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CNN Live Saturday

Analysis of Unwanted Call Technology

Aired September 27, 2003 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JUDY FORTIN, CNN ANCHOR: The bottom line for now the list is still disconnected. So, in the meantime, you'll have to continue your strategies for all those annoying sales pitches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got caller I.D.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me speak to your supervisor. You're bothering me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No speak English. Dutch only.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FORTIN: Everyone's got an idea. Well, if the "Do Not Call" list never makes it on the scene there are strategies to zap telemarketers. Are tech correspondent Daniel Sieberg is here to take a look at a few of them.

Daniel, give us the best ideas.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Judy, there were creative ideas people just mentioned there, weren't. But these ones are more technologically based and they actually apply whether this list, "Do Not Call" his is approved or not. They're aimed at stopping unwanted calls which could be a call from a neighbor you don't get along with or a telemarketers for that matter.

The first we can tell you about we have in the studio and it's called the Telezapper. You can see it right here. It's rather unique and the way it works you hook it up between your phone and your phone line. Now a lot of the telemarketers use computers or what's called automated or predictive dialers in order to try to reach you they generate random numbers. If they come across somebody who has a Telezapper, the Telezapper for every call that comes in, whether telemarkter or otherwise, puts out that one to three tones of the disconnected tone. "Do Do Do." I have a horrible time trying to do that.

It basically fools the telemarketer into thinking your line is disconnected and then they would hang and presumably possibly take you off their list. So that's how the Telezapper works. It has unique way of using technology to try to fool the telemarketers. There are some other ones throughout on the market we can tell you about that work differently. They work in a number of different ways. For example in some cases with the privacy call machine and others, the people calling have to type in a one to six digit code.

So you tell your friends and family this code. When they call they're asked to put that in. If they don't have a code they're sent to your answering machine or leave a message. If they're a telemarketers they don't have the code and will not leave a message either. So that mean to sort of screen people out that way. In many cases you can also put in or some cases I should say you can put in a list of the accepted numbers. So you can type in your accepted numbers or the numbers you don't want calling you. And it will also block out anybody with a blocked I.D.. Now the Easy Hangup and the Phone Butler are little bit different. They're some of the lower end products.

They don't actually screen out calls or tell you it's a telemarketer. But if you pick up the phone and realize it's a sales call or telemarketer the Phone Butler uses someone with a recorded British accident to politely say excuse me, we don't want to accept your call. You know, we're going to have to hang up and please don't call back and take us off your list. It has a couple of different ways of trying to steer away telemarketers. But those are the lower- end ones. They don't screen or tell you ahead of time. You still have to answer the phone. Those are some examples out there, Judy. And again, those in combination with the list, register your number, and have these devices.

Daniel, what can you do for cellphones then?

SIEBERG: That's a great point, Judy, because a lot of people complain they get telemarketing calls on a cellphone, because you have to pay for it. People also wonder how am I getting a call on my cellphone because I don't give that number out to anybody. A lot of these telemarketers use automated random dialers. The bad news is the people we've talked to unfortunately there's no technology out there that will screen telemarketing calls on your cellphone.

But you can at least have a lot of cellphones these days have a screen where you can tell if you have a blocked I.D. or a number you don't recognize. That's one way to stem some of the calls coming in. And this is going to become increasingly of interest to people because as part of the FCC Regulations that take effect November 24, at least they're expected to, what's going to happen, is you take your phone number from one wireless carrier to another. You can take your home number and begin using that on your cellphone. So, what does that mean? Well, any telemarketing call you're getting at your home is going to be coming to your cellphone. So, that's going to be frustrating for some people. You can see here the pros and cons of going mobile. Of having this one number. Taking your home number and going to a cellphone. That may be an idea out there to develop technology for trying to block telemarketing calls on your cellphone. And again it can be used in conjunction whether this list "Do Not Call" list goes through or not, you have devices to block the unwanted call or you can have the list as well. And you can register your cellphone I should say on that list as well, Judy.

FORTIN: Sounds like we have a lot of options. You can always hang up, right Daniel. SIEBERG: You can always hang you. Exactly.

FORTIN: All right we'll thanks a lot.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 27, 2003 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY FORTIN, CNN ANCHOR: The bottom line for now the list is still disconnected. So, in the meantime, you'll have to continue your strategies for all those annoying sales pitches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got caller I.D.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me speak to your supervisor. You're bothering me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No speak English. Dutch only.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FORTIN: Everyone's got an idea. Well, if the "Do Not Call" list never makes it on the scene there are strategies to zap telemarketers. Are tech correspondent Daniel Sieberg is here to take a look at a few of them.

Daniel, give us the best ideas.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Judy, there were creative ideas people just mentioned there, weren't. But these ones are more technologically based and they actually apply whether this list, "Do Not Call" his is approved or not. They're aimed at stopping unwanted calls which could be a call from a neighbor you don't get along with or a telemarketers for that matter.

The first we can tell you about we have in the studio and it's called the Telezapper. You can see it right here. It's rather unique and the way it works you hook it up between your phone and your phone line. Now a lot of the telemarketers use computers or what's called automated or predictive dialers in order to try to reach you they generate random numbers. If they come across somebody who has a Telezapper, the Telezapper for every call that comes in, whether telemarkter or otherwise, puts out that one to three tones of the disconnected tone. "Do Do Do." I have a horrible time trying to do that.

It basically fools the telemarketer into thinking your line is disconnected and then they would hang and presumably possibly take you off their list. So that's how the Telezapper works. It has unique way of using technology to try to fool the telemarketers. There are some other ones throughout on the market we can tell you about that work differently. They work in a number of different ways. For example in some cases with the privacy call machine and others, the people calling have to type in a one to six digit code.

So you tell your friends and family this code. When they call they're asked to put that in. If they don't have a code they're sent to your answering machine or leave a message. If they're a telemarketers they don't have the code and will not leave a message either. So that mean to sort of screen people out that way. In many cases you can also put in or some cases I should say you can put in a list of the accepted numbers. So you can type in your accepted numbers or the numbers you don't want calling you. And it will also block out anybody with a blocked I.D.. Now the Easy Hangup and the Phone Butler are little bit different. They're some of the lower end products.

They don't actually screen out calls or tell you it's a telemarketer. But if you pick up the phone and realize it's a sales call or telemarketer the Phone Butler uses someone with a recorded British accident to politely say excuse me, we don't want to accept your call. You know, we're going to have to hang up and please don't call back and take us off your list. It has a couple of different ways of trying to steer away telemarketers. But those are the lower- end ones. They don't screen or tell you ahead of time. You still have to answer the phone. Those are some examples out there, Judy. And again, those in combination with the list, register your number, and have these devices.

Daniel, what can you do for cellphones then?

SIEBERG: That's a great point, Judy, because a lot of people complain they get telemarketing calls on a cellphone, because you have to pay for it. People also wonder how am I getting a call on my cellphone because I don't give that number out to anybody. A lot of these telemarketers use automated random dialers. The bad news is the people we've talked to unfortunately there's no technology out there that will screen telemarketing calls on your cellphone.

But you can at least have a lot of cellphones these days have a screen where you can tell if you have a blocked I.D. or a number you don't recognize. That's one way to stem some of the calls coming in. And this is going to become increasingly of interest to people because as part of the FCC Regulations that take effect November 24, at least they're expected to, what's going to happen, is you take your phone number from one wireless carrier to another. You can take your home number and begin using that on your cellphone. So, what does that mean? Well, any telemarketing call you're getting at your home is going to be coming to your cellphone. So, that's going to be frustrating for some people. You can see here the pros and cons of going mobile. Of having this one number. Taking your home number and going to a cellphone. That may be an idea out there to develop technology for trying to block telemarketing calls on your cellphone. And again it can be used in conjunction whether this list "Do Not Call" list goes through or not, you have devices to block the unwanted call or you can have the list as well. And you can register your cellphone I should say on that list as well, Judy.

FORTIN: Sounds like we have a lot of options. You can always hang up, right Daniel. SIEBERG: You can always hang you. Exactly.

FORTIN: All right we'll thanks a lot.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com