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FTC Whacks "Rachel From Card Holder Services"
coondoggie writes "Just two weeks after it challenged the public to come up with a better technological way to stop incessant robocalling, the Federal Trade Commission pulled the plug on five mass calling companies it said were allegedly responsible for millions of illegal pre-recorded calls from 'Rachel' and others from 'Cardholder Services.' 'At the FTC, Rachel from Cardholder Services is public enemy number one,' said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz at the announcement of the cases."
How she got my number is beyond me.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
And why is public enemy number one some simple average american girl?
Simple as that. Glad to know someone was taking it seriously. And your next impossible mission, should you choose to accept it... "the chimney company."
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
Met her at a bar the other night. Don't completely remember her name, but it was something like Rachel FromCardHolderServices, yeah something like that...
I have been receiving no less than 3 calls a week for the last 6 months from "Card Services" with this robocall. The numbers were always different, so blocking didn't help.
Often the calls came in as late as 9:00 p.m., which was seriously annoying.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Rachel has been calling me for years and the ho needed to be taken down. Nothing works to stop the bitch. Screaming into the phone, swearing at them, putting the phone down and not talking, pretending to be a mindless fool who can't find their cards and keeping them on the line for long periods of time. This outfit is just so lame. I had recently recorded the tones that are played when the call was transferred by pressing "1" so I could dial them directly and start bothering them.
...is giving whoever took care of this one billion dollars.
I hope the pre-recorded foghorn caller is included. I think it's offering some travel package, but since the first thing you hear is a loud lighthouse foghorn sound, I haven't listened to the pitch for the last several years. They've been attacking my office line about 3 times a year for the past decade, from different caller ID numbers.
[
How about instead of a fictional character, they go after the real people and companies that profitted from the scam? You know, the credit-card companies and the thieves. Perhaps a big fine and some jail time might solve the problem.
So far, FTC has filed suits. The suits will be settled, where the people running these companies will pay a fine of part of their profits and a promise to never do it again. They'll go right back to robocalling, maybe under the same company or under a new company name. Nothing changes when all said and done. Nice and profitable, if you have no soul.
sounds like the title of some bad porno.
ill leave the meaning of "FTC" in this case up for debate.
Now, assuming we bust all 5 companies and take everything they have, is there any way to go after the owners personally for the frauds they've committed? Or is this going to be yet another instance of the all-too-common business plan:
1. Set up a scam company.
2. Scam people.
3. Government busts the company, forces it into bankruptcy.
4. Personally, you avoided punishment because it's limited liability.
5. Profit!
6. Repeat as many times as you like.
I am officially gone from
Thanks FTC for doing your job I guess.
Not too sure why we're making a huge deal out of this, what I want to know is what took you so damn long.
She is the only girl that has called me in the last 3 years...
Forever Alone...
Fantastic!!
Incredibly good news!!
Now my phone should finally quiet down after the elections and I can stop spending all my time on the DNC web site filling out complaints.
No information on when they did this, but I got a call from the outfit just two days ago, so they were still operational on Tuesday.
Or, is this like so many other things done at the administrative level nowadays? "We shut them down, by sending a strongly worded letter to the post office box listed somewhere!"
Is there any evidence that the people responsible for doing this can be stopped, not just the companies they started? So often, the companies are shut down, only to have their founders start a copycat company doing the same thing immediately afterwards.
"Mr. Morden: What do YOU want?
Ambassador Vir Cotto: I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I want to look up into your lifeless eyes and wave like this.
[waves]
Ambassador Vir Cotto: Can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden? "
the guys running these Call Centers can be Mr Morden.
Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
I am so fed up of these calls as well as the collection companies trying to collect on debts from 20 years ago.
I did find a way to get them to pull you from the list.
1) Set up asterisks phone system.
2) Record the three tone sound and message that is played when you call a number than no longer exists.
3) Set the message played to a blocked caller in asterisks to be the recording of the tones with the message that the number no longer exists.
4) Blacklist every one of those F***ERS
When the system detects the tone it will remove your number from the list, Even if they have someone check the number it will play the "Has been disconnected or is no longer in service" message.
It cut my calls down to maybe one a month getting through and I just hit *32 after they get through and add the new number to the black list.
THEN WHO WAS PHONE?
At least a $100K for my number alone at $1500 a pop.
When I hear that it's RachelI, I just punch 1, wait for the live operator, tell her I got something on the stove and I'll be back in a minute. That minute never comes.
Tell me someone was 'whacked' in the mafia sense of the word? Otherwise it's just a temporary shut down which will be back soon.
Because I get a tremendous amount of calls from these automated things claiming they can lower my interest rates.
This one is most common of these scam calls after the free cruise my wife wins every day at 3pm on her cell phone, and the morons who claim to be from "The Windows Service Provider".
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I have noticed most of these calls come disguised via google voice numbers. They change their numbers nonstop, and the majority of the time when you press one to talk to an operator the system is overloaded and just hangs up on you. I knew they were making crazy money when I saw that. If they can't even handle the amount of traffic the robodialer is generating for them, they are obviously being very successful.
But I'm disappointed they wouldn't implement my suggestion: to make all robo-calls add an option to their menu.
Here's how it would work:
"This is Rachel from Cardholder Services. There is no problem with your account.
Please press "1" to protect your account,
Press "2" to hear about our other exciting offers,
Press "9" to have 10,000 volts applied to the owner of this company's genitals."
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 ...
I suppose they were right to reject my suggestion, though. The country couldn't afford to repeatedly replace all the "9" buttons on everyone's phones. /only half-joking
Beta sux! Join the Slashcott! http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4760465&cid=46173047
I would occasionally allow myself to be passed to a live person, and they were never willing to help out with Diner's Club cards.
I'd call it a good start. Let them catch their breath, think their ordeal is over... then give them 10 hours of They're Taking The Hobbits To Isengard.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
The skeptic in me thinks the FTC knew who these companies were all along. Five companies account for millions of unwanted calls a day, and disregard the DNC list? Seems that an operation like that would be hard to hide. Maybe the political pressure got to be too much and FTC felt they had to act? I'm not complaining, just asking why we had to put up with it for several years before there was any regulatory action.
"Round up the usual suspects."
Rachel has now turned to your electric bill and savings that you can get from the government. This is the new scam that has started just this last week.
One down, hundreds of dirt bags to hunt down and kill.
I kept putting off the robo call at my business, offering me help to maintain my company website listing on Google. What will I do now?
Gently reply
Can they do something about the one where some guy calls you, blasts a loud boat horn in your ear, and then tells you that this is your captain and you have won a free cruise or something like that? After getting a few of those I want to make "captain" walk the plank.
"It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity."
...Then these companies would not make enough profit by scamming people, and it would stop. The fact that this continues for so long, and there are multiple companies doing this, makes me weep for humanity.
In the old days, business was more interested in generating local business and keeping a good name, rather than annoying customers. In the last 10-15 years, something changed, and "We Want More Of Your Money" became the new rule. An annoyed customer who swore never to do business with them again, wasn't much of a customer anyway. Business 'gamed' the telephone system. Its an offshoot of email and the mail system. My uncle once said that people who complained about mass market email were just a bunch of anti-business communists. A few years later, after removing 20 million unsolicited emails from his inbox, his tune changed. Its been changed for the duration. Likewise unsolicited mail, and unsolicited phone calls. 'Gaming the system' is something business has been trying a lot, and doing a lot, and thank God for regulation and legislation that keeps them from taking advantage of public utilities and services to the detriment of all others. Why does it seem like regulation knows no bound? Because on the other side is greed, which really has no bound.
The most annoying thing about Cardholder Services is that I know the bank I used to work for actually branded themselves as "Cardmember Services" for customer service, because they had so many cobrands and partners (airlines, hotels, etc - each with their own card branding). Which means that the legitimate bank using that name lent credence to the frauds who followed after.
I raised a concern about it back when they first started doing it (years ago), but was just a lowly programmer who clearly couldn't understand the intricacies and nuances of branding.
I work from home. I get 1-3 calls from Rachel per day.
Politely asking to be added to the do not call list does not work.
I hate these jack asses and made it my mission to annoy them back.
If everyone wastes their time, the business model is unprofitable.
Here is what I do... Play along answering questions until they start asking questions to close the deal. When they ask your name, say, "This is Rachel with card services with important news!"
LOL
Sometimes they hang up, sometimes they curse you.
The cursing ones are fun to engage.
Had a few nice friendly sales voice turn ghetto.
Good times.....
I don't know how they actually get any "business" -- the last 3 times they've called me, I've tried playing along to see how the scam works. Somewhere along the line, as I'm telling them what my current interest rate is, they always hang up on me. It blows my mind.
One time, though, I had fun -- my other routine is to try to explain to the poor schmuck on the line (who is probably an underpaid normal person who can't find a better job) that they are working for scammers and probably should find a different job. One lady from "Card Services" started yelling at me about how they weren't scammers, they were a organization that wants to help people and that they never break the law, and that my phone number must not actually be on the do-not-call list if they called me, because they follow the rules. It was hilarious, she carried on for 5 or 10 minutes shouting at me, and she sounded like she actually believed it.
What is that, the number of hours in seven years?
Oh, this Beta, it is not so good.
It seems the FTC has identified the miscreants. How about a couple million people converge on these places and the government just looks the other way for about... oh 10 hours. Problem solved with extreme prejudice!
Thank god. I talked to one of these idiots a long time ago.... I ask "what bank does this card belong to?" They say "It's your card ending in 9999" I say, that's not what I asked and hang up.
I hope they get the death penalty. Nothing less is warranted - same goes for spammers and virus authors.
The phone company would quickly find a solution if enough people gave up on their land line and canceled service.
There is just no way to get him to stop callilng me.
The article does not deal with the real issue: what the FSCK took the so long to track down the outfit(s) making these calls.
The article reads like a press release from the FTC (which it almost certainly is). I mean, they get 200,000 complaints a month and it takes them 1 year to track down where these calls are coming from? Sheesh.
She was really good in bed. She came over every time I asked and never complained. Never asked me to put on a condom.
Sometimes she leaked air and I had to find the hole to patch it, but once that was done she was as good as ever, always willing to please!
sluts? Misogyny on Slashdot shouldn't be ignored, or dismissed as a joke. (and shame on the mods too)
tomorrow who's gonna fuss
The FTC could probably clear a good portion of this year's federal deficit by selling tickets to these bastards' hangings. Pay-per-view, anyone?
Publicly execute the fuckers when you catch them. They'll stop.
I would always press one. Get a telemarketer on the phone, tell them I'm drowning in credit Card debt and don't see a way out. Let them give their rap, and give them a generated fake CC number. Of course the CC number would check out but the expiration date would not. I would tell them that I had the card in front of me and everything I had given them was correct. All of this of course waisted time they could have spent ripping someone off. It didn't take long before the calls stopped coming.
The other thing I like to do with telespammers is answer "Name of Town, Police Department, Officer Smith, How may I help you." That never fails to get you off a list. Of course it's a bit discombobulating when it turns out to be a legitimate call.
oh crap.. that was a scam!?
As a geek, I was intrigued at the programming behind his response tree, but he is clearly a robot, albeit a very well-programmed one.
If only "common" sense was actually that common...
I was going to ask her out.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
She identifies herself as Rachel, troll. Climb off that high horse back under your bridge.
All very well, but surely one could do far worse.
This is WAY better than Bin Laden.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I am retired and have time to kill. At each call I strung them along, answered all the questions. When they asked me for my credit card number, I said that I have to go and get it. A minute later I picked up the phone and gave them a fake credit card number. (The first 4 digits should match a real card as there are only a few allowable codes. ). The number did not go through of course. I apologized and gave them another fake number. When that didn't go through I thanked them for making my day less lonely and asked them the call again. What is amazing is they didn't get the hint and kept calling.
I tell everyone I can that telemarketers are scammers.
No exceptions.
After all, we're on the "Do Not Call List", these people ignore it thereby violating the law making them criminals.
Yes I know that charities and politicians are exempted but consider this, when it comes to charities, most if not ALL the money and then some goes to the telemarketer.
And as far as politicians are concerned, well, we all know they are liars and cheats - no exceptions.
And lastly, STOP GIVING or doing business over the phone!!! It only encourages these assholes!
perhaps there's some vigilante justice out there.
According the the complaint, one of the companies was run by Christopher L Miano and Dana M Miano, and operated as A+ Financial, out of 10258 S US Highway 1, Port Saint Lucie, FL. The other companies were created and run by Willy Plancher and Valbona Toska, and was in the Longwood/Winter Park/Altamonte Springs, Florida area. Their last known address was 383 Emerson Plaza, Suite 416, Altamonte Springs, FL.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
I hated those calls. I wanted to punch rachel in the box. There were times when I spent the time on the phone to get to a real person and I would give them a bunch of fake info, just to waste their time.
This deep, my friend. This deep.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
they are more of them out there !
But in this case we'll make an exception.
If I get an really persistent telemarketer I tell them my wife needs to be on the call because she has the credit card..
Then I hit conference call and dial the Rock Roll hotline. Sit on the line and see how long they listen before giving up.
If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. --Red Adair
I just ask for their corporate mailing address... if they're playing by the rules, then they know that they have an obligation to provide it upon request. If they refuse, I point them at the appropriate laws and ask them to explain themselves... usually they hang up at that point. They haven't called me in a while, actually... maybe they clued in and blocked my number.
Also, they're scammers... if you have a reasonable interest rate on your cards, then there's a good chance you know what the hell you're doing with your money, and aren't a good target for scamming. Though I did have one of their lackies try telling me that they could beat the 7% interest I pay on my Visa (not an introductory rate, a negotiated rate based on my credit rating and not carrying a balance).
First off you are not protected on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as the debt was incurred before it was made. It is grandfathered which is why debt collection agencies are purchasing it because they are free from prosecution. Only new debt after it was made can be applied.
I am going to get flamed here or modded down ... but you are expected to pay them.
People who do not pay back their debt have no integrity and do not keep their word. You made a promise to pay them no matter what, you agreed to the terms, and it is been what?? 20 years?!
Be responsible! At least try with a payment plan if you want anyone like a car dealership or a bank to trust you again. Hate the debt collectors all you want but if I owed you money and the repo man was about to take your car away because you had to pay off my own debt would you not be pissed off hounding me on paying back too? You would and probably be threatening to sue me as well.
http://saveie6.com/
FUCK YEA! GO FTC! I've been getting calls from that bitch for a long time.
Then why are not the bank executives in jail? BOA and Chase already pleaded guilty yet the owners are not going to jail nor are any employees. They just pay a fine and use it as a tax write off and continue.
piercing of the vail is commonly used to pay back taxes and other lawsuits as well. I have not ever seen it for criminal and I wish they would. If the CEOs get jailtime and so do executives then you bet your ass they wont make shady deals. Rachel included should be in jail and sued otherwise she will just move to India and run another shell company there and continue while claiming she didn't break any laws as she was in another country.
http://saveie6.com/
I got a call from 'Home insurance services' and was all like, what happened to card-holder services?
Probably not. It was probably just a good voice acting gig to her, that help paid the bills.
OOOOHHHHHHHHH she had BILLS to PAY!
Probably mouths to feed, and a mortgage, too!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Somebody please provide a direct dial for this outfit. I keep getting hung up so I can't even properly waste their time. As a humorous aside, I received a robocall while I was reading through the comments in this thread. No kidding, I did.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
I once made something similar, by attaching my telephone line to my sound card input and decoding the Caller ID information in software.
http://www.ecstaticlyrics.com/electronics/telephone/CallerID/
Rather than play the three tones, however, I simply attached a relay to my parallel port so that the computer could pick up and then hang up the line.
That actually makes them stop calling as well. I guess they're smart enough to realize they're just wasting their time when they get hung up on every time, but not smart enough to realize they're wasting their time when you've ignored the previous hundred messages they've left on your answering machine.
You can also combine it with a phone that you can configure not to ring until it has Caller ID information (by setting different rings for different callers, and thus getting no ring at first since it doesn't have the Caller ID info yet) and you won't even hear the phone ring when the morons call.
Require that she and all of the workers from those companies list their numbers and address on the net. Then we will not have any more of this nonsense.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Why is the word "slut" used as an insult? Because apparently some people think the worst thing a woman can do is like sex, have a lot of it, and not be anybody's property. I guess that makes people nervous. Of course, it seems a lot of people think the second worst thing a woman can do is be a "stuck-up cockteasing bitch".
So, basically, any woman who wants to make her own sexual choices is going to get shit for it unless her choices exactly match what somebody else wants. Which changes from person to person and from moment to moment. So she's really just shit out of luck.
Which sucks. And is specific to women. So perpetuating it is misogynistic. Even when women do it. Which many do.
It's not misogynistic because somebody guessed that a woman was female. It's misogynistic because it's always misogynistic to use "slut" as an insult. Every time. Regardless of how much sex somebody does or does not have, and regardless of whether or not that has anything to do with whatever's being discussed.
You have no license to use the word, ever. People will call you on it. Grow up and deal with it.
Grandfathered or not, it's still past the statute of limitations so legally they can't do shit to collect it.
.doing that effictively absolves the debt since once the contract is gone there is no longer any way to prove the borrower is responsible. Third party collectors buy these bad debts for pennies on the dollar so they sue... They are lawsuit mills and it's an investment for them. Fuck those guys, the borrower never had any prior dealings with them so there is no obligation AT ALL. If it's an unsecured debt, then tough shit... the burden is on the plaintiff to prove guilt and without a contract there is no real way to do that.
As far as paying back debt goes, people may start with the best of intentions but life doesn't always make it easy. If a debt goes bad, lenders have insurance for that so they get paid either way. Creditors destroy debt contracts every few years..
"It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity."
You're assuming the debt is legitimate. They can and do completely invent debts out of thin air.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
I just got another call from Rachel at 5:07 PM EDT.
Well trying not to be too much of a dick here but I can not invent a debt upon you and demand payment. You have to agree to it. Try they can put in changes in fees like with ATM cards but not if you had no debt in the first place.
20 years is a long time not to pay. Not like you borrowed some money and got laid off 6 months ago but over a decade old!
http://saveie6.com/
Statue of limitations apply to laws broken. Not private contracts such as debt. This is a civil issue.
No it is not insured as we found out with AIG what happens when financial companies get crazy with instruments. They do not destroy contracts but just sell them. They are sold to third party collectors and yes shame on the person who hurt the bank and forced them to do so, not debtor as they just lost A TON of money after a 3rd party person buys it.
It is not the banks money or the CEOs money. It is the peoples money. It is the grandma's living off her savings which the debtor (grandparent) splurged on and then didn't pay back forcing her and the bank to take the loss by selling it for pennies on the dollar. Yes the burden is on the plaintiff as he didn't honorably obligie on the contract. Yes the collection agency does have the original copy.
You may hate them and view them as parasites like the repo men but they do serve society a fuction. Unlike Wallstreet traders. They keep interest rates for the rest of us and enable those of us who are hurting financial who need a car but have been honest to get one! Without these players it would be impossible to get a car at all if you made under $50k a year! How do I know you are going to pay me back?
FYI I am not a hearltess asshole as I am going through struggles myself and sometimes people go through hard times. It is very humiliating to have people call you a loser and harass you and threaten to take your car away etc. But that is what you are if someone else paid for it. Now if this poor sap had been just unemployed for 6 months then I can see your point. But 20 years?! Wow ... I would not loan him anything!
http://saveie6.com/
I just start screaming expletives at them. Doesn't help much, but it's cathartic.
Later I report the call to the FCC
Not true. A statute of limitations definitely applies to debt and civil matters. It varies by state/issue but for debt it is 3-5 years most of the time. If the time since the debt went bad > the time allowed under statute, then they can't touch it ever again. Period. They can try but you can smack them down HARD in court. If they put old debt on your credit report, you can sue them for libel and get 3X damages. There's lot of ways to fight if you know your rights. Unsecured debt collectors act like assholes and try to intimidate people because that's all they can do for the most part... if you're a debtor the law is on your side and collectors don't want you to know that. They're counting on people to act like ignorant marks who just grab their ankles and take it.
With secured debt (car loan, mortgage, etc.) they can repo your stuff unless you initiate bankruptcy, which just buys you time to work it out. In the case of unsecured credit card debt, there's not much they can do if the debt is old enough and you know your rights + choose to fight.
"It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity."
Then why are not the bank executives in jail? BOA and Chase already pleaded guilty yet the owners are not going to jail nor are any employees. They just pay a fine and use it as a tax write off and continue.
piercing of the vail is commonly used to pay back taxes and other lawsuits as well. I have not ever seen it for criminal and I wish they would. If the CEOs get jailtime and so do executives then you bet your ass they wont make shady deals. Rachel included should be in jail and sued otherwise she will just move to India and run another shell company there and continue while claiming she didn't break any laws as she was in another country.
- Neither BoA nor Chase has plead guilty to anything.
- Fines are not tax deductible.
- Thousands of executives go to prison every year. The corporate veil is only about protecting personal assets from civil proceedings--you have not ever seen mention of piercing the corporate veil for criminal trial because it is completely irrelevant.
No, they can and do invent a debt and demand payment. They can't ding your credit score for a fake debt. They can't contact you about fake debt if you've initiated action under the fdcpa. But there's absolutely nothing stopping them from just cold calling people and asking for money for something they made up (or something they bought from someone who made it up). It costs them very little to do, and there are absolutely no consequences to them unless they persist after fdcpa action.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
I got a call from Rachel this afternoon...
I guess that's one person who's not happy Obama popped bin Laden
It was hilarious, she carried on for 5 or 10 minutes shouting at me, and she sounded like she actually believed it.
She probably did.
For the low-paying ground-level jobs, it is easier to fool people than to convince them to participate in a crime.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
They usually sense hesitation and hang up, thinking you are playing them. I have been hung up on many times when I expressed interest. Usually over 20% will work, but it you say you have no idea and let them lead you, they would let you by.
They don't want people who know their interest rate.
My standard answers were:
Well, I have 2 cards, and I think my girlfriend has at least one in my name
Honestly, I have no idea how much money. One card is over $5k, and I'm sure the other is a lot more.
I couldn't even tell you the interest rate. Yeah, twenty something sounds familiar, I think I saw that.
Then they lead me around and I waste as much time as possible.
Apparently they charge $200 or $300 to your card for the "service" of calling your bank and asking for a lower rate, which you can do yourselves almost without fail as long as you have a good payment history. Search google for the phone number, you'll get piles of hits for "who called me?" forums and lots of dirt. It's sad, because there are a lot of saps who admit to being taken. Thankfully, a small part of the victims do post what happened. I should say, a small part of the victims think to search the internet, a smaller part think to post, and a smaller part give details. Extrapolate and you got your victim pool.
Think like an idiot. I get a Canadian station, "ION TV". Sometimes when I'm flipping channels they have "Smart Cookies", who advise people on finance. They play the same episodes of Gadget Girlz, Body Fuel, and Smart Cookies repeatedly. I think there was only one season of each.
Anyway, the interviews with random people at the mall who don't know their balance or rate is very revealing. They buy a sweater for 15% off and put it on a 23% card, paying the minimum.
That's the entire reason your CC statement has changed, if you are American, is the government protecting stupid people like that from themselves. That's where they got the business.
I just get a call from her about 5 minutes ago.
Let them go through their spiel, and if you get to talk to a real person, when they ask you how you want to pay, say you want to use your food stamp card (EBT card). Tell them thats the only credit card you have.
For me the DNC list does not go far enough! It needs to apply to so called "charitable organizations" and especially to political canvasing calls! What I really want is a whitelist, where only callers on the whitelist get my phone (cell or landline) to ring. All others get a message that gives my hotmail email address and asks them to send an email stating the reasons that they think they should have the privilege of being allowed to call me.
After all, I bought the phone, and pay for phone service. So I should get to decide who gets to call me on it. Telemarketing (and any offshoots like email spam etc...) needs to be totally stopped RIGHT NOW!
I live in Iowa, and right now I get at least 6 (usually more) political BS calls a day. And I have already voted!
I am about ready to get an answering machine and start screening calls. The outgoing message will start with the three tones you hear when you reach an out of service number, then I will say "If I know you, leave your name and I will get back to you. If I don't know you, state your business, name and number briefly, and I might call you back if its important to me. Or not.".
I don't think the timing is a coincidence... I think a few months ago, a high-ranking FTC official was trying to figure out how to track and take down these companies, and took his work home with him. Having forgot to lock his home office's door, his 5 year-old daughter walked in, caught a glimpse of the topic, got a quick explanation, and recounted some playground incident that was vaguely similar that she figured out how to handle, and bluntly asked her daddy why he didn't just do something similar... which he and everyone else at the FTC had never thought-of, and which is now proving incredibly successful in practice.
Instead of a website, maybe they need a souped-up magic 8-ball on their desks?
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
I just, this minute, got yet another call from Rachel at Cardholder Services.
Not only are they doing telephone spam scam, they're violating the national do not call list.
Rachel just rang me up.
You're also fighting against a lot of cognitive dissonance.
Good people shouldn't work for evil companies, after all, and only an evil company does things like ignore the DNC list and scam people. Therefore, if the company did do what GP said, the company would be evil, and she wouldn't be a good person, which she is. Reductio ad absurdam.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Friday, November 2, 2012, 9:33am PST. Just got a call from Rachel.
years ago, I worked for a company called Mutual Consolidated Savings, which is one of the many front companies for these operations. I was a grunt, not really informed of anything that was going on, but it was pretty obvious what was happening, I was the IT Admin's personal assistant, and I also transcribed "sales calls" (such as they were) to fight credit card chargebacks. They had a team of "financial specialists" which were people they pulled in off the street and gave jobs, and a team of "salespeople", which were the least-literate of the above group. And this was in a seedy part of Tacoma, WA, where those people are seriously bottom-rung people. I spent about 8 hours of my 10 hour day browsing webcomics, reading slashdot, and whatever else struck my fancy, 1 hour "transcribing" (which was literally copying and pasting the same conversation, doing a find-and-replace on the names as appropriate, and listening to the call once to confirm nothing weird went on. Only about 1/10 of the calls required any actual transcribing, and my transcripts WERE accurate, so I never got caught), and 1 hour in misc meetings/etc. IT was a joke, there was no security on the computers. They fired someone weekly for browsing porn at work. I installed a multiple-desktop application for Windows so I could keep my webcomics/etc invisible from a cursory overview. One day, we came into work, and the boss wasn't there. Nobody really thought much of it, figured he was sick or at a meeting somewhere. About 2 hours into the shift, the city police, state troopers, and FBI came into the building, shut everything down, and told us all to go file for unemployment. No joke: http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0823216/index.shtm Paul Morris Thompson is a sleazeball the kind of which you'd expect to sell used cars, and his wife was a Notary Public who kept everything looking legit. I miss that job, I made $10/hour to do nothing, now I make $10/hour talking to cell phone customers V_V Glad to hear the FTC is still after them, although I doubt it'll do any good.
They're not putting bullets in the heads of the people running these scams and dumping their corpses in the desert.
The rumors of her death are greatly exaggerated. She called me just now, nice to see she hasn't died.