How do you deal with those annoying phone calls from India?

[issatree]

Hi All,
We get the occasional call, & when I answer, I just keep saying, " HELLO, HELLO, HELLO " while they are trying to talk to me, & you get the drift, & in the end they just hang up.
I have also confused them by telling that those people don't live here anymore, & the Phone goes down.
Great.

[I_wanna_Shed]

We are in the phone book under my wife's maiden name, and we are NEVER changing it. When people say "Is that Mr/Mrs 'maiden name'", we know its a useless call straight away and hang up.

Oh, and for the people who come knocking on your door, whatever they are selling I just say "my work pays for my phone/electricity/gas/whatever". They don't have a comeback at all then.

We had a call at work once - we managed to transfer the call 8 times before they hung up.

Nathan.

[artme]

We are in the phone book under my wife's maiden name, and we are NEVER changing it. When people say "Is that Mr/Mrs 'maiden name'", we know its a useless call straight away and hang up.

Oh, and for the people who come knocking on your door, whatever they are selling I just say "my work pays for my phone/electricity/gas/whatever". They don't have a comeback at all then.

We had a call at work once - we managed to transfer the call 8 times before they hung up.

Nathan.

Another name to go in my book of devious individuals.

[Ron Dunn]

I often get calls from "Microsoft" claiming that I have been detected with an error in my computer network.

Funny thing is, I work for Microsoft.

When I offer to transfer them to our security department they hang up very quickly. Can't understand why?

[tea lady]

We had a call at work once - we managed to transfer the call 8 times before they hung up.

Nathan.

Ah! Its the little pleasures in life!....

I often get calls from "Microsoft" claiming that I have been detected with an error in my computer network.

Funny thing is, I work for Microsoft.

When I offer to transfer them to our security department they hang up very quickly. Can't understand why?

[Cliff Rogers]

The last time somebody with a bad accent called to tell me that I had a virus on my computer I asked them "Which one, I have 3?" they had a very had time trying NOT to say that it didn't matter.
They just told me to "get in front of my computer & turn it on."
I just kept with my story that I had to know which one it was that had the virus.
They said that they would know once they had checked them all.
I told them if they were clever enough to know it was my computer that had the virus then they should also be able to tell me which one it was.
They then tried to tell me that my ISP had reported it coming from my IP address.
Somewhere during my explanation of Dynamic IPs they figured out that I knew just a little bit more about computers than they had bargained for.

[fenderbelly]

I've been getting the Microsoft calls lately and i'm on the DNC register but the buggers are trying a new tack now.

I got this on my mobile phone the other day

CONGRATS
From Micro Soft
Your Mobile No won
3.5M GBP

Reply us on our Email
[email protected].

(+44)701-112-7450
Dr.Anderson Spencer

[DavidG]

Another one I use is to tell them I run Linux.
That is when I don't have time to reel them in.

[A Duke]

I have 2 lines with numbers 60 apart and it is usual to have the same mob phoning both at the same time, as I have both phones on my desk, I have managed to put the handsets down so that the 2 operators could have a chat. The other common thing is as you hang one the other rings and they are shocked when you point out that you have already told them, then they look at the name they have just asked for and I get a shocked "ah yes."

[Bob38S]

Have tried being polite, gave up trying to be reasonable and have moved through the following -
- the old "Hang on while I get a pencil" and go and have a coffee,
- "Could you speak a little louder - I'm hard of hearing" again and again until they are shouting,
- start speaking in Klingon or similar,
- constantly interrupting with inane questions and asking for clarification of all answers,

All of the above have provided me with some amusement but in many cases it is too easy - I've lost interest so now my stock standard method is 2 questions and then a statement.

1 Are you interested in travel?
2 Are you interested in sex?

Well, Fxxx Off!

I take great delight that the telemarketers are being stressed and getting sick because they have to deal with those terrible Aussies.

If the government and or Telcos were really serious about this problem we would not have a Do Not Call register we would have an Opt In register and it would no longer be a problem however, I'm realistic enough to know this won't happen, unfortunately, because there is too much money to be made.

[RayG]

I hand the phone to my 5 year old granddaughter, who just loves jabbering away on the phone...

Seems to work, and she has a great time... we seem to be getting fewer calls lately...

Regards
Ray

[jimbur]

When you are getting really annoyed calm down and think of the service you are providing to the callers from Mumbai or wherever. Their use of the Australian vernacular must have improved by leaps and bounds. Imagine them applying to emigrate and demonstrating their new command of the language in an interview.
Cheers,
Jim