Robocalls

I have been mega annoyed at the number of "spam" phone calls we are getting.  I buy stuff on line, but I always use my cell phone number, which I never answer.  I do check the messages.  Anyway, there are some vendors (?) that use real live people.  Here are examples...

"Grandma?" I find these really annoying, I have no grandchildren and I would like to shine them on, but it is too much effort.  You'd think they would realize that this ploy has been exposed in magazines and on line.

"click"  The ones that promise an excellent virus protection and a free puppy.  When they pause for a breath, I ask, Have you ever heard of Malwarebytes? "click". Guess they did recognize the name of a great anti-virus program.

This is the best one, and I may have already covered it here before.  I am too lazy to look through hundreds of pages to find out, so if you have heard it before, just pass on by.  I got a phone call, offering all kinds benefits, and when he paused for a breath, I said, "Don't you feel the slightest guilt at working over the confused elderly to take their money because you spun some sort of lie?  Money they may need for groceries, etc."  And the caller shouted, really shouted, "You cannot speak to me this way!  You are NOT my mother!"And then he crashed the phone down.  My ears rang for several minutes after that tirade.  My guess is that his mother DID chastise him.  Regularly.

A friend has caller ID and a really persuasive child's voice.  She answers using that voice, and when she gets tired of acting like a 4 year old, she says, wait, I'll tell my mommy about you"  And then she puts the phone down, screams "Mommy!!" and leaves the phone off the hook until the caller gives up.  Some are really patient.

We used to get 2 or 3 calls like this a day.  Now we get 10 or more every day, sometimes back to back.  For me to answer the phone means I have to grab my walker, hobble over to the phone (it is not far, but I usually have a numb bum) and answer just as the answering machine picks up, and they hang up.  Maybe that was Publisher's Clearing House calling to tell me I'm the big winner?  Or my sister-in-law, we keep each other in stitches?  And they are wasting my time and stealing the use of my phone, which isn't cheap anymore.

Well, I have nothing more to add currently so off I go.  Take care, there are lots of crazy people out there!