Sep 24, 2014
I wouldn't chuckle so much. It's usually not a live person making the phone call and all your picking up the phone does is verify to them that they have a "live" phone number - That they can keep calling back over and over. They don't answer because they got what they needed. Now they can/will sell your number to other marketers. Guess what? More calls from shady businesses. It's best not to pick up the phone at all if you don't recognize the number.
To better handle it, use your phone service to block a specific number. You can also buy a phone that enables you to block numbers, since some phone services only give you a few. (Some Panasonics can block hundreds of #'s) I use an online service that's free that automatically detects a solicitor caller. My phone rings once, then it bumps it so that line shows as dead to the caller. It has helped me. We still get calls but no where near the volume we used to. I'm sorry, I forgot the name of the service. Just Google "phone blocking" for more help. I hope this helps some of you out!