What would a telemarketer possibly gain from leaving no message and hanging up anytime we answer?

Question

We've been getting one or two calls a day that show up on our caller ID with no number and as "Unknown Caller". We've tried *69 but it just says the number is incomplete or out of the service area. If we try to pick up, the caller hangs up immediately, whether my husband or I answer. We are on the National Do Not Call Registry--although we still get a couple unsolicited calls a day anyway--we aren't late on any bills, we don't have any enemies that we know of. . . Anyone have any idea what someone would hope to gain from this? Does this happen to anyone else? And how can we make it stop?

Answer 1

Sometimes its simply a fax machine that someone has put in the wrong number being yours.  Fax machines will listen for the identifying tone that another fax machine has picked up and if it here's anything other than that tone it will hang up and try again later.  If someone keeps giving your number as a fax number then it could continue for ever.  I had that happen on my previous number.

It could also be that it is a telemarketer on an auto dial system with a 10-15 second routing delay, where the auto dialer calls and if someone picks up it has to wait for someone in the call center to become available and route the call to them.  You may hear clicks that you think is them hanging up but it is the switch routing the call to the next available solicitor who is just dieing to read you their script.  I have had this happen as well.

Answer 2

What they do is figure out what time you are at home. So then they can call other telemarketers to say that you are available between this time. So I suggest that you don't answer those calls.

Answer 3

they call multiple people at once, and whoever picks up first, they hang up on all of the rest.

that's why we got rid of our house phone,

they're annoying as anything, huh?