Linux Format forums

[SootynSweep]

Do you get lots of phone spam?

Since last August I've been working from home and during the afternoon I get called constantly by people trying to sell me air conditioning, central heating, Visa Gold cards, etc.

Just had a call a couple of minutes ago, blah, blah survey, blah, blah, only takes 15 minutes.

Cool, I asked how much they would pay me for my time, ooops, they lost interest.

[MartyBartfast]

No, we registered with http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/ and although I was sceptical it cut out almost all the telephone SPAM. It takes a month or two before it starts to have an effect, and some does still get through but it's much less than it used to be.

[SootynSweep]

Had a look at the website and it sounds good.

However where I live I don't think I have access to a service like this.

But I'll have a google here and there to see if there is something similar.

[Rhakios]

Indeed, the TPS is a must for UK residents who don't like having their tea interrupted. The MPS and FPS can also be very useful too, though the latter is probably the least effective. They can both be found linked from the TPS site mentioned above.
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Bye, Rhakios

[wyliecoyoteuk]

TPS also works for mobile phones.
We and many of our friends have registered, and if you mention it to phone spammers, they often hang up
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[jjmac]

Yes, a lot of that in .au as well.
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Somebody stole my air guitar, It happened just the other day,
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[nelz]

I found the FPS to be very effective too. I was getting loads of junk fax calls, which was annoying enough when I had an auto-detecting fax machine (I used the same number for voice and fax) but became incredibly irritating when the fax machine died and I ended up answering the calls myself
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Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who it's friends are.

[Rhakios]

Well, I registered work's fax number with the FPS and we still get some junk faxes (five or six a week), while at home (registered with the TPS) I get, at the most, six unwanted calls a year.
_________________
Bye, Rhakios

[M-Saunders]

[SootynSweep]

Thanks Mike, I'll give that one a try.

Though asking for payment for surveys works well. Suddenly all this smooth flowing sales talk dried up, poor woman didn't know what to say

[MartyBartfast]

I heard a recording a couple of months ago of a bloke stitching up a cold caller in the states, I can't remember the URL at the mo but it went something like this

Bloke answers phone: Hello

Caller: Hello is that Mr Smith?

Bloke: Mr Smith isn't available, who's calling?

Caller: I'm calling from El Cheapo health insurance for Mr Smith.

Bloke: Mr Smith is dead, I'm FBI agent Jones and you've just phoned into a murder crime scene, who are you and what's your connection with the deceased?

Caller: Starts worrying, making excuses and tries to terminate the conversation.

Bloke: This call is being traced right now and you're in big trouble if you don't co-operate, I want your name & current location.

Caller: sounding _really_ worried gives his name & location.

Bloke to his 'mate': Get an agent from the Seattle (or wherever) office down to this address right now to pull this guy in.
Bloke to caller: We're sending an FBI agent down to bring you in for questioning and you better be there when he arrives or else.

Caller: totally freaking out by this stage...

End of call

It could have been a fake, but it sounded genuine.

[SootynSweep]

And it can get worse.

In January 'er indoors took a call from someone supposedly from the local telco.

Offering a free mobile +this +that +the other.

She was on the phone about 20 minutes, they said if the free mobile doesn't arrive call xxxxx to reclaim it, which was one of these pay a lot numbers.

So about a month later I call this number and get messed about, put on hold, silly music etc.

Tried again the next day, not available. Phoned the local telco get told this number does not exist and has never existed.

And then the phone bill arrives for January, 28€ for a call of exactly 30 minutes 00 seconds TO this number which doesn't exist.

So how do they manage that, they start the call and it gets billed to you?

[Dutch_Master]

Linux Journal (from the US) had a nice article on Asterix, who's author uses it as a means to get rid of unwanted calls while traveling. He also noted that as a convenient side effect, the number of these spam calls dropped considerably. http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9190

UTYA (use to your advantage )

[towy71]

I migt be called a cynic but SootynSweep "there is one born every minute"
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still looking for that door into summer

[jjmac]

Seems pretty much all the phone spam over this way comes out of India as well. They stuff up the local knowledge bit, and it is hard to mask the accent.


jm
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The FVWM wm -=- www.fvwm.org -=-

Somebody stole my air guitar, It happened just the other day,
But it's ok, 'cause i've got a spare ...