DO NOT CALL!!
Several years ago we placed our home and cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. At first it seemed that we were finally free from the annoyance, but after a while, the calls started trickling back in. Today, one or two calls a day is not unusual. Even if your number is on a do-not-call list, political organizations, charities, and telephone surveyors are still allowed to call your home. So are companies with which you've had a business relationship (for up to 18 months after your last transaction). To free yourself from the "business relationship" callers, you have to tell them individually to take your number off their list. What a pain.
They can worm their way into your life by hitching a ride. Somewhere in an online job application sponsored by a continuing education company, there's a box to un-check to indicate that you don't want to further your education at some questionable institute of higher learning. Maria learned the hard way why you have to be careful even in the most innocent places. For several weeks after applying for a job online, Maria and I answered many calls from representatives wondering about her educational aspirations.
Then there are the callers with perhaps more evil intent than just selling you something. These are the cyber-age pickpockets who call in order to steal your money. The other day I got a call from a heavily accented representative of "Microsoft," who informed me that my computer had been compromised. I told the rep that I would run a scan on my own. "Please be advised that many scans don't catch the virus," he said, and he encouraged me to solve the problem his way. I turned him down, and when I Googled the incoming phone number, I found that this was a scam--with a possible attempt to hack my computer. (A friend later reminded me that Microsoft doesn't give a flip about my computer being compromised.)
The next day I got a call from "Microsoft Windows" with the same warning. This time I was going to have some fun. I told the rep to hold on, and I pretended to talk to someone nearby, telling them to trace the call. I kept interrupting the rep with this fake conversation, ending it by saying: "The police will be at your door in a few minutes. Please cooperate with them." The rep quickly told me to "Have a nice day," and promptly hung up. Did I scare them with this cornball ruse? Probably not, but I got a little satisfaction and the calls from "Microsoft" stopped coming.
Like mosquitoes buzzing around, looking for a meal on a Wisconsin summer evening, these telephonic pests will call as you settle in to watch your favorite show, or while you're enjoying dinner. And they'll mess up a perfectly good nap. Many times after the intrusion, I'll spend a few minutes feeling bad about myself for being so rude in my annoyed response (if I happen to get a live person on the line). My shame is from realizing that the live person is working for a living and doesn't deserve my caustic comments. So I decide to be nice in the future. I explain in an even tone, using nice words, that we do not wish for them to call us anymore. But in many instances, before the last words even leave my mouth, they just rudely hang up on me.
What's your experience with unsolicited phone calls? How do you deal with them?