My house is almost constantly being phoned by a wide array of telemarketers and it's starting to get really annoying. Not so much on weekends, but on weekdays, I can get called, maybe at least 20 times throughout the day.

Is there some way to block/auto-hangup certain phone numbers when they call you using this modem? It looks like this modem does have caller-ID, so would there be software included / available somewhere that can allow me to enter phone numbers and have this modem auto-hangup / block them? The best would be software where I can enter general expressions for phone numbers... such as 1-877-XXX-XXXX, and have it block all phone numbers starting with 1-877. Others that I get a lot are 1-800, 1-410, 1-425, 1-866, 1-519, 1-888, 1-416... the list goes on.

What's even more annoying is that even IF i pick up the phone I get no response. Many of these seem to be just machines that auto-dial people for the sake of making their phone ring.

You do realize that if you ask them to stop calling, make sure to note who you're talking to, and they call back again you can actually have the marketer/company charged with harassment? There are also a few scenarios which have worked for me regarding companies like Zellers/HBC that seem to think that because you hold their cards they have every right to solicit you with other products under the parent company's umbrella. If the latter is true, inform them about harassment as well as threaten to cancel the card. Also speak to a supervisor. Don't ask, demand. Generally when you're dealing with a telephone soliciting peon, they could care less about what you tell them in regards to harassment or cancelling a CC. Management on the other hand...

As for your original question, I really haven't a clue. Just thought i'd give you an option that not only stops the harassment, but also feels really good doing it and knowing they'll never call back again.

Sorry I can't help you with this product, but registering with the Canadian Marketing Association has dramatically reduced the amount of telemarketing and junk mail I get.

It might me worth a look:

http://www.the-cma.org/?WCE=C=47|K=224217

Lesaonar, yeah, I thought about doing that sort of thing... but it seems like most of the calls I get don't come from large companies like Zellers or HBC (although I do get calls from them also), but from no-name ones or companies / foundations that I've never heard of that I don't have time to go search up details about and contact, or it's just not worth it... yet.

I actually don't have a problem with large known companies, like RBC etc phoning me b/c they do it maybe once a week and at least I know them and don't end up talking to a machine. Kind of ironic that i'd prolly have the most success stopping telemarketing calls from callers that don't bother me much.

So, what i've come down to is: to stop a machine (which is pretty much what keeps phoning me, not a human), I must utilize a machine ... like this modem + my PC
That, or I keep the line open and run a call trace to the origin of the call and take it down myself, commando style

mr. canuck, seems that link isn't working right now, but maybe i'll take a look sometime

You can actually setup an answering machine with the "low-med-high" tone that signals your line is out of service.

I love telemarketers, well I love abusing them. Give'em my number. I'll show them a thing or two.

the best way that i have found for telemarketers to lose interest is...
when you answer,cut in on them and state that they have to be put on hold and leave the phone till you hear the beeping ,meaning the party has hung up.
i did that twice to two marketers and not a single call in six months

or
just say,if you would prefer to talk to automated machine, please talk to.....the fridge.

You need one of these babies! http://www.person-to-person.net/

I picked one up and it works perfectly. It intercepts the caller ID info and decides whether or not your phone should ring based on your settings. I have mine set up so that all of the following calls are rejected:

-all calls without a valid telephone number in the caller ID.
-all toll free numbers like 1-888, 1-800, 1-877, etc.
-any callers that I don't want to talk to that have made it past the above filters.

You can customize the filters pretty much any way that you want. And with remote units, you can direct certain calls to specific extensions in your house. I have 3 cordless phones that run off one base unit so I didn't need that feature but I imagine it could be handy if you have someone in your house that gets alot of calls(like a teenager).

I was getting harrassed day and night from automated faxes and telemarketers. The services that my phone company offered like call block, block-the-blocker, etc didn't work. These telemarketers have phone systems that slip right by these filters. Now when they call they get my answering machine and my phone doesn't ring and disturb me.

It's not cheap, you need the base unit and a remote unit for every extension in your house. But I feel it's more than worth it to finally take back control of your telephone!

Save your 30$ and PCI slot. Have some fun with them. One my dad used to do all the time is while talking to them, ring (or get somone else to ring) the doorbell. Then tell them you will be right back, and go answer the door. The convieniently "forget" about the call, and go do something else. Make it obvious you are busy, then they will hang up.

Also, http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/ is awesome. ^.^ That guy deserves a medal for awesomeness.

Yes, I use the same modem and a free phone software called PhoneTrayFree.
Just search for it. Set it up and you would be able to block calls you don't want. The downside is that your machine will be always left "on" to do this.
Just make sure to use a filter when your phone line has ADSL.