Two spam calls in two minutes? That’s gotta be a new record

by Christopher Elliott on September 20, 2010

Spam calls are out of control. I just received two unsolicited calls within two minutes. Two minutes!

They had the audacity to leave a voice message.

And I have the audacity to post them.

You’d think that recent legislation to end these kinds of annoying calls would have put a stop to this type of thing. Instead, for reasons that aren’t immediately apparent, it’s made it worse.

Here’s message one (MP3). Pretty slick presentation. Interestingly, she’s pitching herself, which is to say, she’s basically saying you can get rich by spamming more people exactly like she has. I wonder if you get to recycle the phone message?

Here’s an excerpt:

Sorry we missed you. If you’re worried about your financial future, maybe we can help.

I’m calling on behalf of Jeff Hudgins. For over 5 years we’ve been showing people how to receive 2 to 5,000 weekly in immediate cash flow through a simple, legal voicemail. I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like that.

Nor do I ever want to. If this “simple” voice mail is legal now, then the Federal Communications Commission should ensure that it isn’t.

How about a rulemaking, fellas?

Here’s the second one (MP3). Same kind of business, except that they’ve gone for a folksier approach.

Just wondering how you’re doing with your business online and if you’re open to increasing your recruiting by 400 percent as well as I did.

[Add] $100 to your daily cash flow, using automated systems like this one that do the hard work of finding sorting and calling people for you.

Thanks, but no thanks.

No one should have the right to clutter up my phone mail with unwanted voice mails.

(Photo: f reeze light/Flickr Creative Commons)

Tagged as: Call, Spam, Voice mail

  • Ed

    Do you have your phone number on the “National Do Not Call Registry”? If not, I highly recommend it https://www.donotcall.gov/
    put all of your phone numbers on this list. Also, go to the Direct Marketing Association website (http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/#6) and add your information to the do not contact lists there as well.
    Also, for your home phone, get a device like Telezapper. I’ve used one of these for years and we no longer get messages unless it’s from political or religious organizations that don’t have to abide by robo-caller guidelines! The answering machine will pick up the call, and the Telezapper will send out the “Out of service” tone to the caller and if it’s a robodialer, it hangs up and removes our number from their list! I recommend that *EVERYONE* get one of these…it’s a sanity saver!

  • Bill

    There seems to be no regulations for American companies spamming Canadian numbers.
    Whichever village idiot decided to allow moving phone numbers between landlines and cellular has now made it so they can’t even politely leave your cell number alone.

    These people jeopordize the entire phone system, making it so one doesn’t even want a phone.

  • Nigel

    Now we have the national do not call registries in Canada and USA the telemarketers in Canda call numbers in the USA and vice versa, or even call both from off shore locations so they’re subject to the national regulations. Call display works wonders.

  • andi330

    Did they call your home or cell phone? It is illegal for telemarketers to call a cellphone but only if the telemarketer is using an auto-dialer. Even then you get on their lists, and since they don’t have a way of knowing if your number is a home or cell number without someone like you telling them, it can be a pain. Make sure to add your number to the Nationwide Do Not Call list (www.donotcall.gov) although even that list will not prevent all calls. Look at the types of calls it prevents and then if someone appears to be violating the list by calling you, report them.

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