Somewhat OT: weird answering machine messages

  • Thread starter David Nebenzahl
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David Nebenzahl

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Not directly on-topic, but dunno where else to post this.

I keep getting these strange messages on my answering machine. Now, I'm
used to getting lots of annoying, irritating and even enraging messages
(I owe big $$$ and am being hounded by collectors, plus I get the usual
telemarketing bullshit).

But these messages are just plain puzzling:

"This message was intended to be received only by an answering
machine. Thank you." CLICK. [dial tone]

WTF!?!?!?

They come at the rate of one or several per week. At first, I was
totally puzzled by this: "OK, so what's the message? You left it on my
damn *answering machine*!".

But now it occurs to me that perhaps it's not aware that it (the
robo-caller) is talking to an answering machine. My machine is several
years old--OK, older than that: more than 10 years old. But it goes
"BEEP!" when it answers, just like any other answering machine.

Perhaps that "BEEP!" is not the correct frequency/amplitide/duration to
be recognized as a valid answering machine?


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism
 
"David Nebenzahl" <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4a258b23$0$2704$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...
Not directly on-topic, but dunno where else to post this.

I keep getting these strange messages on my answering machine. Now, I'm
used to getting lots of annoying, irritating and even enraging messages (I
owe big $$$ and am being hounded by collectors, plus I get the usual
telemarketing bullshit).

But these messages are just plain puzzling:

"This message was intended to be received only by an answering machine.
Thank you." CLICK. [dial tone]
Click to expand...
I have heard and read that computer dialing systems are now used to collect
information about consumers, and lists of valid-working phone numbers is a
commodity to some organizations. Other than that, I have no idea ... please
post back if you learn more.
 
On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 16:50:14 -0400, Charles <charlesschuler@comcast.net> wrote:

"David Nebenzahl" <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4a258b23$0$2704$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...
Not directly on-topic, but dunno where else to post this.

I keep getting these strange messages on my answering machine. Now, I'm
used to getting lots of annoying, irritating and even enraging messages (I
owe big $$$ and am being hounded by collectors, plus I get the usual
telemarketing bullshit).

But these messages are just plain puzzling:

"This message was intended to be received only by an answering machine.
Thank you." CLICK. [dial tone]


I have heard and read that computer dialing systems are now used to collect
information about consumers, and lists of valid-working phone numbers is a
commodity to some organizations. Other than that, I have no idea ... please
post back if you learn more.
Click to expand...

Sounds like some assinine way of trying to get around the donotcall list.

I just moved my home phone to a linux based pbx to block out unsolicited calls.
The final straw that made me make the move was a autodialed call telling me that
I shouldn't litter. It was a setup collecting phone numbers and using that
idiotic message in an attempt to use the loophole politicians wrote for
themselves and non profit organizations when they created the donotcall list.
 
Hi!

But these messages are just plain puzzling:
Click to expand...
Indeed they are. But some Googling about has revealed that at least a few
other people have seen them:

http://www.rereviewed.com/roguesemiotics/?p=433
http://www.vuidesign.net/category/broken (scroll down to Oct 12 2007,
picture of white answering machine)

And this one gives us a wider look inside:
http://whocalled.us/lookup/8668493243

by saying that the calls come from Merchants Circle. In other words,
"telemarketing".

I seem to be one of the few people for whom the Do Not Call list has worked
pretty well. The amount of sales calls dropped off quite a bit a few months
after I registered, and now only the odd recorded message gets through. I
make a habit of sternly telling any human telemarketers that call (of which
there are *few*) that such calls are not welcome and that I expect to have
my phone number removed immediately.

But those recorded message playback machines don't seem to be as smart as
you're insinuating (by leaving an error message, albeit an incorrect one
when confronted with an answering machine). They do leave messages on my
eight or so year old Panasonic cordless phone/answerer but none have been
smart enough as of yet to not "talk over" the greeting.

I still don't know of a good way to defend against fax spammers. But I did
reach a compromise, with one of the few multifunction devices that can save
faxes to a PC, where disk space is cheap: http://greyghost.mooo.com/fax.htm

William
 
On 6/2/2009 2:03 PM AZ Nomad spake thus:

On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 16:50:14 -0400, Charles <charlesschuler@comcast.net> wrote:

"David Nebenzahl" <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4a258b23$0$2704$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

Not directly on-topic, but dunno where else to post this.

I keep getting these strange messages on my answering machine. Now, I'm
used to getting lots of annoying, irritating and even enraging messages (I
owe big $$$ and am being hounded by collectors, plus I get the usual
telemarketing bullshit).

But these messages are just plain puzzling:

"This message was intended to be received only by an answering machine.
Thank you." CLICK. [dial tone]

I have heard and read that computer dialing systems are now used to collect
information about consumers, and lists of valid-working phone numbers is a
commodity to some organizations. Other than that, I have no idea ... please
post back if you learn more.

Sounds like some assinine way of trying to get around the donotcall list.
Click to expand...
But to what end? If this is a scam, it doesn't even make sense. Once, I
managed to pick up the phone during the message. After the message, the
"caller" hung up. So there's no apparent way to reach them. They leave
no numbers. So what would the point be?


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism
 
David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 6/2/2009 2:03 PM AZ Nomad spake thus:

On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 16:50:14 -0400, Charles
charlesschuler@comcast.net> wrote:

"David Nebenzahl" <nobody@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4a258b23$0$2704$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

Not directly on-topic, but dunno where else to post this.

I keep getting these strange messages on my answering machine. Now,
I'm used to getting lots of annoying, irritating and even enraging
messages (I owe big $$$ and am being hounded by collectors, plus I
get the usual telemarketing bullshit).

But these messages are just plain puzzling:

"This message was intended to be received only by an answering
machine. Thank you." CLICK. [dial tone]

I have heard and read that computer dialing systems are now used to
collect information about consumers, and lists of valid-working phone
numbers is a commodity to some organizations. Other than that, I
have no idea ... please post back if you learn more.

Sounds like some assinine way of trying to get around the donotcall list.

But to what end? If this is a scam, it doesn't even make sense. Once, I
managed to pick up the phone during the message. After the message, the
"caller" hung up. So there's no apparent way to reach them. They leave
no numbers. So what would the point be?
Click to expand...
Identifying live phone numbers for a list.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------
 
David Nebenzahl Inscribed thus:

Not directly on-topic, but dunno where else to post this.

I keep getting these strange messages on my answering machine. Now,
I'm used to getting lots of annoying, irritating and even enraging
messages (I owe big $$$ and am being hounded by collectors, plus I get
the usual telemarketing bullshit).

But these messages are just plain puzzling:

"This message was intended to be received only by an answering
machine. Thank you." CLICK. [dial tone]

WTF!?!?!?

They come at the rate of one or several per week. At first, I was
totally puzzled by this: "OK, so what's the message? You left it on my
damn *answering machine*!".

But now it occurs to me that perhaps it's not aware that it (the
robo-caller) is talking to an answering machine. My machine is several
years old--OK, older than that: more than 10 years old. But it goes
"BEEP!" when it answers, just like any other answering machine.

Perhaps that "BEEP!" is not the correct frequency/amplitide/duration
to be recognized as a valid answering machine?
Click to expand...
This is a common trick to get you to press the dial back button ! At a
premium rate of course.

--
Best Regards:
Baron.
 
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