Communications

TeleBouncer Blocker TB1000

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Reduce telemarketer calls

For the last several years, one of the most annoying aspects of my life has been the incessant and unstoppable telephone spam — four, five, six calls or more cold calls a day from telemarketers. The do-not call lists are worthless. Telemarketers pay no attention to them.

Most mechanical devices to block such calls are based on caller ID, for which the phone company charges $10 a month. Then you have to keep updating your list of blocked numbers. On top of which, your phone keeps ringing for each new number that you haven’t blocked yet.

Then I discovered TeleBouncer from Demys, a blocker that has nothing to do with caller ID. Rather, it intercepts all incoming calls and tells callers to press 1 (or 2 or 3) to reach you. Only after the caller presses 1 does your phone ring. This immediately shuts out robocallers and all recorded messages.

My outgoing message says, “Hi, this is Lee. If I know you, I’m happy to talk to you. Please press 1 now. If you’re a telemarketer, I’m not buying anything. Please hang up now.”

I’ve had my TeleBouncer for nearly a month, and I haven’t received a single spam call in that time.

The only downside is that after you’ve installed a TeleBouncer, the only phone that does ring (once a caller has pressed 1) is the phone that the device is attached to. Fortunately, I can hear that phone from everywhere in my house.

-- Lee Dembart 10/1/15

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