For all of you who have been wanting to do this to telemarketers and the people\companies that use them, the Federal rules have changed so here's your chance:
If you can find out the telemarketer you can take him to court. New rules effective Oct. 16, 2013 in an update to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act have given consumers new powers against telemarketers. Of course a telemarketer isn't going to tell you who they are, but the company that hired them is also on the hook. So listen to their spiel and get their company name, address and any other pertinent information you can get (like the company owner's name).
All telemarketing calls, except those manually dialed that do not contain a recorded message, are now prohibited without the consumer's prior written consent. (The rule also applies to calls made to cellphones and text messages.)
The established-business-relationship exemption has been eliminated. Until mid-October, if a consumer purchased something, or perhaps opened a credit-card account, that relationship allowed telemarketing calls from the business without the consumer's consent. Not anymore.
Penalties for failing to comply with TCPA regulations remain unchanged. It's $500 for every unsolicited call or text message, $1,500 if the telemarketer "willfully or knowingly" sends it after the consumer opts out. The new rules should only add to an already burgeoning number of lawsuits.
I see many messages from people claiming "something must be done" or how they "demanded to be put on the do not call lists."
You are all wasting your time. The company behind these calls are crooks. They are offshore companies using SPOOFED phone numbers to scam you on something. 100% of these calls are scammers and crooks, and they do not maintain do not call lists. They will keep calling.
Getting rid of them is easy. Just make yourself unattractive as a prospective sucker.
When the scammers call to offer you "free" solar panels, just say "why are you calling me? I live in an apartment."
This line works regardless of the home improvement scam they are calling about.
If they call to sell you an investment, just say "I lost my job and are about to declare bankruptcy."
Making yourself out to be a poor, broke, destitute, and virtually homeless person will force the crooks to move onto the next person.