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Ender3rd
join:2001-07-15
Connecticut
·Frontier FiberOp..

Ender3rd

Member

[Scam] Card Services relentless phone calls revisited

A search of the archives here in the forum revealed a thread about this relentless phone campaign back in 2008:

»Telemarketing: Die, Heather from Card Services, Die

This same aggressive telemarketing scheme is still relentlessly badgering people with impunity. It doesn't matter if you are on the "no-call list", have an unpublished number, or if you file complaints with your state Attorney General's Office, or with the FTC or the FCC. Those agencies appear unable to track these people down. I'm getting calls every other day that follow this script:

A recorded voice says the message is from "Card Services" and announces that I need to "act now to save money on my credit cards as the offer is about to expire." An option to “press one” to be connected with a live operator is given along with the option to “press two” to stop receiving any more notifications. Pressing two accomplishes nothing and pressing one to speak to the "operator" connects you to an aggressive script reader who immediately asks you if you are interested in the offer. Any answer other than “yes” results in an immediate hang up, but they call again within a day or two. Attempting a call-back is useless as the number is either busy, or no one answers, or it belongs to a disconnected account. These people apparently know how to game the phone system to retain an anonymous status.

Has anyone successfully found a way to stop this harassment? Any suggestions? Doing a google search of "Card Services" brings back lots of discussions in various forums but I didn't see any solutions. Using "anonymous blocking" is ineffective since they do reveal a number, and using Caller ID to ignore their calls (usually originating from a 1-800 service in Florida) simply puts you back in the rotation to receive another call several minutes later. It's exasperating. What I am doing at this point is to simply pick the phone up and not speak, which seems to confuse the autobot as it listens for about 10 seconds and then disconnects. Perhaps it will delete my number from the list if I continue with the silent treatment...

Ender

nwrickert
Mod
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL

nwrickert

Mod

I just hang up on them. I haven't found a way of stopping the calls.
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

peterboro (banned) to Ender3rd

Member

to Ender3rd
I've got the same calls up here. As they are unstoppable I just answer yes and proceed to waste as much time as possible now.

Does it stop them? No. But it might save a few more people from getting a call plus it is about the only way to get any semblance of satisfaction.

PS. I even got one so wound up she starting swearing at me as I laughed into the phone at her.
willie321
join:2005-11-12
Fort Washington, PA

willie321 to Ender3rd

Member

to Ender3rd
Yeah "she" is relentless. I have also been playing with them when I have some free time. Last week I argued with the guy for five minutes when I told him he was breaking the law by calling me. He actually said to me "...well haven't you broken the law because you got a speeding ticket?" Wow, I then proceeded to play psychic friends network on him by playing 20 questions...(guess which credit card I have...) He finally cursed me out and hung up.

monski
join:2000-10-04
Grandville, MI

monski to Ender3rd

Member

to Ender3rd
This is how I solved the problem:
1) Press "1” to be connected to a live person
2) Blast air horn into phone for 3 seconds
3) Laugh and say, "Let that teach you a lesson"
4) Hang up

Haven't received a call from them since.

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

1 recommendation

AVD

Premium Member

said by monski:

This is how I solved the problem:
1) Press "1” to be connected to a live person
2) Blast air horn into phone for 3 seconds
3) Laugh and say, "Let that teach you a lesson"
4) Hang up

Haven't received a call from them since.

5) post video on youtube

starreem
Premium Member
join:2000-12-22
Raleigh, NC

starreem to Ender3rd

Premium Member

to Ender3rd
Got a call from "card services" on my cell phone today The first time ever. I was glad to dump my landline last winter, I got a few months of relief.

madylarian
The curmudgeonly
Premium Member
join:2002-01-03
Parkville, MD

madylarian to Ender3rd

Premium Member

to Ender3rd
Not only are they still coming but the caller IDs are getting more and more.......interesting. Besides the Florida 800 numbers I've seen them from Home Depot, Royal Farm Stores, Rite-Aid and a couple of doctors. I just hang up on them.

mady

Ender3rd
join:2001-07-15
Connecticut

Ender3rd

Member

I have noticed the same thing Mady. Their ability to spoof phone numbers is diabolical. They appear to have powers that go far beyond those of mere mortals...

carpetshark3
Premium Member
join:2004-02-12
Idledale, CO

carpetshark3

Premium Member

Since I use none of the above, the call would be blocked. However, if they can find and use your local dr. or pharmacy, or any other personal business numbers, someone really needs to get after them.

JALevinworth
@embarqhsd.net

JALevinworth to Ender3rd

Anon

to Ender3rd
said by Ender3rd:

Has anyone successfully found a way to stop this harassment? Any suggestions?

What I am doing at this point is to simply pick the phone up and not speak, which seems to confuse the autobot as it listens for about 10 seconds and then disconnects. Perhaps it will delete my number from the list if I continue with the silent treatment...

Ender

My solution that has worked (and yours) lies in the SIT tone.
said by »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp ··· on_tones :
Other uses

Because many predictive dialers (used in telemarketing) respond to SITs, consumer devices such as the Telezapper play an Intercept SIT to trick the telemarketer's equipment into flagging a called number as disconnected.

Additionally, the above recordings of SITs could be used on a voicemail or answering machine to achieve a similar effect.
Tones here: »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp ··· _.5B1.5D

I added the whole, "Where sorry, you have reached a number that has either been disconnect or no longer in service.." operator voice recording (that I obtained elsewhere) with the SIT disconnect tone played at the beginning and end, and just forwarded on those calls as needed to my VM (which in reality is turning on my answering machine that I no longer use otherwise to intercept the call.. old school but works for my flow)

I have previously read that others just ad the SIT tone to the beginning of their regular voice greeting for all calls and that's all that's needed, but I didn't want to do that. I mention it though in case that's an option you want to consider however you set this up that works for you.

A few of the robo calls took up to 3 times before it permanently stopped calling me (as in deleted out of the robo bank). All robo calls hang up as soon as the SIT plays because that's what it does.. Tell the phone computer to get lost!

Hope this helps. It did for me

-Jim

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

Premium Member

How did you get the SIT tones into your answering machine? My AM just has a microphone, no audio jack input. Do you hold it near the PC speaker and just hit "play" to acoustically transfer it to the machine?

JALevinworth
@embarqhsd.net

JALevinworth

Anon

said by garys_2k:

How did you get the SIT tones into your answering machine? My AM just has a microphone, no audio jack input. Do you hold it near the PC speaker and just hit "play" to acoustically transfer it to the machine?

That's what I had to do, but it worked. Took a few tries though. I positioned the PC speaker next to the answering machine speaker. In the end, it had to be about 8-10 inches away (for mine) else it over-modulated the recording.

I put the 2 wav files in a playlist, SIT tone / "We're sorry.." / SIT tone and hit play.

I also set my machine to a longer pickup time to give me some time to look at the CallerID and then hit the "on" button on the answering machine to take it. It's next to me in my home office.

I've had this setup going for many months now, and all the previous calls I got are gone now (specifically, a collection agency that multiplied over time looking for someone unknown to me that wouldn't let up).

BTW, I found where I originally got all the files from, and it was here:
»www.telephonetribute.com ··· ions.htm

-Jim
JALevinworth

JALevinworth to garys_2k

Anon

to garys_2k
garys_2k See Profile, if you set this up, post back how it's working out for you. If get the recording level right, you will note right away the robo calls will disconnect upon hearing the tone (getting deleted out the the bank may take more than one call though... although it's possible it might be due to my recording quality not the exact pitch or they have a set limit to try again, don't know).

I'd be curious to hear how you did.
-Jim

redhat1968
join:2000-10-17
Appleton, WI

redhat1968 to monski

Member

to monski
said by monski:

This is how I solved the problem:
1) Press "1” to be connected to a live person
2) Blast air horn into phone for 3 seconds
3) Laugh and say, "Let that teach you a lesson"
4) Hang up

Haven't received a call from them since.

I just did this same thing yesterday....haven't heard back yet...lol
bgraham2
join:2001-03-15
Smithtown, NY

bgraham2 to Ender3rd

Member

to Ender3rd
Check out your options if you use VOIP.

My VOIP provider (Voipo BTW) has a neat feature called telemarketing block. It appears to block all calls from the blocked company regardless of the caller's particular phone #.

It worked for me for Card Services and Cablevision/Optimum Online.
The Antihero
join:2002-04-09
Enola, PA

The Antihero to Ender3rd

Member

to Ender3rd
I had one the other day that showed up as "Obama Mortgage Relief" or something like that. The recorded message claimed it was a "courtesy call" (nothing courteous about disregarding people's wishes not to be called, not to mention the law), that they've "made several calls already" (they got that right), and that "this will be the last call" (God, I hope so.) All I have to do is "press one to speak with a friendly customer service representative." (I've heard they're not very friendly if you dare to tell them not to call again or even ask what company they're with.)

At least they stopped pretending they'll remove you from their calling list.

WaitForGodot
join:2009-01-07

1 edit

WaitForGodot to Ender3rd

Member

to Ender3rd
Here is one suggestion on how to frustrate telemarketers - get a baby to answer the phone

»en.video.sympatico.ca/in ··· 92963001
Whip5
join:2009-01-23
Califon, NJ

Whip5 to Ender3rd

Member

to Ender3rd
Newest number I got a call from: 941-312-2238

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

Premium Member

said by Whip5:

Newest number I got a call from: 941-312-2238

Thanks, I added to my "send to disconnected number/SIT tone list."

JALevinworth
@embarqhsd.net

JALevinworth

Anon

said by garys_2k:

.. I added to my "send to disconnected number/SIT tone list."

Ah.. You got the SIT tone going we talked about up thread. How did you get it incorporated? Has it been working so far for you?

-Jim

FairPlay
@verizon.net

FairPlay

Anon

My take on it is that turnabout is fair play. Do a google search. There are lots of free "callerID" programs out there that take it a step further and allow you to "zap" these calls. I use one called "Phone Tray". As long as your computer remains on, you can program it to play multiple messages in response to specific numbers. You can track the numbers, have it show on your computer caller ID as "Cruise Scam" or "Credit Card Scam", and have it automatically play a SIT tone message or no telemarketing message, etc. phonetray.com and others are out there. Turnabout is fair play.

JALevinworth
@embarqhsd.net

JALevinworth

Anon

said by FairPlay :

My take on it is that turnabout is fair play. Do a google search. There are lots of free "callerID" programs out there that take it a step further and allow you to "zap" these calls. I use one called "Phone Tray". As long as your computer remains on, you can program it to play multiple messages in response to specific numbers. You can track the numbers, have it show on your computer caller ID as "Cruise Scam" or "Credit Card Scam", and have it automatically play a SIT tone message or no telemarketing message, etc. phonetray.com and others are out there. Turnabout is fair play.

True there are alternatives and probably great ones too, although IMHO you don't have to spend $29.95 (or anything) and must have a phone line through a computer that has to remain on/awake (neither I have, but you might so that's fine) -- when downloading a SIT tone and incorporating it into your existing system works (for me, if you read up thread). Nothing against phonetray if it does for you. Might be a great product if you need/want all that other than just zapping robo-calls which plain and simple SITS does.

Also, a SIT tone isn't a message it's a special frequency tone, which is the one-in-the-same actual ZAP you refer too.

Ender3rd
join:2001-07-15
Connecticut
·Frontier FiberOp..

Ender3rd

Member

I really shouldn't tempt fate, but the silent treatment seems to have worked for me. After sticking with that approach I have not received a credit card services call in months. I still do the silent treatment on the rare occasion when I see a number or entity I don't recognize showing up on caller ID. Hah! Screw 'em if they won't start the conversation.

I do like the SIT tone trick though, and grabbed the clean wav file recording to put at the beginning of my answering machine message. I figure it couldn't hurt with the onslaught of political calls that are about to start ringing phones off the hook relentlessly. Thanks for the link to the "Telephone Tribute" site!

Ender

FairPlay
@verizon.net

FairPlay to JALevinworth

Anon

to JALevinworth
I didn't spend $$$ on phonetray, and yes, it works for me. I don't have to waste my time. I have it set to answer these calls after one ring, play a variety of messages back at them, then disconnect. Also know what the SIT tone is. phonetray will reproduce it, then disconnect the call.

Either way, they usually get the message and stop calling.

JALevinworth
@embarqhsd.net

JALevinworth

Anon

said by FairPlay :

I didn't spend $$$ on phonetray, and yes, it works for me. I don't have to waste my time. I have it set to answer these calls after one ring, play a variety of messages back at them, then disconnect. Also know what the SIT tone is. phonetray will reproduce it, then disconnect the call.

Either way, they usually get the message and stop calling.

My mistake, Fairplay.. I misunderstood your reply to me saying other programs (phonetray) can "take it a step further and allow you to zap these calls." as if it was doing something different than CITs.

BtW, "phonetray" is not free past 30 day trial now, even though you didn't pay for it when you got it - others reading this would have to.

-Jim
JALevinworth

JALevinworth to Ender3rd

Anon

to Ender3rd
said by Ender3rd:

I really shouldn't tempt fate, but the silent treatment seems to have worked for me. After sticking with that approach I have not received a credit card services call in months. I still do the silent treatment on the rare occasion when I see a number or entity I don't recognize showing up on caller ID. Hah! Screw 'em if they won't start the conversation.

I hear ya, lol.
said by Ender3rd:

I do like the SIT tone trick though, and grabbed the clean wav file recording to put at the beginning of my answering machine message. I figure it couldn't hurt with the onslaught of political calls that are about to start ringing phones off the hook relentlessly. Thanks for the link to the "Telephone Tribute" site!

Ender

Hey, no problem Boss. Enjoy & Good luck
JALevinworth

JALevinworth to JALevinworth

Anon

to JALevinworth
CITs SITs

once again... my fingers knows not what my brain does.

Kibbles
Premium Member
join:1999-07-31
Mission Viejo, CA

1 edit

Kibbles to Ender3rd

Premium Member

to Ender3rd
I used to get one call from "card services" a year...now its 4-5 times a week...what I have learned is..

They buy/subscribe to the Do Not Call list..that way they can verify it is a real number.
They charge $500-900+ for their services.
They have been based anywhere from Canada,Scottsdale AZ,Florida...my guess most are now off shore..Netherlands,Hong Kong,Mariana Islands,Augoura Hills CA

The latest number they are using is an AT&T Tracphone...AT&T won't/can't do anything since the number is being used for forwarding.
I remember a year+ ago reading Craigslist ads looking for people to work with consumer's credit cards...it was a "work at home" business opportunity.
If you answer the call from them...you number gets added to an "active" list where other scammers will try to text/contact you.

I have talked to one of them...she spoke normal English...she wanted my CC#,the phone number their system called,the CC security code,my name ,address and contact phone number.
She assured my she was going to follow all Consumer protection laws...I asked he if that was true...why did she call a number that is on the Do Not Call list...she hung up...then three more calls came in from "card services".

It looks like one way to stop the calls is not to register a number on the Do Not Call list..or block their current number.
peterboro (banned)
Avatars are for posers
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON

peterboro (banned)

Member

said by Kibbles:

They buy/subscribe to the Do Not Call list..that way they can verify it is a real number.

That seems to be standard operating procedure for US firms that call Canadians now. Once you sign up to the DNCL the telemarketers and fog horn call swarm your line like mosquitoes in Winnipeg.