Sept 30 8:48pm: Abandoned call

Sept 30 7:06pm: "Christina" with Earthlink

I tied her and "Milton Adams" up for about 15 minutes, much of which happened because they'd launch into their scripts after I said things they presumably didn't have any reasonable response to. They have my name, address and phone number. She said they came from a survey, which I said I didn't recall filling out. I think it was eventually explained that their "survey" was them getting lists of names, addresses, and phone numbers from phone company listings and filtering out those for which a call to an Earthlink access point would be long distance.

"Milton Adams" got the impression that I don't own a computer, since I said that I didn't have one on hand or in sight, which was true while I was on the phone. He then asked me for phone numbers of friends and relatives. I said I didn't want to inflict telemarketing called on my friends and relatives. He then gave me the Earthlink phone number. He asked me twice if I was writing it down. I said no both times.

Sept 30: Answering machine spam: Century Financial Group: Recording of Scott Grant

This recording has called Sept 13, 20, 21, 22, and 30.

Sept 29: Answering machine spam: Recording of Christian with VTF Financial

More stupid mortgage crap. 877 265 5036.

Sept 29: Answering machine spam: Recording of William Harrison with "the financial department"

This recording has now called on the Sept 2, 6, 20, 21, 22, and 29.

Sept 29 6:58pm: Abandoned call

Another damn autodialer.

Sept 28: Answering machine spam: Recording of Ann with anonymous satellite tv company

This was the same recording as Sept 6 and 17. Cycling through their list every 11-12 days, perhaps.

Sept 28: Answering machine spam: Recording of Sean with anonymous mortgage company

Crap about 1% fixed for 5 years. Press 9 "if you don't want to lower your mortgage payments". Press 1 to talk to a live scammer.

Sept 28: Answering machine spam: Anonymous satellite tv company: Recording of anonymous man

"Are you tired of paying too much for cable tv?" Blah blah blah blah blah. I guess he had an Eastern Pennsylvania or maybe a Baltimore accent.

Sept 28: Answering machine spam: Recording of Ben with "mortgage specialists"

This recording has called on Sept 2, 6, 7, 15, and 28.

Sept 28: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage company: Recording of anonymous man

Same one as yesterday. That's 3 straight days from the same recording: Sept 26, 27, and 28. "Hello, I'm calling you in an effort to move your loan into our processing department. We have a lender that would like to preapprove you for a 1.25 percent rate on a 30 year loan. Please press 1 so we can connect you to your loan officer. Please press 2 if you wish to be removed from our system."

Sept 28: Answering machine spam: Recording of Lisa with CFS (mortgage)

More mortgage crap.

Sept 27: Answering machine spam: A local business

She delivered some moderately long pitch. Then, she seemed to think she was talking to a person instead of an answering machine, as she seemed to expect a response. So at least it probably wasn't a recording.

Sept 27: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage company: Recording of anonymous man

This was the same one as yesterday: "Hello, I'm calling you in an effort to move your loan into our processing department. We have a lender that would like to preapprove you for a 1.25 percent rate on a 30 year loan. Please press 1 so we can connect you to your loan officer. Please press 2 if you wish to be removed from our system."

This recording has called on Sept 26 and 27. If it is the same company as Michael except without giving his name, that also includes Sept 19, 22, and 23.

Sept 26: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage company: Recording of anonymous man

It might be the same voice as Michael from Sept 19, 22 and 23, except without giving his name this time. "Hello, I'm calling you in an effort to move your loan into our processing department. We have a lender that would like to preapprove you for a 1.25 percent rate on a 30 year loan. Please press 1 so we can connect you to your loan officer. Please press 2 if you wish to be removed from our system."

Sept 24: Answering machine spam: M S Resorts: Recording of Melia

An "entry form" submitted by "you", a "family member", or a "friend" was selected by the telemarketing dialer. The "friend" that submitted that "entry form" was probably some telemarketer that I don't know. There was some nonsense about Cancun, Mexico and Orlando, Florida in the recording also.

Sept 23: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage company: Recording of Michael

This recording called on two straight days. It has called on Sept 19, 22, and 23.

Sept 22 7:30pm: First American Lenders: Susan

I asked questions and dragged things out for about four minutes. She then switched me to some supervisor. It sounded like she was asking for Garrett to talk to me. I asked him why they thought I'd be interested in what they were selling. He said he'd take me off their list and hung up on me.

Sept 22 7:08pm: Abandoned call

There were clicking sounds like it was transferring me to something. Then it did it a second time. Then it hung up.

Sept 22: Answering machine spam: Century Financial Group: Recording of Scott Grant

The recording of this jerk has been trying to "follow up" on my "loan application" for three straight days. It has called me on Sept 13, 20, 21, and 22.

Sept 22: Answering machine spam: Recording of William Harrison with "the financial department"

This is the third straight day from this recording. This recording has now called on the Sept 2, 6, 20, 21, and 22.

Sept 22: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage company: Recording of Michael

This was the same recording that called Sept 19.

Sept 21: Answering machine spam: Century Financial Group: Recording of Scott Grant

Twice in two days from this recording. They must have the same list that William Harrison with "the financial department" has.

Telemarketers evidently just cycle through their lists, and the start over at the beginning. A couple of years ago, I got called repeatedly by this company doing a "survey" asking if my water tasted or smelled funny or something. I think they were selling water purifiers but were trying to pretend they weren't telemarketers because they were doing this "survey". They asked the same questions, including what my job title was. I answered "employee" every time. Sometimes they found that answer hard to accept. I finally got too annoyed by them and told them that my answers were the same as the last bazillion times the they called.

Sept 21: Answering machine spam: Recording of William Harrison with "the financial department"

That's twice in two days. Perhaps my phone number is in there list multiple times. Perhaps that's why this recording called me on the 2nd, the 6th, the 20th and the 21st.

Sept 20: Answering machine spam: Recording of William Harrison with "the financial department"

I think this is the same recording that called on Sept 6 and Sept 2. That's three times this month from this jerk.

Sept 20: Answering machine spam: Century Financial Group: Recording of Scott Grant

I think it's the same recording that called on Sept 13 trying to "follow up" on my "mortgage application". The number was 866 828 9875.

Sept 19 7:43pm: Global Mortgage: Kayvin

His accent made me think it was Grill something something at first. I had him repeat it and spell it out before it was clear that it was "Global Mortgage".

He said he had my name and address. I asked him several times if that was all the information that he had about me. I asked him if he was sure that that was all the information he had about me. He said that it was. What a dumbass. He never said he had my phone number.

He says that "Global Mortgage"'s phone number is 1-866-294-0880. He said that they had a local address. I tried to ask him what their address was. I think he said something about South Carolina. I asked him again what the address was. He hung up on me.

This was a four minute call.

I'm pretty sure some telemarketers from "Global Mortgage" called me before in the last few months. Now that I'm making note of every call in this blog, I'll be able to tell how often any particular telemarketer calls my number.

Sept 19: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage company: Recording of Erin

More bullshit: According to their "records", I'm paying too much. They have 1.95% loan. Press 9 to talk to a telemarketer. Press 8 to be "removed". What's with the nonstandard numbers?

Sept 19: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage company: Recording of Michael

More bullshit: 1.25% for a 40yr mortgage. Press 1 to talk to telemarketers. Press 2 to be "removed".

Sept 17: Answering machine spam: Anonymous satellite television: Recording of Ann

It's probably the same company that makes calls with the recordings of Claire. This was probably the same recording that called Sept 6.

Sept 17 9:44am: First American: Carol Black

Based on the pause before she came on line, she was obviously a telemarketer. When she asked for someone, I asked who she was. She answered. I made her wait while I noted her name and company. I then asked what "First American" was. She hung up on me.

Sept 16: Answering machine spam: Anonymous telemarketer

"Hello. Hello? Helloooo....." I think it was the same guy from two days ago. He sounded foreign. Probably one of those New Delhi telemarketers trying to harass people on their shit lists.

Sept 16: Answering machine spam: Anonymous woman

I didn't recognize her voice. She asked for some name that somewhat approximated mine. I guess that she, being a telemarketer using an autodialer, couldn't tell that she was talking to an answering machine.

Sept 15: Answering machine spam at work: Anonymous satellite television company: Recording of Claire

"Hi. This is Claire. Calling to let you know that your cable tv rates are being raised. AGAIN. There is an alternative. I can lower your tv bill to $31 a month with satellite tv. Today you can get a four room digital tv system worth over $1500 delivered and installed. For FREE. This high definition tv, dvr recording, which is AWESOME. This includes your local networks and all your favorite channels. If you want to lower your tv bill, press one on your phone right now. Once again, to talk to an agent, press one right now." Jerks.

Sept 15 8:07pm: Accelerated Funding: "James Parker"

Why the fuck are they calling me twice within less than an hour and a half?

I accused him of harassing me.

I told him to fix his dialer to not call the same number in such a short time. "Yes. I'll do that right away." Bullshit. I told him to say something believeable. He then launched into his script.

I asked him what information he had about me. He said he had my number and that's all.

I asked him if he works for "Accelerated Funding" or for some other company making calls on behalf of "Accelerated Funding". He said that he works for "Accelerated Funding" and not for some other company. I should have asked for addresses and phone numbers.

I asked again him what information he had about me. He said he had my number and address and that's all. I challenged him on his inconsistency.

He went back to his script. When I questioned him about it, he said they could offer a 1.95% interest rate on a 5-year loan. "James Parker" is either incompetent or Accelerated Funding is a fraud. Five years is 60 months, so, with a zero percent interest rate, a $60000 loan would mean a $1000 monthly payment, a $120000 loan would mean a $2000 monthly payment. I should have called him on his 5-year bullshit.

I asked him why he believed I had property to have to a mortgage on repeatedly. When he tried to make up some bullshit response, I asked why he was calling in the first place. He hung up before I could point out again that he called me twice in the last hour and half.

Sept 15 6:49pm: Accelerated Funding: James

He was pretty eager to hang up on me. This was more mortgage crap. I carped on about how I never heard of them and how I couldn't know if they were a scam or not and that I get calls from scammers all the time. When I asked him what information they had about me, he said he had none, even after saying what he presumed was my name. After pressing him on that, he conceded that he had my name and phone number. He probably had my address too, but I didn't persue that.

He also said that 90% of Americans have mortgages. (He did sound non-American, so I had to have him repeat his name and the name of his organization a number of times before getting it down.) When I asked him where he got that from, he said he just presumed that. So I asked what his basis for that presumption or if he just made it up.

He was so eager to hang up, I only kept him from trying to sucker other people for 5 minutes.

Sept 15: Answering machine spam: Cardholder Services: Recording of Rachel

Something about lowering interest rates (presumably credit card) to 6.9%. She said menacing things like "Consider this your final notice." We'll see about that. If I get another call from "Cardholder Services", they're slimy frauds. I also consider her attempt to instill urgency to be deceptive.

In fact, the entire message seems deceptive. The name "Cardholder Services" without specifying any specific credit card compnay. She referred to "your current credit card". They're probably trying to scam people into thinking they are affiliated with the actual credit card companies.

Sept 15: Answering machine spam: Recording of Ben with "mortgage specialists"

These assholes just keep calling.

Sept 15: Answering machine spam: Recording of Cathy with LDCC

Mortgage garbage. She pretended to be actually calling and leaving a message. 877 348 2347. "Give me a call back." What a fraud. It was probably one of those telemarketing dialers that only play their recordings to answering machines.

Sept 14: Answering machine spam: Anonymous telemarketer

A voice I didn't recognize said "Hello. Hello... Hello..." Evidently he didn't hear my answering machine, so he was probably a telemarketer.

Sept 14: Answering machine spam: Anonymous satellite television company: Recording of Claire

"Your cable television rates are being raised. Again." Bullshit. My cable television rates are going from $0 to $0. (I don't watch cable television.) Press 1 to be suckered into paying money for television.

Sept 14: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage spam: Recording of a British-sounding woman

1.25% on a 30yr loan. Press 1 to be scammed. Press 2 to be "removed".

Sept 13 7:28pm: Anonymous telemarketer

It sounded like he or she was talking on some horrible cell phone. He or she asked for the homeowner, I think. I could not understand anything else. After that, I said, "I cannot understand you. Please get a better phone." Repeatedly. Until he or she hung up.

I'm guessing this is another case of offshore telemarketers making harassing calls to their shit lists.

Sept 13 7:03pm: Anonymous telemarketer

I was saying "Hello, is anyone there" repeatedly when he came on the line. When we finally started talking to each other, he asked for someone with a name resembling mine. He had some kind of accent. He then hung up on me.

Perhaps he's harassing people on some shit list compiled by some offshore telemarketing company.

Sept 13: Answering machine spam: Recording of Scott Grant with Century Financial Group

He was calling to "follow up" on my "mortgage application". That was the first I've heard about that "mortgage application", so his "follow up" is obviously a troll for suckers. He gave 866 828 8975 as a number to call.

Sept 12: Answering machine spam: Two separate telemarketers

I didn't recognize their voices. They asked for me or someone in my family by name. Had they been on the phone when the answering machine picked up, they would have heard the answering machine. They obviously did not.

Sept 12: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage recording: 1.25% for 30yr

I think it's the same one as last Friday. Press 1 to take their sucker bait. Press 2 to be removed from their sucker list.

Sept 12 8:12am: Recording of Karen or Anna with National Vacations

Something about Anaheim and Disneyland. I pressed 1 and the recording stopped. I checked the phone after a couple of minutes and got a dial tone.

Sept 9: Answering machine spam: Unintelligible

From the background noise, clearly a telemarketer.

Sept 9: Answering machine spam: Anonymous mortgage recording: 1.25% for 30yr

Press 1 to talk to a telemarketing loan agent. Press 2 to be removed from their sucker list.

Sept 8 7:50pm: Abandoned call

Noone there.

Sept 7: Answering machine spam: Recording of Ben with "mortgage specialists"

I wonder how many days consecutively that recording will try to call me. I must be on some shit list.

Sept 6: Answering machine spam: Recording of William Harrison with "the financial department"

The blog will be a record of how often these recordings call me. I wonder if being on telemarketer shit lists means getting calls from all kinds of otherwise unrelated companies. This recording also said to press 1 to talk to a representative.

Sept 6: Answering machine spam: Recording of Ann about digital cable tv

I've heard this recording a few times before. The last time, I pressed 1 almost immediately, then put the phone down when I got put on hold. I might be on their shit list. I think it was also the same recording that was on the answering machine on the 1st of September.

The recording says I can save $300 a year on tv. That's unlikely. My total yearly electric bill is less than $300. The last time I bought a tv was many years ago, and it cost less than $100. This recording said to press 1 to talk to a representative.

Sept 6: Answering machine spam: Recording of Ben with "mortgage specialists"

Press 1 to talk with a representative. I'm getting tempted to program the answering machine message with the 1 tone.

Sept 2: 8:25pm: Sears: Margie

I only managed to tie her up for about 2 and half minutes. And I forgot to question her about what information they had about me in their records. Oh well.

Sept 2, 6:46pm: Consumer Reward Network: "Fiona Andrews" and "Jennifer White"

I had received a call from this outfit or some similar outfit before. I managed to get the telemarketer upset by tying her up for 25 minutes and ultimately declining to take them up on their offer. I never said anything impolite or angry or abusive, so I'm glad.

"Fiona Andrews", who spoke quickly with a thick accent, said that my household was selected to receive a FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR SHOPPING SPREE. I took advantage of her thick accent to ask her to repeat herself and to ask her to speak more slowly. As it turns out, to get the FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR SHOPPING SPREE, they need a check for $4.95. Due to my questioning, she transferred me to "Jennifer White", who also spoke quickly with a thicker accent.

Well, they didn't physically need the check, just a verbal authorization, and the routing numbers on the check. And they refused to take cash or money order, not that I would have ultimately taken them up on it if they had accepted cash. They also wouldn't make it a four hundred ninety-five dollar shopping spree, or even a four hundred ninety dollar shopping spree, in place of the $4.95 check.

So, I played along with "Jennifer White" up to the point of giving the routing numbers. When she offered to hold while I got my checks, I took it. I honestly did go and get my checks, and took less than a minute, though it was tempting to delay more. When it came time to give the routing numbers, I declined, and she went off on some long spiel about why it's safe to give those numbers to them, and even that it's safer than giving credit card numbers. I think she repeated it several times, but I couldn't understand half of what she said. Jackpot.

I then said I wasn't interested in the FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR SHOPPING SPREE. She assumed it was because I was concerned about the routing numbers and went off on the spiel about how it's safe again.

I think the FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR SHOPPING SPREE was for receiving a questionaire or survey about "Health Network Unlimited", without an obligation to return it.

Information about "Consumer Reward Network" provided during the course of the call: PO Box 801 Canoga Park California 91383, 1-800-357-7518.

"Jennifer White" was a little upset that I took up so much time without giving them their $4.95. She said I should have said I wasn't interested much sooner so that she could call other people. I called her a telemarketer. She said some more stuff about routing numbers being safe. When she was done, I thanked her for her time in pleasant tones.


Evidently "Consumer Reward Network" is a scam, so if they call me again, I'll have no qualms about being rude. Especially if they say the check routing numbers are safer than credit card numbers, which I'll now recognize as a sign of a scam, as it is significantly easier to stop fraudulent credit card charges.

http://www.badbusinessbureau.com/reports/ripoff153707.htm

http://www.wroctv.com/features/story.asp?id=563&f=8_On_Your_Side

http://www.sentinelnews.com/articles/2005/08/08/news/news03.txt

http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/articles/2005/08/16/turret/around_the_force/force04.prt

http://www.enewsbuilder.net/betterbusinessky/e_article000438576.cfm?x=b11,0,w

Sept 2: Answering machine spam: Recording of William Harrison with "the financial department" and recording of Ben with "Mortgage Specialists"

There was a recording of William Harrison from "the financial department", talking about 1% interest rates on mortgages. (Press 1 to talk to an operator.)

There was a recording of Ben with "Mortgage Specialists", also talking about 1% interest rates on mortgages. (Press 1 to talk to an operator.)

Sept 2 11:16am: San Jose Mercury News: Karan

I was at work when this one came in. He was quite pleasant, and was willing to answer my queries about why I should be interested in their deal. I managed to keep him chatting for about 15 minutes before finally saying I wasn't taking them up on their offer.

Note: Karan said he works for an outsourced telemarketing company in Vancouver Canada.

Answering machine

I finally got an answering machine.

On its first day: two hangups. Two telemarkers that thought they would be talking to someone. "Hello? Hello?" And one recorded message about cable television or satellite television or something.

Whenever I get a call from a recorded message, I press 1. That usually gets me put on hold. I then put the phone down until the phone-off-the-hook noise tells me to hang it up. So, I'm thinking that perhaps putting a 1 tone in the answering machine greeting would cause these recorded message phone spammers to kick it over to human telemarketer.

Sept 1 7:20pm: First American Funding: Kathleen

She spoke very quickly, so I asked her to repeat herself. I responded to her questions slowly. She hung up quickly too. More mortgage garbage.