Conference 7.286::digital

    Re .0
    
    "As we speak" we're being inundated with these phone calls from a
    New York radio station here at DLB.
    
    In addition to the direct costs associated there's also the indirect
    costs of someone having to stop what they're doing and answer the
    phone.  (And then additional lost productivity while everyone stands
    around complaining about the calls.)
    
    Too bad DEC Security couldn't do something to put a stop to it.
    
    ep

    Although this would cost a little effort, it seems to me that DEC
    Security could zip a message around instructing people, upon receipt of
    such a call, to mail a central DEC Security account with the number and
    date/time of the call, any salient details, and to call a specified 
    FBI number.
    
    If we are talking about "inundation", the subsequent inundation of some
    FBI official would soon put a stop to the nonsense.
    
    Ray

    
    Around 10pm last Thursday, I received a phone call at home - it was
    the KYO facility Voicemail, delivering a message it had just received.
    
    The message was one of the sleezy 900 "call to claim your prize".
    
    Technology... A machine calls a machine, leaving a message, which then
    got forwarded to me. 
    
    
    /ljj
    

An automated dialer system called all the phones at CXN relatively recently
and left messages for all the voicemail subscribers.  Unfortunately, the
the message started "talking" while the voice mail greeting was going and
ran long enough that voice ]mail hung up on the caller.  So, teh messages
we all walked into to get said something like:

  "orp and we are the largest ... blurb ... and our phone number is 719 68"

so much for technology!

BobW

    
    
    I don't know if this is the same scam, but I received a call yesterday
    by some recording. I was here at work, and it said I already one 
    x, y or Z...and just call such and such a number.......
    
    
    BY that time I hung up.
    
    
    
    Lou

    My tack on these calls is to keep them on the line as long as possible.
    This reduces their effectiveness, and sometimes increases their costs.
    
    If it's an automated calling machine, I simply set the phone down
    rather than hang up. This reduces the number of calls per hour it 	
    can make. If it's a person, I lead them on for as long as possible, 
    including asking them to hold a few times. This is particularly
    satisfying when they are calling long distance.
    
    Dave

    There are local counterparts to the 900 service. Usually the numbers
    start with 976. I called the NYNEX business office and was told that
    their local "900" number is 500. I haven't seen a 500 number
    advertised, so don't hold me on this one.
    
    The best advice is to NOT call any offer from a DEC phone!

    > 
    > "As we speak" we're being inundated with these phone calls from a
    > New York radio station here at DLB.
    >

    We're getting this one, too. Only, I suspect there's no radio station
    in reality.  The one I got was from radio station "880" and every other
    phrase in the pitch contained some reference to "880" - including the
    lower digits of the 900 number - and also (said extremely fast) the
    cost of the call.

    What a rip !  Some psychologist somewhere probably researched how to
    effectively obscure the cost.

    IMHO we need a law here.  What are our legislators doing anyway ?
    (asked rhetorically - please keep your answer to yourself).

    L.-who-wonders-is-the-calls-to-business-phones-is-intentional

    RE: <<< Note 1222.8 by ELWOOD::KAPLAN "Undercover lunchbox guy" >>>
    
>    IMHO we need a law here.  What are our legislators doing anyway ?
>    (asked rhetorically - please keep your answer to yourself).

     Sorry, never could stick to the rules of rhetoric.
    
     A bill has been being slapped around in congress regarding
    tele-marketing, however there are a lot of jobs (low-paying, but still
    jobs) at risk if it becomes outlawed.  Bush opposes any restrictions on
    the practice, and the bill doesn't stand much of a chance.
    
    However, there are already laws regarding fraud.  It's that quick
    mention of the cost of the call that gets these folks off the hook.
    
                                    Greg
    

    A couple of months ago N.E. Telephone sent postcards out with their
    bills....if you returned the card you would be removed from the lists
    of companies making these recorded solicitations.  The only "gotcha"
    is the calls had to originate in Mass.  Doesn't seem to have reduced
    the volume of calls though...
    
    ep

    An automated recording dialer was going through the the UPO facilities
    last week-- something about a major credit card being reserved if you
    dialed a 900 number.  One secretary's line rang three times with the
    same recorded message.
    
    What a hassle.  I *LIKE* the idea of keeping the line open to ring up
    their charges!  

    
    
    I've had two of these calls in about two weeks.  One was from the
    "radio station" and the other was for the credit card.  Both had
    charges somewhere in the $39.00 price range!  This is taking place
    in LMO (Marlboro).  

    I wish that I'd seen this topic earlier! Today we got two calls
    from the 'radio station', and now I wish I had written down the
    number to give to security. The call went like this..."This is
    Bouncin' Bob from station Mumble, calling to say you will WIN a
    35mm camera OR a lcd watch if you call back in 10 minutes. There
    is a $9.95 charge for the call. Blah, blah, blah...repeat,repeat,
    repeat..."
    			dk
    

I think calls like this should be considered gambling. After all, the "house"
gets money for every call. This doesn't apply to 800 numbers or regular long
distance, where only the phone company gets the money.

BTW, I got one of these this morning. I didn't even listen to it all;
I stopped the voicemail playback and deleted it. They had already spent
their money recording the message. This one was $19.95 for the call.


I do know that New England Telephone has to allow customers to block 900
calls; I don't know if that applies to business customers as well, or if it
is practical for Digital; but I'd suggest blocking these calls.

re .14

>I'd suggest blocking these calls.

We have blocked these calls in all GMA PBXs (as .0 says).

  There is an element of fraud here. The persons receiving the call are led to
believe that THEY, not their employer, will be billed for the call. It may
not occur to them until much later that they can't be billed because the mar-
keter didn't ask for their address or credit card number. Also, a lot of people
don't know that in many regions the technology is readily available to auto-
matically trace incoming long-distance calls (but not traced to a direct-dial
extension). 
  How do the marketers get a DEC plant address to send the bill to? Is there a
new deal for business phone customers where they can call the phone company and
get the address where a phone number is located? Residential customers can't do
this.

    
    Go to your local library and ask for the Reverse Phone Book, look up
    the number. The book will tell you who the number belongs to and where
    they are at.  Then ask for the Town directory for that town and it will
    give you all the information that is needed.  Most marketing companies
    have this type information on computer so the search and destroy is
    much faster. If you don't want to be tracked don't use checks , credit
    cards or any thing that puts your name on a list, especially using your
    Social Security number, the IRS sales that data.
    
    Bob

        Re: .6

>    My tack on these calls is to keep them on the line as long as possible.
>    This reduces their effectiveness, and sometimes increases their costs.
>    If it's a person, I lead them on for as long as possible, 
>    including asking them to hold a few times. This is particularly
>    satisfying when they are calling long distance.

        No matter what time they are calling, the phone call is costing
        them at most $0.20/minute or $12.00 per hour.  The person calling
        is making at most another $12.00 per hour.  I value my personal
        time at more than $24.00 per hour, so it isn't worth it to me to
        keep them on the line--it costs me more than it costs them.

        Letting automated messages run on is worth it because I don't
        stick around to listen.

        Re: .10

        Call restrictions placed by one state won't have much effect as
        long as calls between states are, in many cases, less expensive
        than calls inside of a state.

        					B.J.