Ask Slashdot: How Would You Stop a Debt Collection Scam From Targeting You?

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?"

Comments

landline?

[Anonymous Coward]

what's a landline?

Re:Leave the call open

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

This is when a bipolar family member is handy

[sandbagger]

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.