I only get calls from Jason, when asked if he is a computer, he says no, do I sound like one? I answer back in my best computer voice that yes he does. Then it goes downhill quickly after that. I receive a couple of calls from him per day sometimes and then they give it a rest for a few days. This has been going on for several months now and bounces around from the east to the west coast in locations.
Monitoring has never been free. But 29.99 a month is too much for most residential monitoring.
When I started working for a burglar alarm company in 1988, the cost of the equipment was at least $1500.00 and that did not include the labor to install it. Since then the price of the equipment has dropped to less than 50 dollars - again, not including the labor to install. Some systems use wireless sensors, thus require very little labor to install, but those sensors require batteries that have to be replaced often.
I've recently read that calls with no ID (or a fake ID) and no person on the other end can be part of an auto system that simply dials and waits for a pick-up, then records the number as active. Then it goes on a 'verified' list for sale. That means even if I don't pick up but voice mail does (never a message), the number is recorded as active.
I've even gotten a few calls from myself - my own name and number appear in caller ID.