Anyone else like to play with cold call scammers?

[beanhead]

Since you can usually tell they are telemarketers before you answer, I like to answer in Italian or Russian (I speak about five words of each but they don't know that! I'm very good at gibberish too!) Catches them off guard and they hang up after about 10 seconds..

 

[ws23jrt]

Isn't it a lot easier to say "I'm not interested and hang up"? The ones we usually get are wanting to lower my electric bill, solar panels and the other usual assortment. The ones i find really annoying are the charities. Some times these callers do respond right away when you say hello, there is no typical pause, there not foreign sounding either. Law enforcement organizations looking for donations, veterans organizations, you have to be very careful and i tell them i never do donations over the phone. I want web sites that they are on and i ask them to mail any solicitations, i do not offer my address either. If they have my number they should already have a address. I always check them out and often enough with a few exceptions they have less than stellar reviews

Hey Steve--I Agree with you--It is easy and proper to be polite and give the courtesy to an imposing caller.
I to hang up quickly to most of them. The nature of their call and my instinct to be polite obligates me to do so.
The true issue is that cold callers exist to suck money for a living. Is just a sucky mess of an industry with very few happy outcomes.

Maybe ten years ago a kid called me and was several seconds into his pitch.--
I said hold on--grab your breath.--
I said you want some of my money right. He said no--I want to give you

money.

Ok---send it to my house. He said I don't know where you live.---You do indeed have my address just like my phone number no? He responded with more of the pitch.

I hauled him back and asked why he would not send me the money he said I was due.
He said that he had no money and he was only 19 years old.

Ok-- You want to send me money but you don't have money- right. He said yes.--
Well someone is paying you to call me right.--Yes-- That person has money to pay you to call me right---Yes
Have that person send money to me and I may call him back and tell him about what a good job you did.

I have thought over time about this as being a cruel way to deal with this kid. No regrets.

NO REGRETS.---That industry sucks like mosquitoes.

 

[Kern Dog]

I like to ask them "what are you wearing?" to start with. From there the questions get creepier... "Do you have any children?"
"How old are they?"
Eventually most of them hang up.
Sometimes the foreigners don't quite get it though.

I used to do the same thing.
I used to like saying the following:
*Can you hurry and get to the point? I'm naked and covered in mayonnaise and I'm about to roll around in some sesame seeds...
*(Playing retarded) I can't read....I can't read! Daddy go bye bye, he used to read to me cuz I can't READ.

 

[BeeKool]

I used to do the same thing.
I used to like saying the following:
*Can you hurry and get to the point? I'm naked and covered in mayonnaise and I'm about to roll around in some sesame seeds...
*(Playing retarded) I can't read....I can't read! Daddy go bye bye, he used to read to me cuz I can't READ.

Jehovah Witness' and traveling salespersons are fun as well.
And that's face to face requires some acting skills.

 

[ws23jrt]

Jehovah Witness' and traveling salespersons are fun as well.
And that's face to face requires some acting skills.

Been there and sent them back to the street with a big fake grin. Thank you for invading my space and attempting to draw me in. Have a nice day and cross me off of the list.

 

[mosquito13]

I tell them I will give them 5 minutes if they answer two questions for me first. Same questions regardless of gender. After they agree...
1 What color underwear are you wearing?
2 How long have you been wearing them?
Been called out on three occasions and I gave them my five minutes of attention.

 

[ws23jrt]

I would like to here tales from those that tried this as a move into the working world.

 

[Budnicks]

Sometimes I do like to mess with them,
"tell me your home # & I call you back there",
usually silence or they'll say; "I can't do that"
followed by, I'll respond; "take me off your callers list immediately"

or
I usually just say right off the top, what are you trying to sell me ?
I know it pisses them off, they usually try some BS spiel,
to act like it not some scam, they want $$$ for a charity or some crap...
Also followed by; "take me off your callers list immediately"

I also turn/report a bunch into the
National Registry "do not call list" online reporting...

My Dad gets a shitload of them calls, ask for him by name,
but, I rarely get any asking for me EVER !!
he donates to every fly by night co. that wants $$$,
I get so pissed at him sometimes, no common sense...

I'm surprised we are related sometimes...LOL
We're polar opposites sometimes, with that stuff,
he'll listen & talk with them, get taken in, bleeding heart BS,
than get 10 of them a day sometimes...
I just shake my head & tell him:
"Don't give them any personal info over the phone,
that he's asking for more of it, they sell the info to others,
doing the exact same scams" & money grabs, either legal &/or illegal...

Whether you have the $$$ or not, it's just a waste...

 

[Dibbons]

When the Jehovah Witnesses showed up at the ranch, our three dogs always ran out to meet them. They would ask Dad, do they bite? Yes, they do, just give me your literature and be on your way. And so it was the first day (and every day thereafter).

 

[Kern Dog]

Remember that story.... A salesman comes to a house and hears a dog barking inside. The homeowner opens the door and the salesman steps back...
"Does your dog bite?"
"No.
The dog growls and snaps at the salesman, biting him on the leg.
"Ouch! You said your dog doesn't bite!"
The homeowner laughed...."That isn't MY dog."

 

[NJRR]

When I get them at work, I put them on hold. Fun to see how long they stay on before they hang up.

 

[Ranger16]

When they start out with "How are you today sir?", I always answer with "I'm just fine. Thanks for calling and asking", and then hang up on them.

 

[Ranger16]

Isn't it a lot easier to say "I'm not interested and hang up"?

Yes, but not as much fun. I figure if they are going to waste my time, turnabout is fair play, not to mention that all their time I can waste, is time that could be spent annoying someone else. Time is money to these predators. Waste as much of it as you can.

 

[YY1]

I like to use an even more ridiculous accent than the caller has and pretend I don't understand what they're saying. I make them repeat over and over again, and then act like I'm having trouble remembering my bank account info when they think they have me convinced.

Some times we stage a little drama in the background for them. Say, a murder, a home invasion, a police raid, or something like that. Some times the phone answerer on our end acts totally oblivious as to what is being performed in the background.

My boy likes to have fart noises and such going on while acting deadpan.

 

[BeeKool]

I like the idea of having an accomplice.
My wife won't help me though.
I've wanted to have somebody screaming in the background. Maybe reenact the "lotion in the basket" scene from Silence of the Lambs

 

[YY1]

"sinkhole" was a popular act with us.

"meth lab" was another good one.

 

[Richard Cranium]

If I'm in the mood, sometimes I'll toy with the. When they get through with their pitch, say "Douchebag says what" somewhat fast and I guarantee that they will repeat it.

 

[Ranger16]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but sometimes it's just fun to screw with them.

The scam:
The Indian asks if you have received your new Social Security card yet, because it is going to expire and they are going to send you a new plastic card. Of coarse they are going to have to get your SS number to send you the new one. Having received this call before, I knew what to expect.

Caller: "I'm "tony" from SS. Have you received your new SS card yet?"
Me: "Yes I have."
Caller: After a long silence, "Are you still using your old card?"
Me: "No, I'm using the new one."
Caller: After a longer silence, "I have to confirm that you are still using the Red, White & Blue paper card."
Me: "No, I'm using the new plastic card you sent me"
Caller: Click

I have to admit that it was quite gratifying to turn the table on him.
The other one is from "Health Services". It's always fun to try and get him or her to explain exactly who or what is "Health Services" and listen to them double talk, and then press them for more specific answers until they have no answers and disconnect.

 

[ws23jrt]

I've received many scam calls about my SS number having some sort of problem.

My typical response is to ask which of my SS numbers is in question and ask for that number from them. They usually say that I only have one number to which I say no I have three SS numbers and need to know which one is at issue so I can cancel it and acquire a replacement.

Normally they hang up on me -but one time (after twenty min. discussing this) the scammer actually offered to pay me to tell him how and where I get my SS numbers. I said that I would only take gift card numbers as a method of payment.--Me rudely accused me of lying to him and hung up.

 

[ws23jrt]

Just this morning I got a call from the "Sweepstakes award department".

After the hello and introduction, he asked if I had received any other calls lately about winning a sweepstake.
Yes, I have had seven of them in the last two months. He said oh- ok- and continued to offer a 100K check to me in exchange for further information about me. I replied that he should just keep my check for himself as a windfall gift from me.

One sweepstake win offered to me was 15 million. -I said that is way too much and would only accept 10 million.- A week or so later had another one for only 5 million and my response was no thanks cause I was too poor to afford the taxes on that this year.