Telemarketing Sales Droids
Good piece here on how to prevent telemarketers called No Telemarket
Most Telemarketers use what is called Predictive Dialers, which are PCs with software that dials every number in a phone exchange until it gets lucky.I have a better way of dealing with telemarketers - after you realise that you have a phone sales droid on the phone - rap sharply on the desk as though someone is knocking at the door and then say "hang on a moment - someone is at the door".Now you can use their own technology against them, and it's legal. Here is how their system works: the dialer calls your number, you answer, and you have probably notice the line appears dead after you said, "Hello".
What their computer is doing is listening for a short burst of audio, your "HELLO", followed by a period of silence.
With this heard, it will log your phone number as valid and transfer the call to an available telemarketer, the reason for the delay before someone comes on line.
Place the phone on the desk and walk away.
The sales droid will hang on, and on, and on waiting for you to come back - which you don't of course.
Come back after 15 minutes and listen - if the sales droid is still there - give it another 15 minutes.
This approach has the benefits of costing the telemarketing company money and ties up the resources of one sales droid for the length of time it takes them to realise you are not coming back.
One day they might realise that telephone spam is just as annoying as email spam and junk mail - but only if we demonstrate the telemarketing does not work becuase everyone has rejected the method and it costs too much money to make too few sales.
Tags: telemarketing, hack, phreak, spam