Tuesday, October 3, 2006

The ventilator is running

UPDATE on 864-223-1911.

In college, I stepped onto the car port roof and promptly sliced my foot on a piece of glass. It was my left foot, inside, just short of my heel. A beautiful, deep gash from which blood spurted. It didn’t ooze or run. It spurted. I sat down and patiently stopped the blood loss over an untracked length of time. I forgot to think about pain.

It was about two weeks before I walked with unthinking pressure on that foot again. I walked without shoes or socks back onto the car port. Step. Slice. Spurt.

I didn’t simply reopen the old wound. How do I know? Although it seemed to be the exact same place and blood splatter, I removed the new piece of glass from the wound. Damn. This time I remembered to feel pain.

One of my roommates gave to me a small jar of orange salve. He said his grandmother gathered roots and flowers, and made the salve herself. He was from Caribou, Maine – so far north I suspect the caribou migrate south for the winter.

I applied the salve and it seemed to advance the healing rapidly. I used the salve for many years and hardly dented the amount in the jar. I had it until several years ago when someone threw it away without my knowledge or permission. I’m still a little cranky about losing it.

I started thinking about that salve because of what must be a change in FCC regs or broader statutory requirements. Whenever a drug commercial comes on, the not-a-real-sick-person-taking-our-drug-but-a-crack-abusing-actor-being-paid-to-say-what-we-write tells us how much better their stomach acid is because of taking the whatever-color-you-want pill. But, they helpfully add and downplay it through dismissive body language, “my doctor tells me that certain side effects may occur including explosive diarrhea, severe dehydration, cardiac arrhythmias, and, in documented but rare cases, spontaneous combustion. I should also tell my doctor what other medications I am taking and whether or not I vote regularly.”

I think I would rather the stomach acid. I’ll just avoid the moo-shoo pork.

Office Depot has a hard drive with a rebate. No need to link. Don’t feel like it. The drive is 100GB retailing for $80; the rebate is $60. To qualify you have to purchase the drive between October 1 and 7 inclusive. Today is October 3. Early in the rebate period, eh? So I add it to my shopping cart. Insufficient stock. One. Too many. Do I want to back order? Dunno – you gonna give me the rebate? I call 800/go-depot. “Good question. I will direct you to the rebate center at 866---.” I call. I’m an amiable dunce like that. Easily led. 1 for English. 2 for question on a rebate. 2 to speak with someone. “Because of exceptionally high call volume, you may have to wait up to five minutes to speak with a customer service representative.” OK. The nose ring is firmly in place. I’ll wai--- “We’re call, your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please hang up and try again.” I go back to 800/go-depot. “Yes, you are right. Back orders are typically received in 5 to 7 business days after placing your order. We cannot guaranty that you will receive this product in time to qualify for the rebate.”

In the 3d day of a 7 day rebate, they are bailing on the customer. Office Depot sucks.

OK. Last bitch, I promise. About a week ago I got a call. On my caller id it reads, “G & S Moore. 864-223-1911.” I don’t know them, but I don’t mind telling people they misdialed. I answered. Now, I am not just unlisted but private. I am on the do-not-call lists for Pennsylvania, federal, and inter-galactic. I detest unsolicited sales calls on par with crotch itch.

Yep, you guessed it. Sales call. Verizon Wireless. “I would like to tell you about …” No. Not interested. Pal, it’s 8 o’clock in the morning. On a Saturday. “But won’t you just listen to …” No. You are about to violate federal law (I had no idea). “OK. Thank you very much.”

But where did I go wrong? G&S Moore to Verizon Wireless? I reverse lookup the number. Gary and Scarlett Moore, 115 Carriage Ct., Greenwood, SC 29646. Odd. Seems like a private listing. Verizon is masking their origin to get through solicitation blocks? Seems unethical.

So last night the phone rings twice then stops. G&S Moore. Wow. I call back immediately. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please check the number and try again.” Wow.

There ought to be a law against such blatant manipulation of the phone system.

Enough. Bye

22 comments:

  1. Funny how you can find anything on the internet. I did the same, tried to reverse phone look up and found what you found. Then I just search the web to see what came up. I am glad to find your post about Verizon. I believe it is wrong masking their number. My first thought was a family member calling from a pay phone. My mind wounld not rest until I was able to figure out who was calling. Thanks for the post.

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  2. yes, i was amazed at the blocking. but even more so at the "disconnected" message i got when i called back within seconds of my phone ringing from them.

    i posted again on this - i filed ofrmal complaints with the fcc and the penna ag.

    we'll see. i'll keep you all up to date. thanks for reading.

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  3. I just got a call from that same number, 864-223-1911, and it rang once and stopped.

    Keep us updated on the complaints you filed.

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  4. Hiya, I've missed 3 calls from that same 864-223-1911 and found your webpage by googling it.

    keep us updated with what happens :) I'm on the do not call list too, so who knows what they're up to.

    Misha

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  5. i just ended up here as well after missing a call from the same number. dirty, dirty.

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  6. Thanks for your post. Isn't it funny that Verizon can do that without any sort of punishment. I am also on the "don not call list" from North Carolina,federal, and inter-galactic. Can the FCC be notified about this? I am a user of Verizon & if they continue to do this to people, I will not be apart of them. I hope they "can hear me now"!

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  7. The same thing is happening to me as well. However, the individual at this number claims to be with Sprint. I contacted Sprint and this number has no connections with them. I also called Verizon Wireless and they have no connection to this number either. So, the question remains...who is this person and what do they want? Also, how in the hell are they getting our number? If anybody has any advice on how to get rid of this shitbag, please share. I want to get the police involved and with this information already posted, I have a feeling it isn't just some prankster. I will check back periodically for advice. Thank you.

    Do realize, this person has no connection with Verizon or Sprint.

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  8. i've been getting calls from the same number, and found this by googling.

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  9. I've been getting calls from that number multiple times a day for about a week... they actually left 2 messages that consisted of a bunch of background noise and someone occasionally saying 'hello'.... jerks!!!!

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  10. Just got my first call from that number with the same "number is diconnected" upon call back. Didn't talk to anyone though so I don't know what business affiliation they may claim.

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  11. THIS MORON CALLED ME ALSO MANY MANY TIMES, FINALLY PISSED ME OFF ENOUGH TO FILE WITH THE FCC AND THE AG, AND I EVEN EMAILED THEM AND TOLD THEM I TURNED THERE DUMB ASS IN! I KEPT ALL THE NUMBERS FROM THEM SCUM BAGS CALLING MY HOME.

    THEY HAVE NO SENSE NO MORALES AND MOST OF ALL..........CAN NOT SALE ANY DAM PHONE SERVICE!

    THEY SHOULD CLOSE THEM DOWN AND MAKE THEN HMMMMMMM LETS SEE........A BUG!

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  12. Like everyone else I have been getting calls from this number for about a week now with the same little shithead guy trying to give me a Sprint cell phone. I told him no everyday for a week and then I started handing the phone to my children who have proceeded to tell him all about how they went poopy in the potty, spilled soda on the floor, the dog went pee pee in the yard and so forth and so on. The weird thing is this guy talks back to them!! He asks repeatedly to speak back to their mother. I have picked up the phone and pretended not to speak English, asked for his number so I could call him back when he is in the throws of passion with his significant other, I have even told him blatantly to go f**k himself but he just keeps calling back. He seems to get very irratated when you decline the cell phone like he is just in shock that I would not want another damn bill to pay. I honestly don't think this is the phone company masking calls but probably an individual fishing for some idiot to give him a credit card number. Anyway, after annoying and molesting him as much as allowed by law for the past week I am now getting calls from 888-341-6575, anybody else getting those also? These people don't say anything at all. As pissed off as these useless type of people make me it is actually kind of worth it to see what kind of colorful stories my 2, 4 and 8 year olds can come up with to aggravate these bastards!

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  13. My husband called earlier and told me that he got 4 calls in the past few hours from 864-223-1911. I like all of you googled it got that it belonged to someone Moore and they also claimed to be sprint when they called.

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  14. http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html

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  15. I posted a "me too" comment earlier but it hasn't appeared yet... also the fcc link.

    This looks interesting:
    "
    PhoneTray Free 1.23
    Identify callers and zap telemarketers with this FREE Caller ID software.


    Easy to use FREE Caller ID software - shows Caller ID, speaks name and number, logs all your incoming calls. Reject any unwanted call, zap telemarketers with special tone or play Federal do-not-call warning to remove you from their lists - by law!
    "
    http://phonetray.traysoft.com/

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  16. started getting calls yestrday. A lot today keeping track in phone log. I could block them, but at 5K a pop on prosecution for non-compliance I will keep tarack for a while. If FCC doesn;t want to stop it, file suit against the government. It's their job to enforce this. Next call I will answer and play along and see where they are going, propably record it. Get as much info as you can without divulging yours, you be the one asking questions. If they can be linked to Verizon or Sprint, that needs to be known. "How are they linked?"

    also on DND lists.

    Caller ID says

    Moore G & S
    865-223-1911
    Greenwood, SC

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  17. Hey Everyone! So, I posted the comment about a month ago stating I checked with Sprint and Verizon to see if this guy had anything to do with them-which was a negative. I hadn't recieved a phone call from him for about a month until yesterday morning-yes, Thanksgiving morning- at 0800. I was unable to get to the phone considering it was my day to sleep in but I was determined to talk to this guy.

    Luckily, he called me again this morning and I was able to answer the phone!

    Again, the guy claimed he was with Sprint. I asked where his office was located. He would not tell right away but finally said New York. Then, I went on to ask him if he had a worker ID#. He said he did but when I asked him for it, he switched it around and asked me for my SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. I, of course, did not give it to him. I asked him again for his worker ID#. He asked me if he could talk to my mom or dad. Funny-huh!

    Since he wouldn't give me his worker ID#, I asked for his name. MELVIN is what he said. I asked him what his real name was because I did not believe he was calling from Sprint for the fact that Sprint only calls from 800#s and that he previosly stated he was with Verizon and that the number was a SC number. Well, let me say he did not like this very well! He went on to yelling at me, saying "you know nothing, you don't know anything!" Eventually hung up on me in mid-sentence.

    I believe this guy is trying to steal identities. Makes sense to me considering he did not hold back to ask me for my SSN!

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  18. You should know this... It's fairly easy to use any of the public VOIP (Internet phone) applications with some cute little hacks, and fake your number. You could, for instance, use the White House number, or some poor schlub in Connecticut.

    And claiming you're from a legitimate business is both the favored tactic of the spammers and scammers.

    I'm beginning to believe that this is a scam caller, and Verizon has nothing to do with this. Probably a desperate call phone boiler room scam, but it could just as well be an identity scam.

    I found your blog by Googling the number too. 864-223 is indeed South Carolina. Poor blighters, the Moores have probably had to change numbers.

    Be careful out there...

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  19. Just thought I should note... I work for Embarq Telecommunications (Formerly Sprint) and just spoke to a customer who's received multiple calls from this number.

    However, in this customer's case they identify themselves as Sprint.

    I assure you this number neither belongs to Verizon nor Sprint - it is clearly a scam intended to collect money or credit information from unwary consumers.

    This number and this situation have been reported to my fraud department - just thought you'd like to know.

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  20. Hi my name is brandon and these people call me everyday non stop has anyone found a way to get them to stop calling all the time. I have cussed them out ignored the phone calls. And I have told them many times to take me off the calling list. I live in washington and they are calling me from south carolina. I dont know what to do they wont stop bugging me. They have also called me at 3 am in the morning several times. It is harasment and I am tired of it.

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  21. I just found your page by googling that number. I tried calling it back today and got a disconnected recording. They called three times today, two of which I answered. When I asked the man (Indian) about being removed, he hung up on me. They were soliciting me for Sprint, not Verizon. I believe it is some middle man or someone hired for solicitation in India. Bastards. I'd love to get a hold of someone up higher for these guys. I too am on all Do-Not-Call lists.

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  22. I'm getting calls from 864-223-1911 too....these outsourced c***suckers say they are from Sprint. When I ask for a supervisor they say "One moment" then hang up.

    I found your page via Google.

    John

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