I am a Senior Citizen and quite often have treatments or surgeries or new meds etc as do my neighbors. These calls reall disturb us when we don't feel well...and get up to answer.
Surely someone can control these telemarketers and how can they possibly benefit from upsetting so many people? Won't they ever learn?
No one can control telemarketers because our phone system is an "open" system. Anyone with a phone can call anyone else who has a phone, the call will automatically go through.
1. Register your phone number on the DoNotCall Registry https://donotcall.gov/ which should stop honest telemarketers after 30 days. All telemarketing calls that show up after 30 days are from abusive telemarketers or scammers so feel free to treat them accordingly (whistle, air horn, screaming smoke alarm) if you still want to answer your phone.
2. If you have CallerID, do not answer the phone on numbers you do not recognize.
3. If you do not have CallerID, let all calls go to an answering machine (costs about $15) and also do NOT record a personalized greeting on the answering machine, just use the factory-provided greeting. Tell your friends to leave a message and if you are present, you will pick up and if you're not present, you will get their message.
4. None of the above will stop calls from charities, surveys or politicians.
5. Scammers will continue to call because they are criminals who want to steal your money or ID.