hax0r could break in, and program a number of someone they don't like in there (how often I realized I could get back at my enemies by putting them on the autodialer, they'd get a "out of area" call every 10-25 minutes).
When you ask to be put on the "do not call list" then flag the number to be removed from the database, but that has to be done manually. Another thing is that a lot of the products and "companies" that call you are really a huge call center pool in Podunk, Wisconsin (where land and labor are cheap), that isn't really the company. Like say ABC Mortgage calls you to get a second mortgage. That's not ABC Mortgage calling you, but a call center they contracted to do dialing for them in return for a promised percentage of sales.
Another sneaky, low-down-dirty trick used against you is that the following companies sell your number: Dominos, Pizza Hut, and other delivery places. They trace your number via CallerID and they have your address....
I pay for an unlisted number, but sure enough, within a year, I got telemarketers (someone who was housesitting ordered a Pizza). When I am "forced" to give phone numbers (by contests and whatnot), I give my fax/modem line. From time to time, when I am not on the modem, I see the "ring" light go on and off (we have the fax at a silent ring). I can't imagine how many people have called that number.
_______________________________________________
www.punkwalrus.com - Incomplete sentences can be
- EZ Hangup - an annual-fee "opt-out" list, and a single-point device that tells telemarketers to fuck off
- The Phone Butler - a device that lets you, from any phone in the house, tell telemarketers to "piss off" (British accent, donchaknow)
- TriVOX - call screening device that requests callers to enter a code to "ring through" to the hosue
- Screen Machine - not quite sure, looks similar to TriVOX. The linked site (and the manufacturer's site) are pretty skimpy on info.
These are not, of course, the only solutions to the problem. Some other approaches (discussed here and elsewhere):- Do Not Call Lists - State, Federal, Industry, and Company-specific -- a list of numbers wishing to be left alone
- Interrupt tone generators - The idea is to generate the "booo-dee-dweep" sort of sound you get when you call a number that's out of service, and the belief is that telemarketer dialers will hear that and remove your number from their DB. Nobody knows how many call-generating systems actually do this (it's probably a small number).
- Call Screening with an Answering Machine - you still have to run downstairs to listen to the machine, and many telemarketers will just hang up and try again later
- Caller-ID Rejection - Most telemarkters don't pass CID information (thanks, FCC, for dropping that requirement!), some legitimate organizations (some college dorms, for example) don't pass the info, and other telemarketers deliberately pass "appealing" names to entice you to answer.
And what list of potential solutions would be complete without a list of why they all suck?- Opt-Out Systems - They still have to call you once so you can tell them to leave you alone. Not all telemarketers follow the rules, and fighting back is difficult. Not all telemarketers are even bound by the rules (there are a lot of exceptions). Not all subscribe to industry-based lists (like the Direct Marketing Association). Proposed national Federal "opt-out" lists are riddled with exceptions, too, and still rely on callers actually bothering to obey the law. It's difficult to tell a recorded message (illegal, by the way) to place you on a do not call list.
- CID, Interrupt tones, answering machine screening, etc. - discussed above
- EZ Hangup - see #1, plus you gotta run to the phone where the EZ Hangup box lives
- Phone Butler - see #1
- TriVOX - Would be nice to have the ability to manually place numbers on the system so that friends, family, etc., calling from recognizable numbers can ring straight through
- Screen Machine - ??? Probably similar to #5.
Of all these possible solutions, the TriVOX comes closest to what I've been hoping to find for about the last 10 years. The ideal solution, for me, would be:- Hardware solution that sits in my basement, between the outside world and all my inside extensions
- Connects to a computer for inbound CID logging and configuration (including setup of whitelist and blacklist phone numbers)
- Passes whitelist numbers straight through to internal extensions
- Blocks blacklist numbers immediately with "do not call" request
- Interrupts unrecognized numbers, before ringing inside the house, with user-recorded announcement giving callers the option to "hit 1" to ring through.
- Tone-sensor to allow any extension in the house to interrupt a caller who has rung through and is still a telemarketer (ala Phone Butler)
- (optional): capability to do multi-extension ringing ("hit 1 for david") or multi-mailbox voicemail (extra credit: record voicemail to computer and make available for software to include in email or web interface)
I've always thought that this would make a great open source hardware project -- complex enough that it doesn't already exist, simple enough to be within the reach of hobbyist hackers.Like I said, the TriVOX comes VERY close to this, but is missing some key features (like the ability to whitelist friends and family). It is, however, very encouraging that we're finally getting close to being able to truly solve the problem. At least as well as can ever be done.
... is the people who answer the questions.
I get very few telemarketing calls, maybe a dozen or so a year, but I object to them on principle so a couple of months ago I decided not to accept them in future.
About a month ago I got a call and a very polite guy explained briefly who he was, what his company did (market research) and asked if I had a few minutes to answer some questions.
I told him: "Actually I don't like taking part in these things, sorry."
His reaction told me so much. Slight pause, then in a surprised tone: "You don't?"
I imagine lots of people make excuses not to answer the questions, or they just say they don't have time or whatever, but judging from that guy's reaction I bet I was the first person to just say that I didn't want to take part.
Maybe if more people make it clear to cold callers that they aren't welcome, they'll quit doing it. It's not like spam where the sender is pretty much anonymous. The cold caller is right there on the phone! Just tell them that their call isn't wanted.
But remember that the person on the other end of the phone is just someone paid to sit at a desk and dial numbers and ask questions. No need to be rude to them. I'm sure they'd be doing a better job if they could get one.
Then you should cancel your phone service. If you have a landline connected to your house/apartment/etc. there are typically 2 phone numbers you can still call. The phone company that owns the line, and 911 (at least that's been true in the RTP area of NC).
Back in my college/grad school days, I moved every few months, and I always called the phone company to set up service from the new apartment itself. The poor phone reps got so confused when I told them that I was calling from my apartment to set up service at my apartment. Apparently, no one told them that this would actually work.
Here's what YOU can keep in mind, to avoid the need for any high-tech solution:
Before you flame me, realize I am not apologizing for telemarketing. I wish I could make the entire concept disappear with a wave of my hand, but I can't; telemarketing is too profitable to just go away. "There's a sucker born every minute", after all.
(*)Well, last I checked it was free if you sent them a letter for the cost of a stamp, and $5 if you register on-line (to keep you from registering all your friends and family and the phone book presumably).
In Missouri, we have a pretty effective no call list. We (the state) have made quite a bit of $$ of various telemarketers, including Miss Cleo (did you know she's not really Jamaican!?!?). And I've only gotten telemarking calls from the phone companies (naturally, there are still loopholes for them). If it's implemented right, a state-sponsored list goes a long way.
~LD
That's what Privacy Manager (Privacy Director where I am) are for - if the number is blocked ("private") or out of area (which is common now, as many in the US are called using cheapo long distance companies that don't support caller ID, or they call from Canada, which is usually out of area), then, like placing a collect phone call, the caller must identify himself before your phone even rings.
If they actually bother to identify themselves, you get to hear who it is from their recording, and you can accept the call, or press a number to send them a prerecorded "these kinds of phone calls are not accepted at this number" (or some such).
To not be a nuisance to your friends and family who get caught by this, our phone company offers a pin you can give them so they can by-pass the required identification.
This eliminated virtually all of my telemarketing calls.
But, as others have pointed out, I felt like it was extortion, and stopped the service. "Put me on your don't call list" does NOT work for me - I get so many hang-ups it's unbelievable. I have heard that if a man says "put me on your DNC list", they mark that on their list, and when they call back again, if it's a man, they hang up (and vice-versa for a woman). So I get a million hang-ups.
What worse is, lately, I get people calling who get my answering machine. The power has gone out so much that I just leave the default message (some computerized sounding woman's voice saying "after tone leave message"). I come home and usually have at least one stupid message: "Hello? Can I speak to Anne [or some other name that no one in my house has]? Hello?"
Either that or hang-ups. I am considering a cellphone, but with 2 adults in the house, and a nice size house, it's kind of annoying with one phone. Family plans cost as much as, if not more than, the regular service with caller ID and privacy director, and give me the feature of conveniently placed phones around the house - plus the dial-up fallback when the cable modem goes out. To answer the next question - no I don't have a cellphone, and I don't want one. My wife has prepaid, but that's annoying, too.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
I actually had one of the vegetable level people, when I declined to participate once (before Caller ID and before my answering machine message started with the special information tones) say "I hope nothing happens to your house." Sinister, indeed.
Call (206) 338-5780 COLLECT for information about a genuine BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA, or Ph.D.
Unfortunately, even having state-sponsored do not call lists won't help. As I've said before, laws are only as effective as their enforcement.
Actually, Colorado's new state-wide DNC list is working quite well. Since it went into effect in July, I belive I have gotten a total of 1 (one) telephone solicitation. Before, I was getting at least 3 or 4 a week. I had pretty much stopped answering the phone in the evening because the telemarketers were outcalling my friends and family by a significant margin. Keep in mind that I was scrupulous about telling every single company that called to put me on their DNC list. From what I could tell, it didn't make much of a dent. I tried to keep a list of the companies who called and when, but really only got a couple of repeat calls. There are so many companies doing telemarketing (and new ones every day) that per-company DNC lists are an exercise in futility.
Colorado's law allows individuals to file suit in small claims court against companies who call in violation of the law. The state also provides a web site were you can file a complaint on-line with the State AG. So far, I know at least one personal suit has been filed (settled out of court) and the AG's office have notified several companies that they are in violation of the law. At last count, almost half the residential phone lines in the state were on the list!
Say what you want, but at least here in Colorado the list is working quite well. Actually much better than I had hoped. Since I know that I can sue any telemarketer dumb enough to call, I actually sit around and hope that they will call. But they never do.
As others have pointed, yes Virginia, there is a law. 47 U.S.C. 227. and the implementing regulations at 47 C.F.R. 64.1200.
And you get to play federal enforcement officer. Under the statute, any telemarketer that violates the regs, you get to drag them into your local small claims court and fry them for $500 to 1500 per violation. I've done it fir the last 5 years, and have collected (yup... cashed the checks and got the money) over $100,000.
Now the interesting part. The FCC is holding a rulemaking proceeding and asking for public comments on 1) what problems consumers are currently experiencing with telemarketing and junk faxing, and 2) asking for comments on what changes there should be to the 47 C.F.R. 64.1200 regulations.
File your comments!!! You can file comments via a web form or e-mail at the FCC web site (Docket 102-278).
A consumer has a simplified CGI form with instruction and sample comments here.
I pick up every "unavailable" call and as soon as I hear the other person call me by my last name and then mis-pronounce it, I say hello and let them start their speech, then I set the phone down. By doing this, I can increase the call times as much as possible and still get back to my TV show. Like spam, the only way that telemarketing will ever stop is when it is no longer profitable.
It reduced the calls by 99%. Aside from occasional mortgage refinance idiots and clueless SNET morons, the teletrash is pretty much gone. What little gets past the DNC list will be ignored since I only answer when Caller ID shows me a name or number that I recognize.
Before the state offered the DNC list, I played around with a modem that just happened to include caller ID recognition. I wrote a quickie app to detect the "number unavailable" situation and have the modem go off-hook for 5 seconds and hang up. Any call that rang more than once was worth answering, because otherwise my program would have intercepted it. The sheer fun of hearing a single ring followed by silence made it all worthwhile. In a way, the state DNC list has deprived me of the enjoyment I used to get from my homemade teletrash defense system.
Pennsylvania recently passed an anti-telemarketing law that created a "Do Not Call" list. When they started accepting info (via phone and web) from people who wished to be added to that list, they got such a crushing, overwhelming response that their call center and their servers couldn't handle it, which made the local news and really drove the point home about exactly how many people HATE telemarketers.
I am one of those people. I signed up successfully, early on the first day, but I still continue to do what I've been doing for years-- applying technology myself to keep the bastards from bugging me:
For the last two years, I've had a Caller ID modem connected to the Mac that runs all my home automation stuff. I set it up with a whitelist of my friends and relatives. When someone on the whitelist calls, the computer verbally alerts me through wireless speakers placed thoughout the house, and I know to pick up the phone. The computer will also mute the sound on the entertainment center if I'm watching TV or have my stereo on, so I don't have to fumble for a remote. The end result is, the only people who can interrupt what I'm doing are people that I want to talk to. Everyone else gets the answering machine. This works for me because I am not so such a social butterfly that the whitelist needs constant updating. I suppose that if I were, though, I'd just create a web interface for it so I could edit it from anywhere.
The bottom line, though, is that Caller ID is your friend. Don't pick up if you don't know who's on the other end, just let your machine get it. If the call is important enough, the caller will leave a message.
~Philly
Yep.
Chances are, you're getting called from Canada. I used to have it as a summer job before I got my big break in the United States. I hated it, and I was miserable pitching credit cards with a 29% APR to young 20-somethings and seniors, and cable packages from TCI/Qwest.
I'd say that kidlinux has it nailed. Cheaper labor (although the one that I worked at paid $8.00 per hour, which for Ontario was actually pretty good three years ago) is the main reason - you get a lot of university/college kids who are desparate for summer jobs, and they hope that you'll continue doing it when the summer is over. However, the U.S. law DOES apply, furthermore, if I remember correctly, the company that we were doing the telemarketing for could be held liable if we screwed up. Interestingly enough, the place that I was working for, we observed American holidays. We didn't get July 1st (Canada Day) off, we got July 4th off instead. The company took some heat from the Ontario Department of Labor for that.
Remember, when dealing with a telemarketer, be calm and collected. You yelling at us doesn't do you any good (I'll explain in a bit). The best way to get them to stop calling you is to explicitly ask, "Put me on your Do Not Call list". Saying, "Don't ever call here again" is NOT the same. You must explicitly say, "Put me on your Do Not Call list".
There was one guy I was working with at that call center, and he used to LOVE it when the people he was calling got angry at him. Unless they said, "Put me on your Do Not Call list", he wouldn't (which he didn't have to do - I on the other hand was a bit more generous and would do so, even if they just asked me not to call them again). Since the dialing was done by computers, you could specify exact times that they called. The promotion that we were working on had very few callers (home mortgages, they wanted the "best sellers" on that one), so if you put up a fuss, he'd schedule a call back for 15 minutes later, and chances are, he'd get you again.
-- Joe
I work for a telemarketing company, and every day I call about 600 people per day. There is approximatly 100 people working in the same call center as me. Just going off of the volume of calls per day that I make, there are at least 60000 calls going out over the course of 16 hours. 10% of these calls end in sales, while 10% of the sales will end in an upsale als0. But this is beside the point.
Here are some ways that people try and avoid telemarketing calls, and the results of what happens:
1-one who is called states that they are not available (some are quite stupid also, "Im not here" is a common resopnce)
Result-we disposition as not available. Re-calls house in 2-3 hours.
2-one who is called says they are busy.
Result-dispositioned as not available. Recall house in 2-3 hours
3-one who is called cannot speak english, or not well.
Result-dispositioned as a lnguage problem. House recalled (maybe in 5 months) waiting for them to learn english
4-one who is called says they are not interested.
Result-give second effort, if refused, disposition as refusal. one who is called rmoved from that program's list. Continues to remain on other lists.
5-one who is called hangs up without stated reason.
Result-dispositioned as hung up, recalls house in 20 miniutes.
6-one who is called brings up threats of lawsuit / or is an irate customer.
Result- dispositioned as refusal. See results above.
7-one who is called requests to be placed on do not call list.
Result-Give DNC responce. Dispositioned as DNC. Federal law mandates that the called number be placed on company DNC list within 90 days.
8-disconnected tone.
Result- dispositioned as disconnect. Number is dropped from list.
9-number is fax machine.
Result- dispositioned as disconnect. Number dropped
10-awnserwing machine.
Result-dispositioned as awnsering machine, called back in 2-3 hours
11-one who is called is deaf/has difficult hearing on the fone.
Result- dispositiond as deaf, number dropped
12- Anonomys call blockage/privacy manager/phone butler.
Result- put a random sequence of numbers into the telephone box at the cublcle, to "fool" the caller ID system, and continue call.
General guidelines that work:
1. Request to be placed on DNC list (and say you have requested so before. Since it is a previous requset, we will red flag it, and it will have more importance being removed even faster.
2. Speak a forign language, and dont speak any english. You dont even have to know any of the language that you are speaking, but caller will not know that. Will be language barrier. (Maybe recalled in 5 months).
3. Give your credit card creditors a invalid number, a fax machine, or a modems number. You wont be getting the call, and number will be removed.
4. Refuse the offer. Will give second effort, maybe third also, but if you hold your ground, will be dispositioned as refusal. Removed from that call list, remain on others.
I hope this pointer list helps you stop those endless calls
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