Any ideas how to block unwanted calls on a land line?

[stratosphere]

Yes a land line. I know it seems old, outdated, etc. to still have a land line in the house. But we do.

Up to the point at hand, I keep getting calls from the following numbers:

405-928-3918
405-928-3923

Sometimes they claim to be the FOP (recorded message), sometimes they just hang up on me, sometimes its just dead silence. I usually don't even bother to answer unless I know who the person is.

I googled both numbers and there are similar complaints. I don't have the ability on my phone to block these calls, so what do I do, file a complaint with someone? Report these calls?

Thanks for any help.

[RadicalModerate]

Is the No/Don't Call List a thing of the past? I thought it was a law or something.
Ours hasn't been working for awhile, but thanx to CoxComm we have caller ID that shows up on the TV when the call interrupts whatever we are watching. It ain't worth $181, but we screen that way. Plus an "answering machine". A digital one. That doesn't rely on mini-cassetes. =)

All kidding aside: Unsoliced Phone Calls are a bane of existence.
Just for the fun of it, pick up and engage the caller in an endless stream of total B.S. that will probably cause them to voluntarily remove your name from their call list. The best "trick" ever is to let the roofing/siding/home improvement robot run for as long as they want to then schedule an appointment for their "Field Technician" to pay a visit to the "Such and Such Apartments" wherein you reside. It ain't kind, but it's effective.

[stratosphere]

Well my # is on the DNC list and I usually don't pick up, thing is since it was local and they were persistent I said WTH and answered. I do have a digital answering machine and they never leave a message, also have Cox where the number flashes on the tv screen.

One time for funnies I told a certain political party who kept calling me wanting $$ that I had converted to the communist party and therefore I would no longer support them. Next time they called I told them i was going to turn myself in for outstanding warrants / drug trafficking - they have since quit calling. A friend of mine supposedly told one certain company who kept calling them to "please call back later after Im finished beating up my wife" and supposedly they never called him back.

Anyway yeah, its pretty old especially when they call at all hours of the day. If someone is on the Do Not Call list there should be some type of action or complaint one could take if the scammers keep calling.

[hoya]

No idea. I don't know how to fix a phonograph either.

[gjl]

There are call blocking devices you can buy. Look on Amazon.

[GaryOKC6]

There is also an Oklahoma Do Not Call List. It is recommended that you also get on it. I believe that there is a link at the Oklahoma corporation Commission web site. There is also a place to report these calls there.

[RadicalModerate]

Another game that I play with these pests, when I'm in the mood, is to pick up, let them start their spiel, ask them if they can hold for just moment, put the receiver down and simply wait a few minutes until you hear that signal that the party has disconnected. Then hang up the phone and go on about your business. That may seem a bit passive-aggressive, rather than aggressive-aggressive, but so be it . . .

[SoonerDave]

Here's an out-of-the-box consideration for you. First, do you have Internet access? If so, consider porting your land-line number to one of several VOIP (Voice over IP) providers, and pick up a little digital-to-analog conversion device like ones made by Obihan Technologies. Most of the VOIP providers these days like CallCentric, Anveo, voip.ms, have some pretty nice call management tools that include explicit call number blocking. I, for one, use Google Voice with inbound calls forwarded to my VOIP provider, and I routinely block annoyance/nuisance calls. The great thing, at least about Google Voice, is that a number you block gets a "This number is out of service" recorded message. We get virtually zero unwanted calls in this setup.

Like I said, it's an out-of-the-box idea, does take a little legwork to set up, and there are caveats, eg if you're with Cox, dropping their phone service would lose the "qualifying bundle" status that might cost a few bucks. For us, it was a big $$ saver that has already more than paid for itself even after I've had to transition to a VOIP provider due to some changes in the way Google handles its voice service....

[stratosphere]

Thanks for your responses, ive registered with the Oklahoma DNC as well as file a complaint with the national DNC for both numbers.

[trousers]

Cut the string on the can?

[kevinpate]

FWIW, no call registration does nada with regard to calls from charities, politico pushers and political position pushers/surveyors. If the charity is a boiler room operation posing as a charity, you can ask to be removed from their list. But the ARC can pretty much hit you up at will.

[Jersey Boss]

Keeping a metal coaches whistle next to the phone and using it when necessary works well.

[MustangGT]

Just ignore the ring and let the machine pick it up. Problem solved.

[RadicalModerate]

Keeping a metal coaches whistle next to the phone and using it when necessary works well.

Now THAT is being proactively aggressive/aggressive. =)

[kevinpate]

Just ignore the ring and let the machine pick it up. Problem solved.

voice mail -where the unwanted go to die.

[SoonerDave]

Keeping a metal coaches whistle next to the phone and using it when necessary works well.

Unless you accidentally fail to ensure the identity of the caller and inadvertently blow away your great grandmother one afternoon......

....just sayin'.....


(which happened to my mom when I was a kid and we were having trouble with a crank caller from my school...and the whistle suggestion came from the police)

[Prunepicker]

When I had a land line there was an option to block unwanted calls.

I find that having a "message" in another language, mine is in French, helps
reduce the amount of unwanted calls. If I don't recognize the number I'll
answer in French, "Bonjour, merci d'appeler le magasin de musique.
Comment puis-je vous aider?" Not accurate but it works.