Thank you! That is one of the most concise & accurate explanations I've seen on here! The only thing that people like us can do is keep preaching the "DO NOT HAVE ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH THESE PEOPLE" litany & hope that, eventually, all will know this & this phone-scam business will die out. But we have a long way to go!
I have been haranguing my own land-line company for some time about these nuisance calls because their call blocking system that we're supposed to use from our own phones is useless --- there are so many protective orders in place that these numbers are more protected than we are! We need to all harass our own communication companies to make them DO something constructive about this plague --- it should be as simple to block a call on your land-line as it is on your cell phone.
Meanwhile, our lovely Senate, having absolutely no other problems whatsoever to deal with, have just passed a bill (on Monday, March 27) that whoever wants a list of customer numbers can buy them with no difficulty whatsoever and, basically, call anyone whenever & however many times they want, with no recourse for us to complain about lack of telephone privacy. And since that bill was passed, our home's nuisance call quotient has gone up by 200% --- from 8 or 9 unwanted calls a day to more like 18! Isn't that adorable? Aren't you just delighted over all the senators and representatives you've elected into office, knowing that they're looking out for you, at least until someone offers them money not to? You all think they don't get kickbacks from this sort of legislation? In that case, there's a bridge over in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you! (This last bit is not directed at you, Maverick, because I know that you know! This is directed at all the other readers on here who maybe don't know what a "stacked deck" we're living in!)
I get these pharmaceutical companies always calling me and I don't know why they keep calling from all different phone numbers and different area codes. I can't understand them barely at all as they do not speak understandable English. They speak foreign with some broken English. Since I can't understand what they are calling for I hang up on them. I only understood the prescription word Xanax so I know it is pharmaceutical. And who keeps selling our cell number lists? I found out from a lawyer that cell numbers are sold to companies, they aren't suppose to be sold but they are and that is just wrong. I'm not wasting time on my phone from people or places I do not know.
Carol (and the rest of you reading this), don't answer calls from numbers you don't recognize. If it's important, they'll leave a message. Most of these types of callers are criminals, usually from another country, trying to get your credit card number or trying to get you to send them money. They use a robo-dialer to call, although some may use number lists they've purchased from other criminals. The robo-dialer calls numbers in sequence in whatever area code they are targeting so it doesn't matter if you are on a cell phone or on the Do Not Call list. The number that comes up on your caller ID screen is most likely not the number they are actually calling from. They spoof the number, and many are spoofing numbers that look like they originate from the area code they are calling to. More people are likely to answer if they see an incoming call from their own area code even if they don't recognize the rest of the number.
For land line phones, get a call blocker (Google it). They are relatively inexpensive. You're not going to be able to block all calls, but you can get a lot of them. Your phone company (or phone) might even have a process that will let you block unwanted calls. For you cell phone users, you can probably block these calls as well. Check your owner's manual (you do still have it, don't you?). You may even be able to block all calls from numbers not in your contact list. Very convenient.
Above all, NEVER, EVER, give out personal information over the phone unless you are the one that initiated the call and you know who you are talking to. Personal information includes, but is not limited to, such things as name, birth date, Social Security number, credit card numbers, banking information, etc. Remember, you are responsible for the safety and security of your information.