Last Updated on April 15, 2017 by Dave Farquhar
I spent the night fighting off telemarketers. I lost count of how many calls I got. It might have been as low as three. It seemed like a lot more though. Two different companies wanted to sell me alarm systems. Well, right now I can’t really afford an alarm system.
I thought about getting caller ID, or call-block on anonymous calls, but that’s like $7 a month. That’s not a lot, but I think I’m paying $20 a month for basic phone service (I called the phone company and told them I wanted two things: a dial tone and DSL. Nothing else.) so raising my phone bill by 33% to avoid telemarketers doesn’t quite seem right. I’m better off stashing that $7 a month into a repairs fund.
Then I remembered that at the apartment I got about five telemarketing calls a month. Missouri has a pretty liberal no-call law that eliminates most telemarketing calls to those who put themselves on a list. I signed up months ago, when it was first offered, and then I forgot about it. I just enjoyed not getting the telemarketing calls my friends always complain about. Those I do get usually are during the day, so my answering machine gets them. You can report the infringements and Missouri will go after them, but I’ve never bothered.
So, in between calls, I went and put my name on the no-call list.
I’ll have peace and quiet soon.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.
Thank you. I didn’t realize there was a list for Florida until I read your post. I’m going to sign up :o)
thanks.
If you ever get an alarm system read the fine print:
Almost all alarm system companies will try to LEASE you the system, not sell it to you. Thus you are stuck paying the service fee forever.
If you buy the system outright, if you ever decide the monitoring service is not worth it you can cancel and still have the alarm to use and raise a ruckus but just not call into the moniotring service. Plus, it then becomes an added value of your house instead of a leased albatross if you ever have to sell.
Bruce, thanks for the great tip!
About telemarketers, here’s a couple more links of interest:
http://www.davehitt.com/jan02/tmmmda.html
http://www.dianamey.com/Putting_An_End_to_Telemarketers.html
Best alarm system = BIG DOG.
As for telemarketers I have fun with them. And they hanh up on me!
Texas has a similar law. I signed up several months ago, but I missed one deadline and it won’t take effect for me for another month or so.
I can’t wait.
I forget where I read this tip, but it’s become my standard and much-beloved way of dealing with telemarketers. Sure, it’s not as stimulating as stringing them along and messing with their heads, but I find a queer satisfaction in it nevertheless: as soon as they pause for breath, I say “Hold on a minute please,” and then put the phone down and go back to whatever I was doing before. The point is simply to waste as much of their time as possible, with the smallest effort possible. Eventually they give up and hang up, and the phone starts beeping. Then I chuckle, hang up, and wait for the next one. Heh.
Ya’ know, I like Pete’s system…