WWYD? Out of Area phone calls......

[Kitty 34]

I'm on the Do Not Call List (got on it about 4 weeks ago) but the last several days we have been getting an Out Of Area phone call. Today it has gotten so bad that I seriously have received an out of area call every five minutes for the past half an hour!!

What the heck should I do??? It's just a recording so I can't say anything to it. It's driving me nuts!

 

[agnes!]

Look it up at Whitepages.com
Google the exact number, there might be complaints about it.
Block all numbers that are unidentified.
Call or go to your local police station and ask if there have been any local complaints about this, the harasser/scammers could be just blind-dialing by Area Code.
Subscribe to a credit-reporting service, like Equifax, make sure your credit isn't somehow being harmed.
Is this a new number, is it possible that someone with bad credit had it before...maybe it's some bill-collectors?
A lot of these ideas won't work if you don't have the number, other than blocking unknown numbers.


Post it here and let your DIS friends have at it ... heheheheh.

agnes!

 

[SpecialK]

I don't answer any out of area calls. They seem to have slowed down as a result.

 

[Kitty 34]

Look it up at Whitepages.com
Google the exact number, there might be complaints about it.
Block all numbers that are unidentified.
Call or go to your local police station and ask if there have been any local complaints about this, the harasser/scammers could be just blind-dialing by Area Code.
Subscribe to a credit-reporting service, like Equifax, make sure your credit isn't somehow being harmed.
Is this a new number, is it possible that someone with bad credit had it before...maybe it's some bill-collectors?
A lot of these ideas won't work if you don't have the number, other than blocking unknown numbers.


Post it here and let your DIS friends have at it ... heheheheh.

agnes!

Unfortunetly, there is no number. It just says Out of Area.

Otherwise great idea about posting it here.......

 

[golfgal]

Does the recording identify a company or say what they are calling about?

Just an FYI, it can take a couple months before your name is off all the "lists" after placing your number on the DNC list.

 

[DVC-Don]

We are getting hammered with Unknown or Out of Area calls. It's mid-term election time and most of them are auto calls from politicians and political action committees.

 

[MushyMushy]

The calls are getting ridiculous! My daughter was called 3 times today while she was in school. Obviously she didn't answer, but it's really annoying. When I get one, I won't even pick up.

 

[scrapquitler]

What does the recording say?? Is there some sort of option to eventually press 1 or 2 to talk to a human? if so, give it a try and see if you can figure out what it is.

I'd guess it might be political robo-calls...there have been SO many of them lately We have been getting them left and right here, from all different candidates of BOTH parties, and on top of that, from live people reading scripts, too. Unfortunately this stuff is NOT subject to the do not call list.

Prior to the primaries back in August, DH got to the point where he was writing on our white board which candidates called and how many times. Every time he got a human reading the script, he told them that he did NOT appreciate these endless calls, and that he was keeping track of how many calls he got and that he would vote for the candidate that called us the least number of times.

 

[tvguy]

Caller ID seems like a waste of money. It either displays Out of Area, or Restricted, and most of the telemarketers have found out how to display a different number. Caller ID only keeps honest people honest. The dishonest have found how to work around it.

 

[Gigi22]

Screen all your calls. Put a recorded reply on your answering machine indicating that you do not pick up calls from political parties or telemarketers and that you will not vote for anyone or purchase anything marketed by phone.

 

[pyrxtc]

Can I post my telemarketer number here.... They have called for the past week or two and 5 times in 20 hours. I looked it up and supposedly they are calling about magazine subscription renewals. I don't answer cuz I have no interest in talking to them. They used to just leave a message on my machine stating my name over and over again like they didn't know it was a machine that picked up but last night they left a Obscene message. The guy next to him was dying laughing in the background so obviously that's not the message they are supposed to be leaving.

out of Waterbury, CT 203-437-6583

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You cannot leave messages on our home phone number. So we can just let it ring and not pick up or worry. We give out our cell as our main number to doctors, schools, etc

And yes, the calls have really amped up. It is crazy. You are not the only one.

 

[lynxstch]

Can I post my telemarketer number here.... They have called for the past week or two and 5 times in 20 hours. I looked it up and supposedly they are calling about magazine subscription renewals. I don't answer cuz I have no interest in talking to them. They used to just leave a message on my machine stating my name over and over again like they didn't know it was a machine that picked up but last night they left a Obscene message. The guy next to him was dying laughing in the background so obviously that's not the message they are supposed to be leaving.

out of Waterbury, CT 203-437-6583

I looked up that # under both 'whocalledus.com' and the directory of unknown callers...and most complaints say it's from a magazine service..that they extremely aggressive and hard to get rid of..but they recommend telling the caller that you are reporting them to DNC registry..and then going to the DNC registry and filing a complaint every time they call..eventually someone will catch up to them and get them to stop!

 

[cybrkitn]

You mean we're not the only one receiving these calls? Btw, that was not meant in a sarcastic way at all. I'm serious. Everytime I picked it up, I would hear "click" or just dead air. It's gotten to the point where we don't even pick it up anymore. I let the voice mail get it.

Unfortunately, we do have two people we know that come up with Out of Area and are close by . But they don't call that often. When they do, they leave a voice mail and we'll call them back.

 

[arminnie]

I will answer calls from the two area codes that I live in - or from identified callers. The rest I do not answer. If they leave a msg I will retrieve it and call back within minutes if I find it appropriate.

 

[dawson5]

I thought the dead air ones were computers calling to log the times you answer your phone to let the actual telemarketer know the best time to reach you.

Anymore, I just let the answering machine screen the calls.

 

[Bren's Mom]

203-437-6583

First, try to push the record button on your answering machine and see if you can record yourself saying to them that you do not wish to receive calls from them anymore.

Call your local phone company to see if you have *57 or Customer Originated Trace. What this does is send the traced info to the phone company, and it can only be retrieved by law enforcement. I would do *57 and also keep a log of when these calls come in, what is said, etc. Some additional instructions are below.

After you have some of the calls logged, bring your info to your local police department and tell them you wish to file a harassement complaint.

Three things to remember when initiating a Customer Originated Trace:

1. Initiating the trace must be done after the call you want to trace has already completed. Many people dial *57 while the call they wish to trace is still in progress. This doesn't work. You must wait until the call you wish to trace has already completed. Dial *57 as quickly as possible to initiate the trace prior to receiving another inbound call.

2. Make sure you stay on the line after dialing *57. You should receive a voice announcement informing you that the trace was completed as requested. This announcement may also provide other special instructions based on your specific provider or servicing CO's internal procedures.

3. As precisely as possible, make sure that you annotate the exact time you received the call, and also the exact time that you initated the call trace. This saves the law enforcement agencies alot of time when coordinating to retrieve this trace data from the servicing CO.

 

[Kitty 34]

I'm glad I'm not alone but I feel bad that so many of you are going through the same thing.

I hate just letting it ring until the answering machine kicks in as my DH and my youngest son both work late at night and sleep much of the day.

 

[WDWKOOK]

I'm on the Do Not Call List (got on it about 4 weeks ago) but the last several days we have been getting an Out Of Area phone call. Today it has gotten so bad that I seriously have received an out of area call every five minutes for the past half an hour!!

What the heck should I do??? It's just a recording so I can't say anything to it. It's driving me nuts!

We have been on the DNC list from the moment it came out and we have always had an unlisted number. We still get the "Out of Area"/"Private Caller"/"Unavailable" calls, but I NEVER answer them. I also never answer those 888 numbers. After a while, the calls stop and they give-up. I do feel that by not answering those callers not known to you (as a PP suggested) it does lessen the amount of unwanted calls you'll receive.

Do you have an unlisted number that is also not available through directory assistance? While you'll have to pay a small fee each month, it is worth every penny.

 

[WDWKOOK]

I'm glad I'm not alone but I feel bad that so many of you are going through the same thing.

I hate just letting it ring until the answering machine kicks in as my DH and my youngest son both work late at night and sleep much of the day.

That is a really hard situation when you have to be at home when others have to sleep. I dreaded when DH had to work the nightshift at the Pentagon. I would shut the ringers and answering machine volume off during the day and turn them back on around dinner time when he got up.

Could you shut the ringer off and answering machine volume when they're asleep?