Not every odd-looking number calling you wants to sell you an extended car warranty or sell you some special extra Medicare insurance supplement.
Today's odd call showed it was from Owensboro, Kentucky.?ÿ I answered anyway, JUST IN CASE.?ÿ The lady calling was in need of a survey about 20 miles from here.?ÿ Turned out she lives about 10 miles on the other side of the survey site.?ÿ We have a few friends in common.?ÿ I had to ask why she had a phone number from Kentucky.?ÿ She has done that at her father's specific request.?ÿ When she was leaving Kentucky he asked her to not change her number so he wouldn't have to worry about forgetting a new one.
While chatting with her I asked where Owensboro was located.?ÿ She said it was a couple hours west of Louisville, right on the banks of the Ohio River.?ÿ I had to tell her about this site and the photo posted this morning by Tom Bushelman of a survey monument, right on the banks of the Ohio River.
I rarely, if at all, get survey requests from out-of-state numbers.?ÿ But I'm prone to get calls from the area codes 405, 572, 580, 918, 303, 970, 720, 715, 534 and 414.?ÿ These are all relatives.?ÿ And I can't focus on the phone quick enough to determine if it's a call I might not want to take.?ÿ So I just answer the damned thing.?ÿ
I bet I've talked to every extended warranty and medicare supplemental rep around the globe.?ÿ It sucks, but I still manage to have fun with it.?ÿ My favorite reply is, "My gawd, what time is it in Mumbai?"?ÿ?ÿIf it was a feminine voice on the phone I used to ask them 'what they were wearing'...but my better half started throwing stuff at me when I did that so I quit.
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Owensboro is also home to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum.?ÿ There is a fantastic bluegrass festival there in June every year right on the river.
Just before I left my last place of employment, my dad had open heart surgery and he was having wild hallucinations in the hospital from the medicine, something about an enormous snake wearing a cowboy hat and sixguns.?ÿ In that state of mind, he was able to remember my cell number and called me at 2:00 in the morning.?ÿ Of course I went to the hospital in case I needed to have a gunfight with a snake.?ÿ The medicine finally wore off and dad was fine but because of that, I asked my employer if I could keep that phone number which belonged to the company.?ÿ The owner is a gem of a guy and gave me the number.?ÿ I completely understand why she kept hers.
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Sorry, I screen my calls.?ÿ We get anywhere from 15 to 30 spam calls a day on the land line, so the machine picks up after 2 rings.?ÿ If the caller's legitimate, they'll leave a message.?ÿ If I'm in and hear them speak, I pick up.?ÿ If not and they leave a msg and it's bidness, I return calls within 24 hrs.?ÿ Hasn't hurt my bottom line a bit.
That friggin' Do-Not-Call registry is a joke.....
I mentioned to this lady that sometimes I don't pickup on odd-looking numbers.?ÿ She said she has left many messages over time for that very reason.?ÿ This call was directly to the cell phone.?ÿ Could have let it go to voice mail, I suppose.?ÿ Almost did.
Not sure how I got on the "hernia mesh implant" call list that begins with, "If you or a loved one has.......".
I'm with the Sarge. I get way too many spam calls to be answering random numbers. Leave a message and if you are legit I'll call back.
The most recent time I received one from the Medicare supplement hawkers I asked the guy what he had been smokin' cause I haven't hit 30 yet.......................then hung up.?ÿ If I get a call from what sounds a bit like a Filipino house of ill-repute (so I've been told by the big boys) I tell her if her name ain't Mable, I ain't interested...................then hang up.
I used to tell the sales callers "I would love to have one of those (whatever they were selling)" and when they started asking questions I would tell them to send me the item and I would send them the money as soon as I got a job and would also send them my new address to send the receipt to.
My other trick was to hand the phone to my eight year old son and say, "Here, it's for you."
One of my nine-year-olds is desperate for me to hand him the phone if it's a spam call. I always forget and just hang up.
Gotta say, since T-Mobile added their call security feature, I rarely get spammy calls anymore.
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Did you ever call one of those numbers that called you??ÿ Many times you will get the standard telephone company message:?ÿ That number is no longer a valid number.?ÿ (Or whatever it is they say about no longer being in service)?ÿ Which begs the question, "How are they using a non-functional number?"
At home (not my office) I answer most every call.?ÿ I've noticed that spam calls often have a brief pause after I say hello, and then a distinctive "bloop" sound.?ÿ I think what this is, is the spammer is picking up at his end when he/she knows they have a live one. at which point I hang up.
My wife once went online looking for health care insurance, and for the next?ÿ week, we were receiving approximately 100 calls?ÿ every day for health care insurance , which gradually tapered off over the next few weeks.
@wendell?ÿ
I like using the Google roboto call screening thingamajig.
It's fun to rout calls you know there for the first time they call for the mechano voice.
Around here, an agency claiming to be raising money for the under-privileged children in the name of the Fraternal Order of Police have resulted to spoofing the caller ID number. They usually ask for Michelle, and when you tell them they have the wrong number, they say, " well maybe you can help me".?ÿ The second time I received a call like this, I pulled a Tom Mabe type at-lib by telling the caller to hold on and letting them hear a one-sided beratement of someone supposedly in the room with me. I haven't received a third call, yet.
Did you ever call one of those numbers that called you??ÿ Many times you will get the standard telephone company message:?ÿ That number is no longer a valid number.?ÿ (Or whatever it is they say about no longer being in service)?ÿ Which begs the question, "How are they using a non-functional number?"
Number spoofing.?ÿ We are now getting lots of calls from our local area numbers.?ÿ My assistant was getting calls on his cell - from his own cell number.
Sorry, I screen my calls.?ÿ We get anywhere from 15 to 30 spam calls a day on the land line, so the machine picks up after 2 rings.?ÿ If the caller's legitimate, they'll leave a message.?ÿ If I'm in and hear them speak, I pick up.?ÿ If not and they leave a msg and it's bidness, I return calls within 24 hrs.?ÿ Hasn't hurt my bottom line a bit.
That friggin' Do-Not-Call registry is a joke.....
I agree.?ÿ We signed up for No-mo-robo?ÿ https://nomorobo.com/
Do it for your land line!?ÿ It is free and works pretty good, it reduced the vast majority of the land line stuff.?ÿ I have been thinking about buying it for the cell as it has been pretty bad the last year.
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I just don't answer any phone calls anymore.?ÿ I return their calls when I have time.
My daughter answered a sales call a few years back. When they asked for me she told them I wasn't there. They asked when I would return and she told them she didn't know,?ÿ I'd been put in witness protection a few months back and she hadn't heard from me since. They hung up.
Do it for your land line!?ÿ
Land line? Whats that? Oh, yes, now I remember. Gave that up about 15, maybe 17 years ago.
I rarely, if at all, get survey requests from out-of-state numbers.?ÿ But I'm prone to get calls from the area codes 405, 572, 580, 918, 303, 970, 720, 715, 534 and 414.?ÿ These are all relatives.?ÿ And I can't focus on the phone quick enough to determine if it's a call I might not want to take.?ÿ So I just answer the damned thing.?ÿ
I bet I've talked to every extended warranty and medicare supplemental rep around the globe.?ÿ It sucks, but I still manage to have fun with it.?ÿ My favorite reply is, "My gawd, what time is it in Mumbai?"?ÿ?ÿIf it was a feminine voice on the phone I used to ask them 'what they were wearing'...but my better half started throwing stuff at me when I did that so I quit.
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I'm guessing it wasn't Jake from State Farm in tan khakis
@holy-cow My phone service (voip.ms) has a function where I can forward a call to a "system" message, it can be "number has been disconnected", busy signal, "number not in service", or just hangup. I can do this for any incoming number or all calls. I have a long list of spam calls that came in more than once that I just forward to that.?ÿ
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As for Owensboro, KY, that is where the hourly status broadcast on marine frequencies for the Ohio River comes in, anytime I am working at a navigation lock I can hear them every hour. "This is United State Coast Guard, Ohio River Group, Owensboro Kentucky", and repeats