ever picked up calls that dont answer?

[johnnymk]

It's the FBI. They are just checking to see when you're home so they can arrest you for making illegal copies of MP3's.

[johnnymk]

......but it wasn't mine.. ossifer..:D

[IrishSS]

Its the ****ing telemarketers. Good lord I hate that... If I do have enough patience to wait through the 5-10 seconds of silence, I usually give them an earful when they do pick up. Sonsofbitches...

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by IrishSS
Its the ****ing telemarketers. Good lord I hate that... If I do have enough patience to wait through the 5-10 seconds of silence, I usually give them an earful when they do pick up. Sonsofbitches...

Yup, they do that here too...

[sbp]

It happens all the frigging time around here. :mad3:

[dbax791]

Nope. But if real life is like the movies, If I were you I'd look behind the couch for a knife-wielding freak!:eek:

[mojo]

Originally posted by chosenfool
and you know there's someone on the other side, cuz it clicks off after 5 seconds? (or at least enough time to make you say, "hello?" 3 times).

its been happening lately. :hmm: :shrug:ever stop to think that it's that girl you been crank-calling just pressing call-return and catching your ass red-handed? :P

[cruelpupet]

Actually i hung up one of those calls twice before i waited more than 5 sec.

turned out it was my grandma calling from a payphone, and it took a while for the payphone to turn on the microphone

she needed a ride home


oops!!!

[YanksFanRy]

According to my super-human genius, sabeletodo, AP Euro professor...

Telemarketers, partically the pre-recorded calls, have voice monitoring system. They know the type of people they're looking for such as sex, age, etc. So before a word is said, when you simply say "Hello" they decide whether you are the type of person they expect they can sell their product or services too. If you are, then two or three seconds later you'll hear someone or the recording. If no, they hang-up ASAP so they can use their time more efficiently to call (and annoy) more people in less time, particularly those they believe may make them money.

[Anck Su Namun]

happens on and off all the time. both at home and at work. it's prob just wrong numbers and the person is too stupid to say something.

[ArkiStan]

Usually it's telemarketers. After I say hello there's usually about4-5 seconds of silence and then the telemarketers pick up. So when there's a little silence it's a good sign that I don't want to take that call so I hang up right away. I always thought it was just them using speaker phone to call and connecting only when somebody picks up.

[DoPeY5007]

I don't answer my phone.... :D



I check the caller ID first

[WhiskeyPapa]

3/4ths of our office building is taken up by a telemarketing firm. Shortly after they moved in they had an "open house" so everyone in the building could meet them. They showed us how all the stuff works.

They have this computerized dialing system that is constantly calling phone numbers all day (from like 8am to 9pm.) When someone answers the phone, it transfers to the next available operator within 5 seconds. If you answer and no operator is available within 5-10 seconds, it disconnects you, and you'll be called back within a few hours.

So, when you answer and hear nothing, you are "waiting" for the next available operator. If it hangs up, make sure when they call back in a few hours to tell them you wouldn't buy jack from them, since they made you run to answer the phone for no good reason!

[mojo]

i've heard telemarketers talk about using a tactic of keeping you on till you sound like you're gonna hang up, then give you a pitch. some pretty good sellers say it's a good way to get sales...although i don't understand how pissing peeps off would do you much good.

[sho.gun]

Happens a lot to my house too :angry:

but i have also called friends just for the heck of it and not say anything...

[DoPeY5007]

Originally posted by sho.gun


but i have also called friends just for the heck of it and not say anything... :argue: :boxing: :bonk:

[oblongmelon]

I say hello only once-if no one answers then it's "CLICK"..if they call back, I usually answer the phone and simply leave it off the hook and listen to them freak out because no one is answering!

[ironchef]

i've been giving them the courtesy of one or two words, then i stop and tell 'em to take me effin name and number off their lists. as nano said in a previous thread, they're compelled by law to do so. they'll give you a quickie about how it'll take up 6-8 weeks for it to process and in that time you may get other calls. then i tell them that their mother lays with illegitimate foreigners who have contracted syphilis by mounting sheep. :P

the hang ups could also be the result of some body scanning, looking for a computer. i don't even know if folks even do this anymore as i think penalties have gotten pretty stiff.

[whitak24]

Originally posted by kb0wwp
3/4ths of our office building is taken up by a telemarketing firm. Shortly after they moved in they had an "open house" so everyone in the building could meet them. They showed us how all the stuff works.

They have this computerized dialing system that is constantly calling phone numbers all day (from like 8am to 9pm.) When someone answers the phone, it transfers to the next available operator within 5 seconds. If you answer and no operator is available within 5-10 seconds, it disconnects you, and you'll be called back within a few hours.

So, when you answer and hear nothing, you are "waiting" for the next available operator. If it hangs up, make sure when they call back in a few hours to tell them you wouldn't buy jack from them, since they made you run to answer the phone for no good reason!
this is exactly the explanation i was going to give. i did some phone-banking from a telemarketing facility once and the owner explained to me exactly how it works. it's annoying as hell when you're the one receiving the calls, but when you're utilizing the system, it is AWESOME. no dialing numbers. no waiting to talk to anybody. all you have to do is sit there and calls are connected to your headset and the information about whoever you're talking to is on the computer screen in front of you.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by whitak24

this is exactly the explanation i was going to give. i did some phone-banking from a telemarketing facility once and the owner explained to me exactly how it works. it's annoying as hell when you're the one receiving the calls, but when you're utilizing the system, it is AWESOME. no dialing numbers. no waiting to talk to anybody. all you have to do is sit there and calls are connected to your headset and the information about whoever you're talking to is on the computer screen in front of you.

Sometimes they give an automated message as well. "Please hold for an important message." :shifty: Yeah, right. Click! :rolleyes:

[Markel]

I know that someone has suggested recording the 3 tones for a non-existent phone number at the beginning of your answering machine message, with the idea that the auto-dialers will "hear" it and mark you telephone number as no longer valid. However, I don't want everybody that might try to call me to hear the tones and hang up (figuring that they've got the number wrong). So what I am mindful to do is to put those tones on a digital voice-memo device I have (courtesy of CyberRebate) and keep it near where I often answer calls from when I am at home (my computer screen). If I see an "Unavailable" call coming in, I can just answer it and play the tones. :)

[Grimm]

Die TeleMarketers Die!!!

[Jihforce]

I think the way to avoid pranksters is to get anonymous call blocker. It forces them to reveal their number. If they don't then you know its telemarketers *out of area* calling.
My gf has some psycho calling her and playing music over the phone to her. Sometimes he'd leave it on her voicemail. If I catch that bastard, I'm gonna teach him a thing of two :angry: But anyway, its stopped now that she got the anonymous call blocking feature for her phone.

[johnnymk]

anymoose call blocking... hmm,...what if Bullwinkle calls?

[leemaj]

privacy caller id....the caller MUST identify themself in order for a call to go through and make your phone ring. pac bell has it

[molecularfire]

Best way to deal with pranksters, breathe heavily into the machine and don't say anything till they hang up on you. :P

[Speedfreak]

I usually say something like: "Ya, I'd like to order a large pizza with 3 toppings" or "911, What is your emergency"