Too nice to hang up on unsolicited callers? Don’t be

When you receive an unsolicited telephone call offering something you don’t want, it can be awkward getting rid of the caller gracefully. Here’s a tip involving the direct approach: Consider simply hanging up the phone.

It rubs many of us the wrong way to do so. This is especially true for those of us who have an advantage in the age department – we were brought up to be polite, and hanging up on someone is the opposite of what our upbringing instilled in each of us.

However, it’s an entirely different world, especially the electronic environment in which we communicate with barely a thought to the distances or technologies involved. For the scam artists, the only hardware required is a cell phone, calling card and a pager that serves as an answering machine. With this minimal investment, they’re in business from the comfort of their sofas, calling far and wide in an effort to get their hands on your money.

The pitch is familiar: You’ve won a trip or other prize and need only to pay the “tax” or “service charge” to receive it. Perhaps the caller says you’ve won second prize in some foreign country’s national lottery; pay the small administrative fee to clear up the paperwork, give the caller your bank account number and he will send the check directly to your account. If you send money, the caller may get back to you saying that the “grand prize winner was disqualified” and for a small additional fee, you’ll win the jackpot.

You get the idea. Don’t give a cold caller a chance to talk you into something that has little or no chance of being legitimate. Simply say, “No, I’m not interested,” and just hang up.

Many of these callers appear friendly and genuinely interested in you. They may even pretend to know you or a family member. The information they rattle off may come from a database they or someone else in their industry has collected. Such personal data may make it appear that the caller cares about you, when in fact all that person cares about is parting you and your money.

It’s perfectly fine to say you have no interest and just hang up. If you don’t want to hear from that particular caller again (and why would you?), you can ask that your number be added to the “Do Not Call” list, which such operations are supposed to honor. To minimize such calls, have your name added to the National Do Not Call Registry, managed by the Federal Trade Commission (www.donotcall.gov or 888-382-1222). It may take a month, but the calls should drop off dramatically. If not, you may complain to the FTC.

You can also have some fun with those callers who do get through. By asking questions, diverting them from their prepared script and keeping them talking, you’re wasting their time and preventing them from calling others. With a little imagination, you can even put doubt in a caller’s mind about ever calling you again.

It’s your phone and your choice. If any call makes you uncomfortable, just hang up.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration, now in its 30th year, of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine’s membership-funded nonprofit consumer organization. Individual and business memberships are available at modest rates. Interested and motivated prospective volunteers are always needed and welcomed to apply to help with our mission. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for more information, write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor ME 04402-1329.