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Question

My Father get's so manyTele-marketer calls

Jul 31, 2013 8:35AM PDT

at home on his land line it just drives him CRAZY, and with all of the scams out there trying to rip off the elderly I kind of worry that he'll one day be robbed of his life savings . He's 83 yrs. young and will just talk to anyone and tell all kinds of personal information to just anybody so I screen most calls and tell him not to answer the phone if he doesn't recognize the Caller ID but good luck with that! I have been looking at this Call Blocker and was wondering if anyone has used it and can vouch for it ->> http://www.amazon.com/Digitone-DCB10-Call-Blocker/dp/B009RVYEZ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375309191&sr=8-1&keywords=Digitone+Call+Blocker Your input would be appreciated....Digger

Discussion is locked

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Answer
There's no kill like overkill.
Jul 31, 2013 10:14AM PDT

Sorry but that looks nice but I don't know anyone with that model. For me I just glance at the display and let the answer machine eat the ones without ID.
Bob

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Answer
Gov Registry
Jul 31, 2013 11:05AM PDT
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yes I did
Jul 31, 2013 11:11AM PDT

and have updated it several times. The do not call list is a JOKE. As a matter of fact it seems after I registered dad he received More calls than before.

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Effectiveness
Aug 1, 2013 8:12AM PDT

It's effective, but if your father likes to give out "all kinds of personal information", then he is unwittingly giving telemarketers permission to call him, plain and simple. Consumers do have a responsibility to keep their information from getting into the wrong hands.

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it is not effective
Aug 1, 2013 10:14AM PDT

the do not call list is garbage and consumers that put their numbers on the list are being duped as far as I can tell be sold

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Dial a joke?
Jul 31, 2013 11:17AM PDT

Sorry but this isn't good enough. While I encourage any offender to be reported I'm not hearing much in the way of fines today.
Bob

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Answer
Google Voice
Oct 25, 2013 2:40AM PDT

I am not too sure if the home phone you are talking is a copper wire phone or ISP bundled phone. If it is ISP bundled and he lives in city area then there is a very good chance that he is using VoIP phone.

Plus, does he have a that senior necklace (for the lack of better term) which is supposed to worn ALL the time and at a press of a button he gets help from the company. If yes, then following solution may work. You will have to look more into it.

Import his home phone to Google Voice, costs $20 one time fee. Once the number is ported to google voice, get something like OBi100 (have been using it for a year) and connect Google Voice to home phone using this little box. Each and ever phone he receives will be recorded on Google Voice and if he gets more telemarketer's calls than his own calls, then he could record the time of HIS call and let you know daily for few days. You can block all other numbers that do not have the time stamp he told you and after a while, the problem will be fixed. There could be easier solution but I don't know. Check Howardforums.com Someone will have even a better solution.

If you dad is internet savvy and can use a tablet, he can do that by himself too. Looks complicated but it is really not.
Look into it and put your specific questions. I will answer if I know the solution.

P.S. - Google voice does NOT offer 911 service but if you must need one (i.e. him not having that senior assistance necklace or not a cell phone user, you can sign up with other VoIP providers that offer another line for as little as $3/month and then you will need to go next OBi model, 220 or something. Google Voice is free, so his monthly expenses = $3/month)