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KeriVit · 08:46 PM

I picked up the phone today... said "hello"... voice on the other end... "just talk even and with confidence, and they'll think you're a cop"... I listened... "talk like this and you're a police officer."...

"Hello" I said again. "Oh hi is "Mary" there?" My roomate. ""No, can I take a message?" "No." Click.

I'm thinking it was one of those Police Athletic Leagues looking for $ or scamming. I got the number and it is a cell phone.

Do I do anything? If I did, who would I report it to? I will look for the number again, but????

Kevin · Nov 13, 2005, 08:30 PM

Sounds like your first guess was a good one.

The police don't make these calls. Telemarkerters do. They also want you to think it's a cop talking.

But the only weird part is, they didn't ask YOU to donate... which they always do if you tell them said person is not at home.

starman · Nov 13, 2005, 09:47 PM

welcome to our living hell. they DO NOT leave you alone.

rickey939 · Nov 13, 2005, 11:24 PM

What is the phone #...I'll call it.

production_coordinator · Nov 14, 2005, 12:52 AM

I wouldn't call it back. If they keep calling, then consider calling them back.

Railroader · Nov 14, 2005, 01:58 AM

Post the number, I'll call them from work. They'll think GM is calling them.

Teronzhul · Nov 14, 2005, 02:03 AM

Just don't take off your clothes.

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1297922&page=1

Cubeoid · Nov 14, 2005, 02:14 AM

I'd like to hear from Phoney McRingRing on this issue.

Nov 14, 2005, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by Teronzhul

Just don't take off your clothes.

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1297922&page=1

I don't want to derail this thread but god damn - these are some of the STUPIDEST people in the world!

starman · Nov 14, 2005, 09:36 AM

On our phone, it shows up "Out of Area". They somehow have my wife's name (not mine) and ask for her like they're her buddy or something. Not "Hi, may I please speak with so-and-so?", they just say her name and if I say she's not there, they hang up. Thirty minutes later it's them again, but they'll say they're from the Police and Fireman's group (or whatever). She's not there. Click. 30 minutes later it's them again. Different person, same mannerism. "She's not here can I...." Click. Then we ask to talk to their supervisor. Click. We come home and find 15 "Out of Area" calls during the day. Then it stops for a few months and starts up again. We just ignore all "Out of Area" calls now.

Mike

Kevin · Nov 14, 2005, 10:01 AM

Get a bullhorn.

Cadaver · Nov 14, 2005, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by Teronzhul

Just don't take off your clothes.

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1297922&page=1

WTF?? People actually fall for this? If they're that stupid, maybe they deserve it.

andi*pandi · Nov 14, 2005, 06:02 PM

I'm always paranoid about people calling claiming to be from the Policeman's association or Fireman's association, asking for money.

and that mcdonalds thing... wtf!?!?

wdlove · Nov 14, 2005, 06:03 PM

Chances are it's a telemareter, I get a lot of them. Don't donate that way, too mcuh of the money goes to them instead of the charity.

KeriVit · Nov 14, 2005, 09:21 PM

the police thing bugged me... 603-318-0247... have fun.

Spliffdaddy · Nov 14, 2005, 09:28 PM

"The police thing" is actually a labor union soliciting donations so they can continue to fund the DNC.

SVass · Nov 14, 2005, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy

"The police thing" is actually a labor union soliciting donations so they can continue to fund the DNC.

Actually, it is a separate, non-connected group that claims to be collecting for charity (like the RNC). sam

KeriVit · Nov 14, 2005, 10:06 PM

forget it then.

mojo2 · Nov 14, 2005, 11:06 PM

The responses in this thread AFTER you posted the phone # do not indicate if they actually investigated the number. But you are led to believe that some of our posters did call it or in some other way investigated it.

Until/unless Spliffdaddy and/or SVass actually say they did so, you are no further along than when you began the thread.

I have worked in MANY such telemarketing operations and they NEVER, NOT ONCE, EVER used cell phones.

I would still be questioning the call.

Consult your roomie to see what she knows. Call your local police, tell them you got a harassing call. Call the Phone Co. and tell them the same. Take their advice.

Oh, and for those who object to the Police or Fire Depts. only getting 15 -25% of every dollar, consider this...

The Police and Fire Dept's have to give their permission for the fund raisers to solicit in their name.

THEY LOVE IT!

How much of your food dollar actually goes to the farmer? Hahaha!

Atomic Rooster · Nov 14, 2005, 11:35 PM

Ha Ha. It was teh terrorists.

Eug Wanker · Nov 14, 2005, 11:50 PM

Heh. I still remember this surreal series of calls from years back:

Eug: Hello?
Scary guy: Is Lisa there?
Eug: You've got the wrong number.
Scary guy: OK bye.

Phone rings again...

Eug: Hello?
Scary guy: Is Lisa there?
Eug: I told you the last time you've got the wrong number.
Scary guy: Gimme Lisa!
Eug: There's no Lisa here - wrong number.
Scary guy: Don't fsck with me man! Put her on the phone!
Eug: <click>

Phone rings again...

I feel sorry for Lisa, whoever she is...

Spliffdaddy · Nov 15, 2005, 12:06 AM

calling the number yields a recorded message from "AMVETS" directing you to call a 1-800 number.

It's a well-known organization that seeks contributions for American veterans. Essentially, it's a political action committee.

www.amvets.org

Dork. · Nov 15, 2005, 12:13 AM

A year or two ago, I got so many calls on my cell phone (from different guys) asking for the same girl that I had to change my voice mail to say "Uh, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I'm not Jackie. She gave you the wrong phone number on purpose, and the number she made up happens to be my number. She doesn't want to talk to you. Deal with it!"

Jackie's "Friends" stopped calling after a few months, but I left the message. It's nice and long, and discourages people from leaving messages. I hate it when that happens.

d0ubled0wn · Nov 15, 2005, 12:25 AM

You could always fsck with them like this guy...

http://www.jimflorentine.com/mp3s/no-no.mp3

genistas · Jul 18, 2006, 11:09 PM

Hi,

today I received a phone call from telephone number 603-318-0247. He asked for my girlfriend by name and when I said she wasn't home and asked to take a message, he hung up the phone on me.

We've seen that number on our caller ID a number of times but haven't answered because we didnt' recognize it.

I did call it back, and it was indeed AMVET. Further investigation showed that it's a land line based in Nashua, NH.

Has anyone else figured out who these people are and what they want from us? I'm assuming it's just a telemarketer, but the guys behavior was unusual and kind of creepy. Also, has anyone had any luck putting an end to these calls? We've been on the do-not-call list for months.

Thank you!

KeriVit · Jul 18, 2006, 11:15 PM

They're fine. I checked it out. But the people doing the calls are just volunteers and don't know whassup is all.

There must be be a Veteran related to that number. Not so much telemarketers as people who have an outdated database and want $ for the Vets.

Now, since this old. Case closed.

JoshuaZ · Jul 19, 2006, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Heh. I still remember this surreal series of calls from years back:

Eug: Hello?
Scary guy: Is Lisa there?
Eug: You've got the wrong number.
Scary guy: OK bye.

Phone rings again...

Eug: Hello?
Scary guy: Is Lisa there?
Eug: I told you the last time you've got the wrong number.
Scary guy: Gimme Lisa!
Eug: There's no Lisa here - wrong number.
Scary guy: Don't fsck with me man! Put her on the phone!
Eug: <click>

Phone rings again...

I feel sorry for Lisa, whoever she is...

This old guy calls my home phone all the time looking for Yuki. The problem is that no Japanese people have lived in this apartment for at least the last two years. I think next time I will speak in Spanish.

cjrivera · Jul 19, 2006, 12:21 AM

Whenever a police/fireman/Vet solicitation/scammer calls, I usually tell them I donate directly to my local departments/VFW organizations. They usually have no answer for that and then hang up.

goMac · Jul 19, 2006, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Heh. I still remember this surreal series of calls from years back:

Eug: Hello?
Scary guy: Is Lisa there?
Eug: You've got the wrong number.
Scary guy: OK bye.

Phone rings again...

Eug: Hello?
Scary guy: Is Lisa there?
Eug: I told you the last time you've got the wrong number.
Scary guy: Gimme Lisa!
Eug: There's no Lisa here - wrong number.
Scary guy: Don't fsck with me man! Put her on the phone!
Eug: <click>

Phone rings again...

I feel sorry for Lisa, whoever she is...

My parents have a similar story, except the guy called every night for weeks, convinced more and more that my parents were indeed hiding his woman of interest.

genistas · Jul 19, 2006, 09:20 AM

Thank you!

Kevin · Jul 19, 2006, 09:23 AM

gomac your sig is waaaaay against the guidlines.

And you know better.. tsk tsk.

production_coordinator · Jul 19, 2006, 09:34 AM

Ugh, how annoying! I would probably freak out after two or so calls...

Me: "collection agency? Couldn't be... someone die in my family? Ummm... can't think of anyone. Bounty hunter? Maybe an unpaid parking ticket that is now a potential warrant for my arrest?"

blackstar · Jul 19, 2006, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by Cadaver

WTF?? People actually fall for this? If they're that stupid, maybe they deserve it.

welll the one that took the clothes off, didnt really fall into it...she was forced to....

CMYKid · Jul 19, 2006, 10:37 AM

when i was a kid I would in a very panicked and convincing tone tell people who asked for people that didnt not likve there that "She just fell and broke something and we're rushing her to the hospital, meet us at Good Samaritan Emergency Room", or sometimes a car wreck, depending on my mood. Everybody believes kids that sound scared...

RAILhead · Jul 19, 2006, 10:53 AM

I answer all unkown calls and belch in the middle of their sentences. So it's like...

Me: Hello
Them: I'm calling from...
Me: beeEEEELLL-CHHHhhh...buuUUUuuuUUuup
Them: (hangup)

gururafiki · Jul 19, 2006, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by d0ubled0wn

You could always fsck with them like this guy...

http://www.jimflorentine.com/mp3s/no-no.mp3

No, no!

Rumor · Jul 19, 2006, 11:25 AM

I've been getting calls on two of my business lines, that when I pick up, I get an automated female voice that says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I have the wrong number. Goodbye."

Gossamer · Jul 19, 2006, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Rumor

I've been getting calls on two of my business lines, that when I pick up, I get an automated female voice that says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I have the wrong number. Goodbye."

They are coming for you.

Rumor · Jul 19, 2006, 11:31 AM

My roommate answered the phone to a solicitor the other day and half way through yelled:

"Timmy!! Take the cat out of the microwave!! No!! Don't turn it on!! AAAHHHHH!! I've got to go!" and hung up the phone.

Monique · Jul 19, 2006, 11:38 AM

People are so paranoid about everything nowadays.

Just forget about it.

When I worked as an operator, I would get calls from people saying I just got such and such a call from such or such number, they did not leave a message, I want to know who called me. Who cares, why is it important to know who called you; people should get a life. Before call display if a person did not leave you a message, your life would go on and you would forget about it.

finboy · Jul 19, 2006, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by goMac

My parents have a similar story, except the guy called every night for weeks, convinced more and more that my parents were indeed hiding his woman of interest.

At least they didn't COME OVER TO YOUR HOUSE. We had that happen a few times when I was in college. Creepy, threatening dudes respond well to 12 gauge shotguns.

nonhuman · Jul 19, 2006, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by Rumor

I've been getting calls on two of my business lines, that when I pick up, I get an automated female voice that says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I have the wrong number. Goodbye."

Ugh, I keep getting calls on both my cell phone and work phone that are just the same automated message ...in Spanish.

Rumor · Jul 19, 2006, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by nonhuman

Ugh, I keep getting calls on both my cell phone and work phone that are just the same automated message ...in Spanish.

Ah, lo siento. Tengo el número equivocado. Adiós.

Stratus Fear · Jul 19, 2006, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by nonhuman

Ugh, I keep getting calls on both my cell phone and work phone that are just the same automated message ...in Spanish.

That's not as bad as the period of about a month where I kept getting phone calls on my cell phone from the same real, living, non-telemarketer Mexican dude that didn't speak any English. Thought he might figured it out even after I said "wrong number" in Spanish, but hey, some people just aren't smart. Damn annoying though.