Is anyone else experiencing a ton of bogus calls today?

[Scott Tschirhart]

My phone is simply blowing up with calls from people I don't know. I generally get one or two a day some days, but I have had over 40 today!

[AJMD429]

LOL - all day we get calls from people who are angry at the world, angry at politicians, angry at their bosses, angry at CoVid19, and cuss out my employees for stuff that isn't even our fault; stuff that we are often trying to HELP them with. I guess it goes with working in health care.

[Sixgun]

I don't even answer the phone anymore unless I'm right next to it AND I'm in a good mood which has been a rarity lately. We have it set for 2 rings. On our phone we have a 150 limit on blocked calls and it's full.

Everyone wants what you have......I have yet to have someone call me to tell me they found a hundred dollar bill with my name on it. The people I know well, which is only a handful, know to call me several times.

I have no cell phone ...by choice.....I don't even check my email anymore.....AND......I have a chain on the end of my driveway because people I don't know were driving right up to the house then backing out fast. Our driveway is over a hundred yards long and at several cars a week there can't be that many people who have the wrong house.

Friends and family know to call first unless they want to taste hot lead.

Sounds miserable don't it? It's not. People are desperate and have forgotten common decency.......or law.----6

[gamekeeper]

I don't know about bogus calls but if you go to the bottom of the page and click Members then click the last page you will see how many pages of spammers we are getting lately..
All those marked " inactive " are spammers..

[Tycer]

Everyday

[Blaine]

I have no idea how they can leave a voicemail, but the phone never rings.....

[Griff]

Scott, I have this problem repeatedly... I even called my Representative and discussed the problem... he commiserated with me... but has anything happened to change this...? Why no.

So, starting today I'm fighting back.

I tried this out: Phone rang this morning about 0730... "your car warranty is about to expire"... "you can get electricity for free"... etc...

The 3rd world speaker started in on his schpeel and I interrupted... "Hi, this is Griff's haullin' You need something hauled... We can haul anything anywhere any time... let me know what, where and how often and I'll give you a quote right here, right now..." My phone went "Click" in there somewhere! Worked 8 times today so far! One guy actually let me finish... a few moments of silence... then the click!

[Scott Tschirhart]

That's funny Griff. But yes, those are the kinds of calls I am getting.

[Sixgun]

If there anything to try, we have tried it......last year I bought an air horn and layed into it on every call....nada.....I have answered the phone acting like I was a drunk derelict who loved gay porn.....nada......my wife answered many calls by suggesting to the caller that they take their lover goat, sheep, or camel out back and give it a whirl...nada....I have called them many derogatory names..(very bad ones...very bad that related to their nationality......nada.....I have called the Indians "Dalit" which are of the social class that clean sewers and toilet....nada

They keep calling back ....you can't insult these people.

That's why we keep it on two rings and don't answer......seems like there is nothing you can do short of pulling the plug on the phone and plugging it in when you need to make a call which we also do at an ever increasing rate.

These are desperate times.

At least on the TV I can change the channel or here I can log out.

[AJMD429]

We have a gate now and the dogs are out at all times. I wish we had the money to get a reliable electric gate we could actuate from in the vehicle, but the old farm gate works.

The last time someone pulled in our driveway before we installed the gate, I was home by myself, and upstairs reading. The van pulls into the driveway which is several hundred yards long and literally backs up towards the back door. Two guys get out, which I am observing from upstairs through a window. One of them has a crowbar he’s holding behind his back so it’s not visible. They are probably getting ready to knock on the door and ask for directions or some stupid lame excuse like people do, then if no one answers the door they break in and steal stuff.

As it happened, and being a redneck, I had an AR-15 with a 60 round P-mag drum in it, so thought it might be a good time to step out on the balcony, and asked the gentleman if there was any thing I could do for them.

I must say they looked rather startled, with the offer of assistance, and one of them said “...oh no man, it’s cool, I think we got the wrong address....”. As I said “...yes, I think you do...”, they jumped in the vehicle and peeled out at that point.

I called both of the neighbors in either direction and let them know there might be some troubled individuals with poor childhood upbringing that were in need of counseling and social services who might be contacting them for assistance. Sure enough, about the same time I was talking to the neighbor to the south, he was pretty much greeting them in the same fashion, with a similar offer of assistance.

Presumably, they were Democrats, given their social circumstances, and their evident phobia of firearms, because the neighbor reported much the same reaction that I had. Upon an offer of genuine assistance, evidently the sight of a firearm caused such a strong phobic reaction that they also left quite abruptly, without taking advantage of the offer for social assistance.

My neighbor and I were talking later, and really felt sad and at the failed opportunity to assist these poor young people in their quest for seeking social justice. Perhaps if one of us had not been home, and they had been allowed to gain entry to our homes, and relieve us of some of the things we had acquired because of our ‘good fortune’, (certainly not because of any hard work on our part... ) they would have been better off , as would we, relieved of our ‘white privilege’ and all its excess luxury.

Sadly, both my neighbor and I now have gates and dogs and multiple layers of alarms, so these unfortunate Biden-supporters are probably wandering the community, lonely and impoverished, all because we are heartless Trump supporters....

[Sixgun]

Doc,
Because your an intelligent man you were able to see it through and not react in a violent way like I would have....NO DOUBT, I would have given them a four round burst at their feet and would have told them to stay put or the next burst would have been in their engine block....

Yea...for real....bad people are losing their fear knowing that Uncle Joe will bail them out.

An electric gate sounds great but they can walk around that so the best defense is to know when someone is on your property before they know you know.......my buddies don't call my house a "compound" for the heck of it.

[Grizz]

I never answer a call from anyone that isn't in my contact list. No listy, no talky...

[GunnyMack]

I got what I refer to as The Magic Button for the land line, from Amazon, it's a call blocker. Just plug it in and if you get one of those calls just push the button and that number will never call again. My cell I got an app that allows me to block numbers and give feedback on the call. I can block anytime after the call so what I've taken to doing is answer the call and when they start talking I just start hitting the number keys in rapid succession. Usually can hear them say what are you doing then click. Then I block that number... I gotta get a hand held air horn!

Sadly Doc I think we are going to see a lot more of that kind of neighborly trespass... Glad my neighbor has a backhoe!

[stretch]

I have no cell phone ...by choice.....

Neither do I. I'm considering buying one for travelling, but I'm not so sure
how much I'd use it. Mainly I'd have it for the GPS stuff. The downside of that
is that your movements are tracked by the darned thing. I don't like the idea
of that.

Nor do I have an ATM card.

On my landline I rarely get any sort of ad calls anymore. Once in awhile I get a survey
call, which I almost always hang up on.

My work phone is a cell phone and I'm ALWAYS getting calls on that from people who want
to sell me a car warranty or fix my credit cards. But I have to answer that one -and answer
it POLITELY if I want to stay employed! 7 more years of "Day Prison" until I can pull the
plug.......

-Stretch

[JOG]

I get that that call about my car warranty is about to expire just about every day! How does some lady from Bangladesh know this! I wish she knew that I drive a 19 year old truck that hasn't had a warranty in two decades!

[gcs]

If I get a call from any number not in my contacts list I let it go to voicemail, if it's spam it gets blocked, have over 400 blocked numbers in my phone, not that it helps, they use spoofed numbers and they are endless, the Do not call list is a complete joke...I never answer an unknown number cause it shows the spammers it's an active number and it gets sold on...
Get at least 2, sometimes 4,5 spam calls per day.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I get that that call about my car warranty is about to expire just about every day! How does some lady from Bangladesh know this! I wish she knew that I drive a 19 year old truck that hasn't had a warranty in two decades!

I get a lot of those calls too. Extended warranties are a real ripoff. The ONLY extended warranty that is worth a stuff is a factory extended warranty. I know becasue I have handled some of the lawsuits with the others.

[marlinman93]

Never had 40 bogus scam calls a day, but can't remember the last time we didn't get at least a half dozen.
I got irritated by one clown a few years ago, and gave him a piece of my mind about his constant scam calls. It only made him go on a rampage when he got mad about what I said. He began calling, and when we didn't answer he called right back. After a couple dozen calls in less than an hour we unplugged the phones. Plugged them back in the next day, and he didn't try it again. Those guys can be beyond a pest!

[mikld]

Yep, we get so many we don't answer the phone any more. My wife got a "hearing impaired" phone with a large screen that shows what the caller says, and also the caller's number and name. When it rings we will either glance at the screen or wait for a message. I add (re-add) our number to the "don't call registry" once or twice every year, still get 7 or 8 spam calls daily...

[horsesoldier03]

Just recently started getting the SPAM calls and somehow they have started showing up with the names of local businesses. You would think they could block those or shut them down completely if they wanted too.

[Sixgun]

Neither do I. I'm considering buying one for travelling, but I'm not so sure
how much I'd use it. Mainly I'd have it for the GPS stuff. The downside of that
is that your movements are tracked by the darned thing. I don't like the idea
of that.
Nor do I have an ATM card.

Well well...I have a twin.

No credit cards ...only one debit card and we transfer the money from the savings to the debit card in the amount we think we are going to need.....

Paper maps and road signs always got me where I wanted to go

I use cash for 99.99% of my purchases......the debit card is for my wife.

My credit rating is ZERO....just the way I like it...I always figured that if you don't have the money to buy something then you can't afford it and therefore dig your hole deeper. I can tell the whole world where to kiss. I sleep well and depend on nobody....

I retired at 62 with zero bills ....there must be something said for my antiquated lifestyle. At 66 my BP is 120/70.

CREDIT CARDS are nothing more than a modern form of indentured servitude. Everyone wants to be rich at 20. I waited ...and saved....

You'll like this next one......UNLESS your filthy rich how does a $5,000 tailgate on a GMC pick up truck that does everything except cook your meals make your life better? We always just dropped the tailgate and leaped up.

[stretch]

Well well...I have a twin.

I grew up in SE Pennsylvania, but Mom never said anything about an evil twin.......

-Stretch

[gamekeeper]

Technology always brings problems.

technology-indians-red_indian-native_american-smoke_signal-native-ksmn2115_low.jpg

[Sixgun]

I grew up in SE Pennsylvania, but Mom never said anything about an evil twin....... -Stretch

Stretch...your getting better with each post!

What parts of S.E.Pa? I'm a few miles from West Chester...NOT Chester .....WEST Chester, just across the line from Chester County in Delaware Country.

Hey....maybe it's the air we breathed growing up and I just got more of it than you. ----6...o....da...bro...wit...hoe....

[JOG]

I miss the old day's when the phone was on the kitchen wall. Mom would ease drop when I talked to all my girlfriend's! If you were real lucky you had the extra long cord to stretch into the living room for privacy!

[piller]

They are now showing up as local numbers. I am starting to have fun with messing up their minds. I looked up how to say hello in 10 different languages. So far, I have had 1 person keep talking when I answered Yobo Saiyo. I then told him in Korean that he was the product of incest between his Grandfather and the Grandfather's daughter. Great little phrase I learned while stationed in Korea. It could start a fight anytime you wanted one. The spam caller hung up amd hasn't called back. I think I will try Bulgarian next. I need to find an insult in that language.

[GunnyMack]

Not only local numbers but also numbers with the same exchange on cell phones. Last summer I'm at a match, we had just started to shoot when my phone rings- MY cell phone number was calling ME!

It would be nice if these scum could be caught but I doubt sleepy jose would invade Pakistan...

https://www.amazon.com/CPR-Call-Blocker ... l+b&sr=8-3#

[mickbr]

Not only local numbers but also numbers with the same exchange on cell phones. Last summer I'm at a match, we had just started to shoot when my phone rings- MY cell phone number was calling ME!

Sorry but i didnt even realise that was possible. That is crazy

[GunnyMack]

Yes it most certainly is possible! I've since called myself 3 times!!!
The donotcall registry doesn't mean squat to these 3rd world scam artists.

[Scott Tschirhart]

So, blocking calls might just block someone you might want to get a call from?

[stretch]

Sixgun - some of my earliest memories are from West Chester.
My parents rented a house there, and I was 4 at the time. Don't recall the
address.

Mostly I grew up in Furlong. Didn't someone run 22 levergun
events on the Mozart Road there a few years back? I do believe
it's too built up now for suchlike.

I remember when growing up there it was pretty rural - even into the 1980s.
I could run my old XS750 everywhere at 70+. Last time I was down there
with a motorcycle, I couldn't even get it into top gear - too many lights
and too much traffic. The development has to be seen to be believed.
1/4 acre lots as far as the eye can see, on roads that were designed and
routed in the Colonial era. Nobody can widen anything or exercise eminent
domain, because the property prices are insane, so it's congested.

Still, when my parents bought their house there, it was a beautiful place.

-Stretch

[Ray Newman]

We have Caller ID. The phone rings and the name and telephone number shows up. If I or The Squeeze don't recognize it, we don't answer. Not one has yet to leave a Voice Mail Message. I think Caller ID is well worth the monthly service charge.

[piller]

My cell phone says scam likely on lots of the calls. I mostly hit the button to decline with the message to text me. I do so enjoy messing with them on occasion.

[JOG]

After buying my last cell phone I started getting a lot of them call's. After a while I would pick up and start talking first. I would say that I'm Father such and such and on a clothing drive picking up bag's of clothing for St Sylvester's Church and Shrine. We will be picking as much as posable for the needy! If you could just rummage thru your closet a pick just a few articles of clothing you have not worn in a few years and place them on your doorstep we will pick up in the morning. I would not let them get a word in until my semi incoherent babel was finished! Lot's of angry foreigner's on the other side of the line. I'm sure there's still a few bag's of clothing that need's to be picked up!