NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 139
not giving you information about
my car or anything else.”
I’ll bet you have said these things
to someone on the phone. It doesn’t
work because the “voice” won’t stop
talking long enough for you to say
a word. Sometimes I discover that
the “voice” is a recording and that there
is no one there. However, I never press 1
to talk to a representative.
My phone system has a block call
feature, and I use it. My problem is, I am
afraid I am maxing it out. There is a limit
after several hundred entries, and I feel
like I have about reached it. Yet I keep
blocking numbers, and I keep hoping that
I will have enough room left.
Strangely, a lot of the “robo” calls are
identified as Clearwater. Of course, I now
understand that telemarketers have all
sorts of tricks they use for Caller ID and
that their computers can string together
numbers and dial them to see if they work.
Once you answer, the parade begins. That’s
why they tell you not to answer these calls
and not to engage in conversation, as it
only confirms you are a “live” catch.
I started thinking about this when a story
in The Washington Post cited a report from
First Orion saying nearly half of cellphone
calls will be scams by 2019. It seems I am
ahead of schedule in this department.
I’ve gotten used to being wary of
politicians, but now I cannot trust my own
telephone. I am constantly on guard, even
if the call looks as though it might be from
a neighbor. In reality, it may be someone in
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, or any place else.
You just don’t know. Is it really a number
you should recognize?
My hope is that with all of the study
that goes into pulling off unwanted calls,
somewhere there is research going on that
will be able to detect those calls. Not just
detect, but destroy. It sounds a little violent,
but then again when one of those calls
comes in during the early morning, or at
dinnertime, or on Sundays, my reaction
could well turn violent.
You may have noticed that when
“Katy” or someone like her calls,
even though you block the number,
there she is again on the next call,
but this time with another number
and a different ID. They have your
number in so many ways.
There is legislation that is caught
somewhere in the district courts, but
even if it gets approved, it won’t
make much difference. Right now, the
scammers and telemarketers are moving
too fast for the slow process of legislation,
and enforcement will probably never work.
I wish we could make a resolution
and just resolve the whole problem. It
is going to be a new year in a couple of
months, and I guess we will just have to
be satisfied being forewarned. As the old
saying goes, “It’s going to get worse before
it gets better!” 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dick Crippen, a staple in
Tampa Bay broadcasting for more than 40 years,
is a senior adviser for the Tampa Bay Rays,
and works extensively with the military. He is
active in the world of charity fundraising and
sits on 11 boards for nonprofit organizations.
My credit is good, I
haven’t stayed at
one of your resorts
lately, and no, I am
COMMAERNTTARY
BLOCK THIS CALL?
By Dick Crippen
Dick Crippen
“