They called me today. Normally I don't pick up but didn't have my glasses within reach to see who it was. It took a couple of "hello's" before a live person asked me if this was "___" (my business name). Ah, a telemarketer (at best). "Why are you calling me?" He wanted to talk to me about VISA or something.
Right away, I politely but firmly said, "Ah. Then please take me off your call list." He says, "Well, I suppose I could but..." (wth??) I repeated it. He asks why I want to be removed. (!? Why is he still arguing with me??) "I don't want to receive calls like this." He says, "Well, if you're getting a lot of calls like..." (A phone spammer is going to give me advice about avoiding phone spam?? Ya, right.) I interrupted: "I'm asking YOU to take me off YOUR calling list. Please. I'm being nice about this. You called me, right?" (meaning I wasn't the one who sought him out, therefore he was invading my privacy) He mumbled "ya" and I said, "Thank you. Have a nice day." Not sure who hung up first.
Why do people argue with you about invoking your right to be removed from their list? Do they think this endears you more to want whatever they're selling?? Geesh.
I don't think he identified himself or his company (if he did I missed it at the beginning). I have no idea if it was for real or a scammer. Google searches show this number being based in Winnipeg MB, but that's the only info I could find on it. In any case, I would never sign up for a credit card or give any information to someone who called me out of the blue.