Arthur, I agree that LEGITIMATE phone solicitation is a method that companies use to generate sales and the people working for them, although desperate, are not to be mistreated.
However, that said, this kind of solicitation is criminal. These people ALL know they are trying to scam the called party. I take these kinds of calls seriously. On the ESI phone systems, there is a feature that, with a press on one button, I can record the call. I do this and keep the caller on the line for 3 minutes. Then I just hang up. I then convert the recorded call to a .wav file and send it to a special investigator in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office. Since I have done this several dozen times, I actually have built a rapport with the special investigator. My submissions have been helpful in their investigations. Since Pennsylvania is a two party consent state, I always begin my first answer by saying "to continue this conversation, do you agree to allowing me to record this conversation?" Every one of these slugs are so immersed in their spiel that they always say OK.
I had one tenacious scammer that called back 4 times, because after 3 minutes I just hang up. I ALWAYS ask for consent and this slug talked right over my question and when I did not get an affirmative answer, I just hung up.
I actually was dispatched to some of these "mass marketers" to troubleshoot their T-1 and PRI circuits. This was back when these people were trying to solicit business for legit companies and I always wanted to take a shower after leaving the sites.
Rcaman
