I think you have to sign up on the "Do Not Call" registry every few years. It also only stops calls from "unknown numbers" IF, and I stress that word, IF the people calling even get the list and go through it to see who doesn't want to be called.
Just another political ad phone call about Obama-care. Very annoying, calls several times a day. And Gary, thanks for the paranoia update: "they can listen to you thru your phone....even when its off.." That made me laugh xD
Actually they can listen to your conversation thru the phone even when it's not off hook. This was done back in the cold war times using a legacy analog telephone that has a ringer that uses a magnet and a clapper (the peice of metal between the bells that rings the bells). Talk path or side tone that allows voice communication uses approximately -48VDC, however ring voltage is low current AC up to 110V. If you send a trickle voltage of AC to get the clapper to start vibrating without ringing the bell this vibration along with the magnet in the bell could be used as a microphone and viola with a recorder or butsett (telephone technicians phone on their belt) you could record or hear a conversation taking place near the phone though it is badly distorted.
Just to clarify, computer lines used for phone lines are always on. The dialtone and reciever cradle is just a throwback so we are comfy with it. I guess that would mean they can always tap it since it is technically always active.
And guess what, if you try to teach your kid to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency even if you never take your phone off the cradle it will go through. I learned this the hard way when we practiced it (with the phone never, ever off the hook!) and police showed up at our door. That is actually pretty cool, but scared the guacamole out of all of us in this family. Police officer told me even if you hit 9 and nothing else it is directed to 911. That's why they are no longer issuing phone numbers with 9 in the beginning or using 9 as the transfer number inside company lines.
If you use a bundle package for phone, computer and cable then you technically have a "computer" phone line and it is always on!
Well keep laughing, because unless the battery is dead they can turn your mike and gps on at will, it's not paranoia it is news, public knowledge, many news articles on this issue, so the laugh is on you for not paying attention....
This is paranoia at its best! Come on, if the government could really do all this, there would be a lot less crime and terrorism!! Don't you think they would of had a tip off about 9/11????