Senator Kerry Roberts said that the state sells driver’s license information that is ending up in the hands of telemarketers.
*****
I'm willing to bet this will work just as well as that "Do Not Call" bullshit a few years ago.
I'm guessing that 50% of the calls on our house phone are robocalls and because only 4 people have the number to my truck flip phone, 100% of the calls I get on that are robocalls.
You can expect robocalls asking you if you agree with the anti-robocall law.
ReplyDeleteAfter many years, I finally got a new phone number and switched carriers to get a better deal and hopefully quit getting these Chinese language robocalls. I now get way more robocalls in general, just not in Chinese.
ReplyDeleteA better solution: don't give the DMV your phone number. Or, give them your representative's phone number.
ReplyDeleteBetter still, stop the bastards from selling your information in the first place.
DeleteSeveral years ago, their favorite trick was to sell the database containing the information on CCW permit holders in Tennessee.
I got suckered by that no-call list. Supposedly, if they violate that list, you can get money from the telemarketers.
ReplyDeleteBut wait!
It doesn't apply to charities or politicians. When I registered my LLC, I didn't have a business number, so I used my home phone. No call list doesn't apply to businesses either.
There is a list for Mobile, I think with your carrier. Because the only calls I get on my mobile are for my car's warranty (the one I bought used with no warranty).
That said, the only use my home phone has is a billing number for my interwebs. I never answer it, and only check messages once a month or so, if I think of it. Telemarketing has made my land line useless.
The "Do Not Call" list is a sham. Robo callers access it to determine what numbers are good to call. I checked the blocked callers list on my phone just yesterday. There are 45 numbers on it. I've had the phone for about 15 months. Every few weeks now a new number gets added.
ReplyDeleteThe FCC is charged, by the law that initiated the "Do Not Call" list, with investigating complaints filed against phone numbers reported to it. I've read of perhaps two people/organizations that have been charged with operating a robo caller business.
The phone companies are complicit in this scheme because they make money from the robo callers. .Gov already monitors phone calls of everyone in the country and has been since forever, at least well before the early 70's CONgressional commission that outed the practice. .Gov upped the ante with Bush II's Patriot Act, so it's NOT like they don't know what phone number and location is generating all of this traffic. How tough can it be to writet a simple program that identifies high volume callers? But NNNOOOOOO they're more interested in identifying domestic terrorist parents that are protesting school curricula.
Oh, the robo callers spoof numbers so they can't be identified? Boolshit. They still have to connect to a phone network via one number/account to initiate a call.
The expiring car warranty robo's have been going on for how long? It's been going on so long that late night comedians have been making jokes about it for at least a decade and they STILL can't stop this guy?
But there's no collusion or corruption in this scam. Just ask the gov. They'll tell you it's another conspiracy theory. What's the difference between a conspiracy theory and the truth? About six months. ;-))
But hey, our government is working AGAINST us EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK and weekends too and we pay them to do it.
Who's got the better scam?
Nemo
Robocallers don’t NEED a list of numbers.
ReplyDeleteThere are only 335 US area codes and only 9,999,999 possible numbers in each one. Fewer still if you build a database of the active local prefixes. That may seem like a lot, but when you you have a computer dial multiple numbers at one time and monitor the response that’s actually not all that big.
The limiting factor is how many operators they can get to talk to the suckers who actually stay on the line.
Turn off your answering machine, or set the number of rings to 5 or more. Don't answer the phone until the 5th ring.
ReplyDeleteIf you do this, 95% of spam callers will mark it as a dead number and quit calling in a week or so. There's always a few that just won't give up.
Geek
When I have free time, I answer. As soon as I do, I hit 1, 5, 7, etc until it transfers me to a live person. At that point I do one of the following, depending on my mood:
ReplyDeleteRemain silent, belch, act as though I am hard of hearing, tell them to get a job, or call them a liar as they made their final call last week...
The bottom line is to take up the persons time and tie up the line. Somehow they are making money from this and my taking their time reduces that amount. Also, if I take up their time, they can't call you as quick.
And I plan to retire within two years, which will give me much more free time.
I don't know about all insurance companies but I do know State Farm sells your personal contact data.
ReplyDeleteOh no. How am I to know when my truck warranty is about to expire?
ReplyDeleteI also have a flip phone and love it. I have a home computer for data. Everyone at the bar has their nose buried in their phone. No thanks.
ReplyDeleteOk. As someone who has spent years building call centers, some of them outbound, Let me clear a few things. I was going to reply to each post, but this is more concise.
ReplyDelete"They still have to connect to a phone network via one number/account to initiate a call"
No they don't, and haven't for years. That old bell system network was replaced years ago with digital. If you have a 'traditional' digital line, like a "PRI", you define what caller ID is. The line or account may have a number, but on a business line, your system defines what is sent. These days, with SIP - you don't have a number. I can make a call from my computer to a number with a client that has no number, only an address like an email.
"Robocallers don’t NEED a list of numbers."
They do, as do live telemarketers. You phone number has a value assigned to it, a freshness, so to speak. A number where a body answers is more valuable than one that doesn't. A number were the moron bought something has even more value. A customer I installed a system for was selling bullshit magazine subscriptions (actually, reselling) said he'd pay $10 a number for numbers where someone bought something.
"The limiting factor is how many operators they can get to talk to the suckers who actually stay on the line" You answered your own question. it's why they buy lists and feed them into predictive dialing systems. Some of these flybynight call centers are full of the biggest human trainwrecks you've ever seen. People that can't function in normal jobs. Some of them I've been to have been live 'jerry springer' shows. All you need is to be able to read the script and click a mouse. The turnover is eyepopping that low on the food chain.
Those dialers, Scripts, and call lists are designed to keep a low skilled, low motivated LaCretia busy for her shift. Personally, I think I'd rather shovel shit than work in those places.
That said, it's a numbers game. When I turned up my first system, it burned through 10,000 numbers (of a good call list) in a 6 hour shift, as it was learning the productivity of the 'agents'. If 10% gave you that $6.95, that's nearly seven grand in an afternoon.
Robocalling is stupid, I hang up straight away, but it must have some success because it's so prevalent. I'm betting it has a lower connect rate, but higher profit because no LaCretia's to deal with.
if i have the time i will waste their time. I get calls about reducing my credit card interest rates (i dont have a card) i tell them i would be glad to sign up , but its going to take a couple minutes my billfold is in my truck. then I set the phone down and do something else. eventually they give up .
ReplyDelete