JWSmythe's Journal: My last two weeks of annoying calls.

I took advantage of the fact that my VoIP provider makes the call log available, so I made a report of all the calls that are coming in. All of these had hits on whocalled.us .

    Of the 545 calls I got, 153 didn't provide any caller information (no number or caller id string). The 151 I list below are listed as telemarketers or bill collectors, even though when I do answer, I usually don't get anyone, or they're asking for someone other than me. I am on the DNC registry, but that doesn't help.

    So, 304 (55.7%) of the calls that are blatantly abusive and against FTC rules.

+++ Inst: 35 Num: 8663850277
+++ Inst: 30 Num: 6153152669
+++ Inst: 24 Num: 8668496441
+++ Inst: 16 Num: 8007523916
+++ Inst: 15 Num: 8016182068
+++ Inst: 10 Num: 8778859695
+++ Inst: 9 Num: 8774805110
+++ Inst: 5 Num: 8882031294
+++ Inst: 5 Num: 8132737802
+++ Inst: 3 Num: 8009558094
+++ Inst: 3 Num: 8002793480
+++ Inst: 2 Num: 8668972756
+++ Inst: 2 Num: 8012901042
+++ Inst: 1 Num: 8662097845
+++ Inst: 1 Num: 8007412183

    I've tried all kinds of tactics with them. I ask who they're calling from. They're usually amazingly vague. I ask for their name (first name is fine), and they'll refuse. I ask for their company address, and they refuse. I'll even ask the simple "in what is this in regards to", and they'll refuse. These are all questions the FTC wants answers to, to be able to file a complaint.

      I'm to the point where I won't admit nor deny my identity. They ask "Are you JW Smythe", and I won't say yes. I simply keep asking for who they are, and what it is in regards to. Usually that makes them hang up. But, when they calls come in from 6am until 11pm, I'm really stuck.

    At one point, I was really really rude. As soon as I recognized that it wasn't for me, I'd go off on a little pre-scripted (in my head) speech, that they are not authorized to call this phone number, and they are hereby notified that they are forbidden from ever calling me again. That doesn't help.

    I could hire a lawyer, if I could afford one. The research time itself would cost more than I'd ever want.

    I know the economy sucks, and companies are trying to recover every penny they can, but really, if it's not me, why keep calling me? And yes, I know the warranty ran out on my car. I bought it used, so I believe I had a 1 year warranty (it was years ago). Even if I had bought it new, it was out of factory warranty 3 years or 30,000 miles ago.

    I'm to the point of, if the number isn't stored in my phone (my VoIP forwards to my cell phone), I don't answer. Every day I have to clear out my voicemails because of them. I hope I haven't lost any work calls because of it, but really there isn't much I can do. I can't change my number, too many people have it, and last time I did that, I had people finally tracking me down after a year or two, who had work for me.

    People look at me like I'm nuts, because I'll glance down at the phone, hit the hangup button, and then put it back down. Sometimes I don't even look, because there's a better than 50% chance it's not a person who wants to talk to me.

    For a while, if I recognized the number as abusive, I would put the phone in the server room, so all they'd hear was static (fan noise), but that didn't slow them down at all.

    Ok, enough of my rant. I hope these numbers help others out too. Block them. Ignore them. Just don't answer them.