Who called from 5164305211

Called, left no message, caller ID came up A.F.P.O.

} "Do I sound that bad?"

This is a stock response of the Echo system, soundboard software developed for Forrest Baker to replace live human responses with canned audio samples. The telemarketer can monitor up to three calls at once, entering commands to generate whatever response is appropriate.

Baker's Utah telemarketing companies were sued in May 2011 by the FTC for consumer abuse and deceptive practices while bending the DNC registry and the Telemarketing Sales Rule. His commercial fundraiser "Corporations For Character" would call with flimsy surveys, seemingly but not truly exempt from the DNCR, functioning as sales lead generators for his other company which would call to sell video programming.

C4C has also done substantial business with "hero charity" groups, purporting to help firefighters, police officers, and war veterans, who in reality derive little or no benefit from the collected funds. This may be C4C again or one of the telemarketers which have bought licenses to use the Echo software. Other intel has call recipients hearing "American Veterans" and "Friends of Police" as part of the names of alleged charity groups, somewhat matching the Caller ID acronyms.

} Why the hell can't the government stop it?

It's not the job of "the government" or your phone carrier to act as your personal call blocker. You have to ask the caller to stop.

Things to consider from the Federal Trade Commission when a "hero charity" tries to bully or "guilt trip" your wallet open ....

Fundraisers Calling on Behalf of Police and Firefighters
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0085-fun ... nd-firefighters
[excerpt]  Simply having the words “police” or “firefighter” in an organization’s name doesn’t mean police or firefighters are members of the group. Just because an organization claims it has local ties or works with local police or firefighters doesn’t mean contributions will be used locally or for public safety.

Donating to Public Safety Fundraisers
http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus31-donating-public-safety-fundraisers
[excerpt]  Most police and fire departments are funded by your tax dollars. However, they may ask you to contribute to their professional associations or labor unions at local, state, or national levels. These groups typically use paid fundraisers to solicit donations. Be cautious: simply having the words ''police'' or ''firefighter'' in an organization’s name doesn’t mean police or firefighters are members of the group — or benefit from it. Call your local police or fire department to verify any fundraiser’s claims.

Charitable Solicitations for Vet & Military Families
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0121-cha ... litary-families
[excerpt]  .... not all “charities” are legitimate: Some are sham operators whose only purpose is to make money for themselves. Others use paid fundraisers whose fees eat up most of a donation, so very little of it is shared with those in need. .... Recognize that the words “veterans” or “military families” in an organization’s name don’t necessarily mean that veterans or the families of active-duty personnel will benefit from the money you are donating.

. . . . . . . .
What's more, always remember that "nonprofit" is a tax category, not a reflection of where money goes. You are likely to find that most if not all charity calls are placed by a commercial fundraiser, such as Associated Community Services, Dial America, Donor Care Center, Donor Services Group, Harris Direct, Horizon Marketing, InfoCision, Insight Teleservices, MDS, and TeleFund. These companies typically swallow half or more of collected funds. What's left can often funnel straight to the salaries and overhead of their "charity" client executives, leaving pennies for the people you're told your dollars benefit. That, of course, assumes the charity is not simply a pure fraud.

As commercial entities, hired call centers are expected to honor an internal no-call list and add any number upon request. Break that order, the FTC declares, and ''the telemarketer may be subject to a fine of up to $16,000.'' They can also be spanked for excess call abandonment and calling outside default hours.

Because the amounts collected are rather small, these call centers are quite motivated to repeatedly hassle you. The worst of the industry will "reload" a donor multiple times a year, preferring forgetful and easily confused victims. Most if not all such phone farms assume that your no-call order, when given verbally or by keypress, conveniently expires when a client's campaign ends.

In comments from November 2012 and June 2013 linked below, I've discussed simple steps I took to rid myself of a major pain fundraising boiler room by politely rubbing its face in federal laws. You will note that I never rely on verbal cease-communication demands.

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-914-294-2543/7#p480457181536419195
http://800notes.com/forum/ta-7f0655b0510e7ef/aicr#p572275391492426506

I recognized the number from a previous call, asking for donations for fallen policemen, did not answer and no message was left.

The robot tried to start a conversation.  I didn't cooperate and it eventually gave up.