The response I like best is "There is no one here by me and I'm crazy" and hang up. Fits scamers and telemarketers alike.

I got that call. I asked the caller if she knew that she was putting her soul in danger of eternal damnation by preying on Gods children. I kept on and on. By the time I was through, she was almost in tears. She even promised me that she would try to find another line of work.

Did this once with an nasty caller, Kept calling back, so finally I just laid the phone in the dish rack and went about my day. After a while I checked and he had hung up. Never called back...LOL

When I get the calls that ask for me or my husband by name I just say we aren't available can I take a message or just let it go to the answering machine or I just keep saying hello hello hello hello is anyone there hello, then just hang up

I just say, this is not her number.

The scammers deserve any nastiness we can dish out, but many of the calls are from telemarketers who are not necessarily on the wrong side of the law, and you have to feel a little bit sorry for anyone would be so desperate as to take that kind of a job. In a thread similar to this one a few weeks ago someone mentioned that in many cases they are not allowed by their employers to end the call from their end. You have to simply say the magic words: "Please remove my name from your list," and then hang up. They are not legally permitted to call you after you instruct them not to. Thieves are obviously not concerned about what's legal or not, and they don't deserve any consideration. The saddest thing about the bogus Medicare calls is that they obviously believe that by calling oldsters they have a good chance of catching someone who is confused enough to give information, and no doubt they succeed often enough to make the effort worthwhile.

We once had an answering machine that would record as long as the line was active - - - - and it got a message from a telemarketing thing that would talk as long as the line was active. We got home from shopping to a long message recording - - - the answering machine was happy and so was the telemarketer. :-)

Marysewfun

I have a really good way of dealing with those calls. I have a couple of coaching whistles (available in the sporting goods department at any store) that I keep handy. Whenever I get one of those calls, I give them an earful of the whistle just as loudly as I can. Last time I did that was about 7 months ago, and I haven't gotten one since. LOL!

Donna

I got a call yesterday, a recorded message telling me to hold for important info about my credit card. Hung up, of course. Does anyone really get one of those calls and hold?

My parents got this call too. Fortunately no info was given to the man and they hung up!