I got a spammy/automated sales call on from Verizon on my Verizon landline this afternoon. Apparently they think this is permissible. I tried to punch through to an operator so I could call someone vile names, but the machine figured out I was pissed and disconnected.

They'll be back. I'll be ready.

Fortunately I don't work at home. I have probably gotten 25 messages in the last 2-months on my answering machine from this company. It is annoying and I would imagine a scam. The FCC should do something about this as I am on a do not call list as well.

I bet they are scamming a lot of people out of a lot of money. Maybe they are buying someone off at the FCC?

First off, it's the FTC not the FCC that does the do not call list.

Second of all, WHERE DO YOU THINK THEY GOT YOUR NUMBER FROM?

The FTC won't prosecute them because the calls originate from outside the US.

Consumerist is wrong - the "your warranty is about to expire" robocalls are not from a legitimate enterprise. They are from a phishing company that is looking for credit card numbers.

The same people run the "This is Michelle from Card Services..." lower your rates robocalls.

I get these calls at work too - and I do not own a car, hence no warranty which is expiring - VERY ANNOYING! Then there are the ones which begin with the ear-splitting bellow of an ocean liner horn inviting me on a cruise...NO, THANKS! (I HEAR rude people! :)

Thanks - fixed the FTC thing.

My husband used to get these on his work cell phone. (The car is in my name and the warranty is good for another six years.So he knew right off it was a scam.) Pretty soon, everyone in the company w/ a cell was getting the calls. His employer uses sprint. I do know his boss was able to call them and have the calls stopped, so this might be worth checking into.

I work at home, and these guys annoy the hell out of me. I once spent ten minutes questioning the woman about how they lower my rates, and who owns the debt once they do. She was totally without a clue.

I get the car warranty calls on both my home and work phone. (My car is under warranty, as are my bosses'.) I also get the one Ronnie mentioned ocean liner bellow. It's really fucking annoying, and I wonder if anyone actually falls for this shit.

The one that makes me LIVID, though, is "This is Asswad calling about your HP printer...," who, if I actually talk to for more than 30 seconds, offers to sell me a $75 drum of toner for the "special price" of $350. Those people don't like it when you ask them how they like being scam artists. At least it's an actual person that you get to yell at, though.

I was gettng these calls too and called my cell phone customer service. According to the very polite and understanding representative, these are legitimate business calls from Nevada and not subject to the "Do Not Call" list -- and there's nothing to be done about it.

Unless, of course, you want to sign up for their Super Duper Extra Services package, which allows you to block specific iphone numbers. Oddly enough, they charge extra for that.

Who are those robo-bastards? I get 2 or 3 calls a week from either the warranty renewal or credit card interest lowering jerks. Stop the madness.

I got their robocall at work. Annoyed, I called them back to find out who they were.

I asked who they were and the woman on the other end just kept asking me for my name and phone number. I told her I wasn't about to give out that information until I knew who was getting it. She hung up.

I get at least one robocall a month from them at work and two robocalls a month from them at home.

Annoying doesn't begin to describe their persistence.

There is only one way to stop such calls, talk to a person on the other end and annoy the shit out of them.

I used to get 4 car warrenty renewal calls a day, until I pressed 1 for yes below is about 1/5th of the conversation I can remember

The operator asked my my name and the make and model of my car, I said you called me dont you know it?

"We just have a list" - where do you get that list?

"I dont know" - then how do you know my warranty is about to exipre?

"I just make the call" - I see, so who is selling the warranty

"I cant answer that" - So you want me to give you money to buy a product from a company that doesnt want me to know who they are?

"I cant answer because I dont know who they are" - how can you not know who they are if you work for them?

"I dont work for them, I work for a third party service provider making calls on their behalf" - SO let me get this straight, you called me to tell me my warranty have expired even though you dont know who, or where I am, what kind of car I have, and want me to give you money so you can give it to someone else who you dont know and doesnt even care enough about me to give you a company name to pass along? How do I know there really even is a warranty company? Let me talk to your manager.

At which point she hung up and I havent had a call since

The other horribly annoying thing is having creditors call for people who owe money who happen to get their mail at the same place I do -- in a tiny steel box at the same place I do. I don't live there; I don't live even close to there. HSBC called this morning about some guy's car payment. I ran to the phone, interrupting what I was doing. The woman on the phone got an earful. I might invoice HSBC for the interruption. Have had success getting businesses that telemarketed to me pay me in the past.

Amy, I like the invoice idea. How do you go about that?

I'm a long time lurker, who now has something to post, and have to say I love this blog for the intelligent debate, and the witty advice. It brings me back to the site very frequently. Debt collectors are extremely annoying. My boyfriend is suing a debt collector for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for a debt that isn’t his. I’m not a lawyer, but have been his sounding board for a few weeks now on the rules and violations concerning debt collection, and may have some more ammunition for you. There are very strict rules for what debt collectors can do, and Amy, it appears that HSBC violated the act. Section 804 provides the guidance for what debt collectors can do when trying to determine a “consumer’s” (debtor’s) location.(This is the only time they’re allowed to contact anyone other than the consumer or consumer’s lawyer). They are not allowed to state that the consumer owes any debt. Also, they are only allowed to call one time. Since you were told that this is in reference to a debt, the debt collector has violated the act, and could be liable to you for any damages and I’ve been told there is a fine of $1000, payable to you. I’d like to add that neither my boyfriend nor I are lawsuit people that sue for any perceived injustice – he’s just trying to make sure that his credit isn’t affected, and he’s gotten tired of feeling helpless.

I hate all these annoying people and these harassing calls. However, I have the perfect solution for them all when a real person is on the other end of the line, and have been using this since the late 1980's:

"Of course you can talk to me about my warranty/long distance/tupperware/etc. I hope you don't mind if I touch myself while you speak to me" Then start moaning and pretending to whack it (or what the hell, if you're at home alone, just whack it;-). Ask them to talk dirty to you. Talk dirty to them. Moan some more.

Might not work so well for you gals out there, but guys, try it. This always makes me feel better. And when it happens to me in the office, the other folks around laugh their asses off too.

And you never know. One time the woman on the other end of the line (back in early 90's when I lived in Dallas) totally got into it.

That's how I deal with them. YMMV

I don't understand how these losers can cause such consternation. Everybody has caller ID, right? I just don't answer my phone if I don't who the caller is, and people like this never leave messages. Problem solved.

Scam: Telemarketers with No Number or Location

I recommend to always press "1", or whatever number leads to the live representative. Lay the phone down if you don't want to use any of your time. Say "Wait a second while I turn down the TV" if you want to burn a bit more of their time. String them along with false stories if you feel like it. You owe them nothing, and they have already broken the law. Give them no real information.

They call hundreds of people with robot dialers to get one live response. If everyone pressed "1", they would be out of business. They couldn't handle all of the responses.

Look, they don't care. I've sworn at them. I've threatened their lives (in the hopes that they'd file charges and I'd find out who they were in discovery -- fat chance).

Doesn't work.

I asked one once what it would take to get them to cut the shit. His answer?

"You have to let me bang your wife."

They KNOW they are working for a crinimal enterprise. They don't give a fuck because they are beyond the reach of US law, and international law couldn't give a fuck.

The comment in the main post could use a little clarification.

ANI is Automatic Number Identification and it's not a service. It's your phone number. Every line sends ANI except for 4 party lines.

It's how your line gets billed. It's how the E911 operator knows your phone number. When you dial E911 your ANI is indexed into a separate database that has your address.

ANI has nothing to do with caller ID.

A PRI is an expensive T1 based service that is out of reach for most resident customers. PRI's connect to PBX's which are capable of translating their own dial tone lines. They program their own lines and trunks to send out any originating telephone number they choose. Many unscrupulous telemarketers do just that.

These types of calls are like spam. They are looking for any working telephone number. The best thing you can do is to ignore it. Responding in any way will just get your number put on more lists. Do not hit 1. Do not call them back. Just ignore it.

If you're worried about cell phone minutes then complain to your cell company. You are not the only one paying for that type of call.

Every carrier pays access charges for every call that crosses over networks. It may take them a while, but the carriers who are carrying these calls will eventually get it stopped.

Then the crooks will come up with another scam and it will begin all over again. Just ignore it.

1. Why should we be compelled to ignore our ringing telephones? Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Shouldn't the system promise that any who makes that noise in our home is someone who has a good reason to communicate with us in a very specific personal context?

2. What if I want to make fun of people? What if I'm the sort of phone subscriber who wants –when a female sales agent finally comes on the line– to mock said agent for making minimum wage and infer that she should blow her supervisor, who's probably an overweight, unshaven, 37-year-old high school dropout who's divorced with three kids, and who's probably already been molesting her by the candy machine in the lunch room? What satisfaction can I take from your practical advise.

I'm not paying for a phone line so I can screen my calls. I have a phone line so that people who have personal business with me can get my attention when I'm in the house.

There are very strict rules for what debt collectors can do, and Amy, it appears that HSBC violated the act. Section 804 provides the guidance for what debt collectors can do when trying to determine a “consumer’s” (debtor’s) location.(This is the only time they’re allowed to contact anyone other than the consumer or consumer’s lawyer). They are not allowed to state that the consumer owes any debt. Also, they are only allowed to call one time. Since you were told that this is in reference to a debt, the debt collector has violated the act, and could be liable to you for any damages and I’ve been told there is a fine of $1000, payable to you. I’d like to add that neither my boyfriend nor I are lawsuit people that sue for any perceived injustice – he’s just trying to make sure that his credit isn’t affected, and he’s gotten tired of feeling helpless.

They told me it's about an auto payment. So, do they owe me the $1,000? I don't remember the guy's name they called about, but I have the HSBC on my caller ID still...I think.

And Crid, this is exactly what I say in a chapter of my book: "I'm not paying for a phone line so I can screen my calls. I have a phone line so that people who have personal business with me can get my attention when I'm in the house."

Actually took a telemarketer to court and won -- that's in the book, too. Had to redefine them as a telemarketer instead of the market researchers they claim to be. Used California Business and Professions Code. And guess what: They sent their VP/Corporate Counsel for North America from New York. And I beat his unprepared ass. As Gregg said, "homework wins the day."

PS And thanks - just photo'd HSBC on my caller ID. They should be easier to go after than some of the collection agents, I think, although I found out about International Shoe (case) and found I can sue these assholes in California.

Great, sue their asses - this is all a numbers game to the debt collectors. If everyone sued each time they broke a rule, these groups would finally start following the rules. As it is now, they are bullies who use veiled threats to intimidate and harass. I don’t know how the fines are determined, but you were the one who had to waste your time with HSBC.
My boyfriend found a lawyer (he's really concerned about his credit, and wants to make sure this goes away for good - it's amazing how easy it is to screw up someone's credit and how hard it is to fix). The lawyer’s fees are to be paid by the debt collector, and he's waiting on how much the lawyer believes he can justify in damages. It looks like a minimum of $1500 to my boyfriend, but if the lawyer can find cases to support more money in damages, he will push for it, since my boyfriend has put in hours of time documenting, writing letters, and researching, on top of receiving about a dozen calls since giving written notice to stop. He has three violations of the act, but the lawyer said the precedent set by previous cases is that there is just one fine of $1000+damages since it is all a part of one case.