Allright...what's the scam here? (RELENTLESS telemarketers!!!)

[Scythemantis]

All week long I've been getting at least one call a day from an "All Star Access Incorporated", offering me a "$300 Shopping Spree". Though always a different person, the marketer (whatever the hell you call them) always has a heavy hindu (?) accent.

Try as I might, they WILL NOT let me reject the offer. It doesn't matter what I say or do, another one invariably calls 6-24 hours later to read from the same little script, telling me that I'm one of "less than four, but more than two" (the hell?!) people in my state selected for their special offer, and that all they ask from me is a $4 check and my bank account number, which they swear up and down cannot be used by them in any remotely harmful manner.

I tried to look them up online and see if there were any articles about what shady shenanigans they're actually pulling, but there's nothing.

Any ideas?

[solarflere]

they ask for money to give you money, LOL, are they new or something?
Someone sold you out...your telephone number anyways. I am sure you are not the first one to be bugged by them. Do you have a caller ID, try asking the phone company to either block them from reaching you, or trace their location and report it to proper athorities. But before you do that, go to Do Not Call Registry (https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx), register yout number, and then call the athorities and get them $fined$.

[Wanted]

Try as I might, they WILL NOT let me reject the offer.Then hang up. Simple as that. And, since that doesn't seem to work for you, sign up on the Do Not Call registry that solarflere recommended.

[Bleu Unicorn]

Oh, my freakin' lords! I had the EXACT same thing happen two weeks ago! They even called me back several times and the last time shouted and swore in my ear even. They had my checking account information, too, and so I've already had to open a new account and close the old one.

I also changed my phone number, since I'd literally only had the phone for two days before they'd gotten ahold of it and called me again and again. Oiy, what a hassle!

[Chad Bonin]

Buy Caller ID. I never deal with telemarketers.

[Sampo]

Most effective way is just to hang up the phone. If you are uncomfortable or don't want to be rude, you can place the phone on a table and walk away. Then after a few minutes, hang it up.

Also you can get caller ID. Although it usually cost some money to get the extra service from the telephone company. I had to pay for it, then removed it because of the extra cost. Or invest in a phone with a built in answering machine. You can use that to screen your calls to find out who is calling.

Lastly you can try out that "Do Not Call" service... Although looking at what they are doing, it sounds like they want to GIVE you something instead of selling you a product or service. So if you try to take any legal action, it might not work unless you want to classify it as a scam (which it sounds like one...).

Just my two cents.

[Dark Fact]

Never give your bank account number over the phone...ever! Doing so is just letting those scam artists drain your account dry.

I've dealt with these people before. Just say you're not interested and ask them to take you off their list so they won't call you back.

[sun]

"Take this phone number off your call list immediately...."
They must do it, it is the law.Often, the computer dials the number, they do not even know who they are talking to... If they do not do it, they can be heavily fined if caught...It usually works, they are scared of the high fines.

But I do like the one where you ask the guy to wait a minute, and leave the phone on the table and walk away,,,,Come back in 10 minutes, he will be gone and I bet you will not hear from that one anymore...

Of course, haning up immediately, is the best, but then you may hear from them again, Never give out any information to a phone solicitor.....Especially your birthday, or your mother's madian name...

[Scythemantis]

Yeah, when I hang up they just call me again.

Once they put me through to their supervisor, who tried to be all super-nice, but when I repeated that I didn't want to be called anymore, he said something to the effect of "Oh, my, this is not good. This is not good at all" in a most sinister tone.

What the hell does he think he is, the godfather?

[solarflere]

Yeah, when I hang up they just call me again.

Once they put me through to their supervisor, who tried to be all super-nice, but when I repeated that I didn't want to be called anymore, he said something to the effect of "Oh, my, this is not good. This is not good at all" in a most sinister tone.

What the hell does he think he is, the godfather?You know, their "supervisors" are usualy the person sitting right next to them. I caught one lying to me when I asked for a supervisor, it was a person of the same position sitting next to the telemarketer. I was so pissed off.

[Daikun]

Once you hang up, leave the phone OFF the receiver. When they call again, they'll receive a busy signal. ;)

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

How to stop telemarketing calls (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/dncverifyalrt.htm), courtesy of the Federal Trade Commission. In addition to instructions for adding yourself to the "Do Not Call" registry, this page also contains instructions on how to file a complaint against this company if they persist.

Telling the person on the other end of the line that you wish to be removed, that you have requested to be removed before, and that your next call will be to your lawyer if this persists may also go a long way to ending these calls. Funny how mentioning that magic word "lawyer" seems to make a lot of these sorts of things go away, even if you don't actually have a lawyer.

If you're exceptionally bored and there's nothing good on TV, you can play as stupid as you possibly can to string them along on the phone for as long as you can. It'll cost them money in the long run, since time they spend with you on a call that won't land them a sale is time they lose calling other people. Some successful attempts I've seen of this on the Internet involve asking really stupid questions that have nothing to do with the offer they have, and act mad if they start trying to change the subject. For instance, you could ask, "Does your offer apply to veterans?" and then go off on how your cousin was in the Iraq war and your uncle was a Vietnam vet and all the discrimination they faced, before saying that you're not a veteran yourself, but you won't do business with a place that discriminates against veterans. Then, when they start acting exasperated over this line of questioning, you get huffy and threaten to call your sentantor or your electicked officials if they don't nicer to you ("you're not anti-VETERAN, are you?"). One other tactic is to hand around the phone to assorted family members who are all really you talking in assorted bad accents ("Oh, Uncle Jed deals with that financial stuff. Hey, Jed! Get the phone!"), again acting really insulted if they hint that you're playing games with them. Repeat as necessary until they want to hang up on you.

It may not get you anywhere, but it may be good for a laugh.

-- Ed/Ace

[Dark Fact]

Ace, just be flat out firm with them that you want them off your list and that you don't want them to call you back. Daikun makes a good suggestion of leaving the phone off the receiver so it looks like you're busy.

However, playing mind games with them is not a smart move. There was a talk radio interview I listened to a few years ago that dealt with this exact problem. The host was taking calls about telemarketers and one of the callers (a pompous jackass I would describe him) suggested telling the telemarketers that if they want to call someone, that you should give them the number to the police department and they'll never call you again. The host responded that you shouldn't do such things because the person on the other end of the line might be a dangerous individual and it isn't a good idea to provoke them.

If you're going to screw around with the telemarketer, you might be asking for trouble. It's just best to tell them you're not interested and ask them to take you off their list.