Question: if someone calls you from Skype or other such VOIP setups, what shows up in your conventional caller ID box?
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As far as the "police" benefit and newspaper and replacement windows calls are concerned - you can get your telephone unlisted - as something like 30-40% of Americans do - higher percentages on the West coast. But being unlisted is not that simple:
http://familyinternet.about.com/cs/interne.../aaunlisted.htmTelephone companies charge you anywhere from $1-5 a month to be unlisted, so you can see what your privacy is "worth."
It isn't worth the local $5 a month for us to be unlisted, but there are less expensive methods of accomplishing the same goal:
(1) We asked the telephone company that our address be blanked. They do this for free. So a name does show up in the telephone directory, but no linked address.
Now it comes down to that name . . .
(2) We took out the telephone in the name of a family pet - not our first or last name. D. Rover - D standing for "Dog" (not his real name).
That way, the moment that a caller says "Hi, Mr. Rover, how are you doing today?" in that universal overly-familiar, friendly tone of voice they have - we instantly say "Please put us on your do not call list."
It is a reflex - no thought involved.
They say "fine" and we hang up. This reduces call volumes pretty quickly.
All very business like - we don't waste any time getting angry over it.
Saves our time and anger and their time and whatever emotions a telephone rep might have.
(3) As soon as we got the phone, we got on the national do not call list - but it is still going through the thirty day period where they can call you.
(4) We are getting the calls with no one on the other end of the line perhaps twice a week. I have read that it is something about marketers determining when you are home, but I do not see the logic in that. I have also heard that it is a technique that burglars use to check if the coast is clear. Alternatively, a sign that your significant other is having an affair.
You pays your money and you takes your chooice.
(5) Caller ID: we have not gone the route of refusing all but known callers on caller ID as we have family members who use various Costco and Sam's Club and such long distance caling cards - often much more economical than standard long distance calling plans - they just plug the long numbers into their automatic dialers once and the calling is thenceforth pretty effortless. $0.029 / minute beats the heck out of a typical $39.00 a month calling plan. We are heading that route, as well.
These cards do,however, tend to give weird IDs with a different area code from that of the person using the card.
Every other time that I consider not answering the telepone due to an unknown caller ID, it turns out to be a friend or relative on the phone using a discount calling card.
Best regards -
Epaminondas
