[Texas Eagle]

Thanks for any info

[MindBender26]

Call your local Police or Sheriff's Dept. tomorrow (they're a little busy tonight....) Report this AND GET A CASE OR INCIDENT NUMBER. That way, if telco or anyone else tries to charge you, your have official record that you did not order same, etc.

[Lunatic Fringe]

I had this happen to a friend- what they do is get deeply discounted rates on long term subscriptions, subscribe you to magazines for 5 years, bill it to you all at once. My friend wanted one magazine but was sent 5, charged a bill of about $500, and it took her 6 months to clear it up.

[Cagey]

Call the National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060. They're building a national database on telemarketing fraud.

[cmsgop]

Do what Mindbender says ASAP......

[TXBubba]

Thanks for the head's up. I'm going to let my friends also know about this.

[hole_n_one]

After a few minutes of this I hung up......

Huh?

[Tennessee_Bob]

Some fun software for this kind of stuff:

http://www.antitelemarketer.com/enigma.htm

http://alabamalawyers.com/enigma.htm

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Call your local Police or Sheriff's Dept. tomorrow (they're a little busy tonight....) Report this AND GET A CASE OR INCIDENT NUMBER. That way, if telco or anyone else tries to charge you, your have official record that you did not order same, etc.

That's good advice. Hopefully this guy was just pulling your chain because you kept putting him off. I really doubt that you could be charged a large phone bill just by answering the phone, but maybe a more tech-savvy Freeper could give you a better answer.

[Tacis]

No, I've not had that call (I did have a call from a vacuum cleaner sales guy who wanted to speak to my wife by name and called back 5 times before a sent an email to the owner complaining). Your names and other information about you are pretty easy to come by, however. Two free ways come to mind. In you public library, there is a reverse 'phone directory which lists folks by street address. In most states (I think most), the local real estate tax authority has extensive information about you and your property and those records are available to the public. Here, I can actually buy a CD ROM for all the property in the county.

This info is commonly used for marketing purposes. If I'm going to open an upscale restaurant, I want to mail a menu and coupon to every single family residence within a two mile radius.

So, there is little mystery about your name and your wife's name. I don't know about the sales scam.

[Henchman]

*69 Next time hit *69 and see what their telephone number is...doesn't always work on out of area calls.

[oust the louse]

Eagle,I had a telemarketer call me once.I was sitting around the table with a few friends having an adult beverage when I took the call and she told me her name was Linda.She stated she was with xyz company and I said that's wonderful,how long have you been with them?
She stammered and said oh,about 3 months.I said well congratulations on getting your new job,are they paying you good? She said well yes,I think so.I asked her what they paid an hour and she,without hesitation,told me $7 an hour.I said hey,that's pretty good,are you full time? After one or two more questions she sat there quietly on the other end and I said ,it was a pleasure talking,good luck with your new position,and we hung up....she probably has no clue what hit her that evening.
I'd immediately make a report with the police tomorrow in case you end up with a bill.

[mikeIII]

A simple remedy is to buy a cheap answering machine and pick up only if you recogize the caller!

[DouglasKC]

The most effective method for shutting telemarketers up instantly and never having them call you back are 12 magic words:

"I'm not interested. Please put me on your do not call list".

It is a federal law for them NOT to honor this request. If they call you after you tell them this they will be fined big time. The FTC makes them keep record. It really works. We used to get two or three calls a night from telemarketes. After doing this for about a year we're down to maybe one a month.

Here is some more information:

Telemarketing Sales Rule

[chnsmok]

I interrupt them in mid first sentence with "May I have your phone number". Under the law they need to give it to you. After I get the phone number, which is very funny sometimes, I just say "Please put me on your do not call list". Most, if not all, understand that. I do listen to local businesses.

[mikeb704]

Probably got your wife's name from voting records. Sure it wasn't a DemocRAT precinct captain? They're about that gracious.

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp

[halley]

For years I ran telemarketing sales offices. Once upon a time it was ok: people got about 2 calls a year and actually seemed to enjoy talking with us. By the late 80's it was over.

The best technique I found to blow off unwanted calls was to just say very calmly and sadly (if you're sure it's a sales pitch that you don't want to hear)... "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr(s)xxxx just took his own life about an hour ago" They are always so startled that they don't know how to proceed and never call back. An alternative is to tell them that "I'm so sorry, the federal Marshalls just took him into custody this morning"

Cheers!

[PatrioticAmerican]

If they actually charge you $700 through your phone bill, they are easy to track. Hunt them down and....

[gunnut]

If you believe this is a threat, before you get another incoming call pickup the phone and dial *51. This will record the phone number of the calling party in the telephone company's records and can be used as evidence. The phone company can charge a buck or so for this but it might be worth it.

Only the police can usually pull these records but it would create a record.

http://www22.verizon.com/ForYourHome/CustomerSupport/Guides/Product_Guide.asp?File=UG_CallTrace_P_1.html&state=MD&HC_ID=592

[Terriergal]

I would report it just in case. I have had obnoxious telemarketers call me back when I hang up on them too, but this sounds a little over the top! If you haven't rec'd any calls since then you might be able to run a trace (usually just pick up the phone and dial *57) - call your phone company help and ask them if they have a record of the calls too.

[Dianna]

I've gotten this particular call a couple of times. The first time, I was tempted until I did the math and then I was totally outraged.

I hope the guy was just being nasty and you don't have to deal with this mess.