June 2014
Telemarketing has gotten both ultra sophisticated and out of control. Do Not Call listings are a waste.
I'd like to stop all incoming calls short at the point of entry, unless the caller — on receiving a prompt — dials an additional pass code to access my stand-alone answering machine and simultaneously ring any phones on which the ringer is turned on.
Is a DIY circuit available? Is anything off-the-shelf available? I checked with AT&T marketing and all they offer is blocking of all calls where no telephone number or caller name is available. That's not what I want.
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Telemarketers are harassing millions of people every day which is a major problem. In 2012 the FTC offered a $50,000 reward for a solution. A couple of solutions are available:
#1 Some telephone carriers will put a telemarketer blocker on your phone service. Check with your provider who may have a charge for the service.
#2 The Telebouncer Blocker TB1000 is advertised to block 100 percent of robo-calls and 99 percent of solicitor calls. I have never tried this and it’s pricey at around $120.
#3 I just hang up, but if you have caller ID you may just not answer calls with numbers you do not know. This still does not help the telemarketers loading up your voice mail.
