Cold calls, tampons and credit cards

[hertz vanrental]

Are you like I used to be?

I used to get multiple cold calls a day.

They pretended to be BT and told me that my account would be suspended because it had been compromised.

They pretended to be Microsoft and claimed that my PC was infected by a virus and wanted to prove that to me.

Funny, but although they were called Nigel, Steve, Dave or Lilly, they always spoke with an Indian or Pakistani accent.

At first, I put the phone down but that didn't stop the calls. They always called back.

Then I got nasty and told them to fuck off and die. That didn't work either. They always called back.

I learned some swear words in their language and used them. That didn't work either. They always called back.

What annoyed me was that we are ex-directory.

What did work?

Whenever I received an unsolicited cold call, I told the caller that I wanted to talk about feminine hygiene products. I began by asking whether they preferred pads or tampons. It was funny how quickly the caller disconnected, especially if it was a male caller.

I also tried a different tactic sometimes, depending on my mood, which involved stopping them mid-sentence and asking for their credit card details. I explained that I was a consultant and charged my time out at £60 per hour and that I would need to charge them for their call, if they wish to stay connected. Again, it didn't take long for the caller to disconnect.

Within a short space of time, the volume of calls fell dramatically. Eventually, there was barely a trickle.

It's now May and, this year, I have only had 2 calls. One was today, by the way, which prompted this post.

OK, I could invest in some form of call blocker but this is a much cheaper solution and causes fewer problems.

[Smellyoldgit]

As soon as I detect the slightest of Indian accents, I start ordering a take-away curry.
They seem to have fucked off ....

[AtomJack]

Another forum I'm a member of, a guy got the caller's actual phone number out of them, saying he was busy and would call back. He called back enough times that they blocked him.


Another guy gave them a credit card number. When they pointed out that it had one too many digits, he explained that that is how the numbers are, with the Bank of Nigeria.


At our house, we have a phone that requires one to press "1" to continue. Robocall hasn't that feature yet. The phone doesn't even ring if they don't press 1. It's a lot quieter around here, now.