Nuisance Calls becoming harassment.

[Steve DeRosa]

Some of my favorites from years past:

• My best Jackie Mason impression
• "Brother, your call was no accident - today you are truly blessed" - and then spout a bunch of disconnected door-to-door evangelist stock lines
• "Organized Crime Control Bureau - Deputy Inspector (my grandfather's Polish surname)": used this one day on a guy with a distinctly "urban" accent, he muttered something about "fork and sheet" and hung up
• Back when caller ID's were new and I'd get a call from a NY/NJ/Eastern PA area code: "Do you know who I am...?"

Today I just use the call filter - not quite as much fun but a whole lot easier...

[Heroditus]

Originally Posted by ewalling

Our technique is quite simple; we don't answer the phone. If someone wants to leave a message, we can hear them, and if it's someone we want to speak to, we pick up the phone. It works well enough for us; the trash callers usually hang up as soon as they hear the automated message. Neither my wife nor I have a cell phone.

That s exactly what we do. There is nothing else that can be done short of getting rid of the phone. The DNC list registration wasn't worth the time it took me to enter our number in it.

[frankhond]

I'm surprised so many of you actually answer the phone. I never answer unless I can see on my display who it is. On my voicemail I state to please not leave a message but to email me instead. If someone important wants to find me, they always send an email.

It's sad that we can't answer the phone anymore but so it goes...

[Garrison314]

I've stayed at a few Wyndham hotels and I guess signing me up to their rewards program makes them feel like they're entitled to sell me timeshares. I was actually interested in a real vacation deal until he said I'd have to listen to a timeshare pitch ,...at which point I hung up on him. You'd think they wouldn't want to trash their image with stupid things like this, but I guess not??

Usually I don't even answer without having Inspector Google check the number. I once missed a call with an LA prefix and I was thinking "Finally, that 20 year sham of a Hollywood marriage is over and my true love is calling me!!"

Turned out it was an Islamic terrorist organization looking for donations....that figures.