EXPLICIT! In this episode we play a bunch of calls where the telemarketers get mad and swear and the robots. Also, I update you on the new web site and some new features of the bots. I really love and appreciate you all and thank you for listening. If you are new to the Jolly Roger Telephone Company, I encourage you to listen to the origin story in Episode 1.

As I post this, I realize there is no episode 17! I did not complete it yet so I will get it posted soon.

In this episode, we talk about recent enhancements to the Jolly Roger bots and the upcoming web site. We also share a couple calls that showcase some new "Artificial Stupidity" in the bots. Thanks for listening!

After a long delay I have recorded episode 16 of the Jolly Roger Telephone podcast. In this episode I discuss "ringless voicemail" and the "Can you hear me now?" scam that have both been circulating around the internet for a few weeks. I share three fantastic (and extremely vulgar) calls with you. If you don't have time to listen, here's what I basically think about these two issues:

Ringless Voicemail:

Somehow this turned into a partisan issue. I guess someone at the Republican National Committee supported a proposal to the FCC and now the headlines are saying it's a Republican idea. But it's just a proposal by various trade organizations to get around the "opt in" nature of telemarketing calls to your mobile. I cannot imagine this will ever be approved, but if it is, we will all just sign up for a voicemail transcription service and these messages will be filtered by a junk mail algorithm. Or we all just shut off our voicemail. I don't think it's a big deal.

"Oh my headset slipped. Can you hear me now?"

The headlines say "Don't say yes! They can use your recording to force you to pay later!" This is another issue that surprises me. Even the FTC and BBB tell you not to engage. There's a great article from the Archer Security Group at http://www.archersecuritygroup.com/robocallers-pretend-real/ that discusses this. Kerry Tomlinson traced it back to the source and it seems pretty benign. A scammer threatened to take a business to court because they supposedly had a recording of him agreeing to purchase the services. I'm sure if the business had pushed, it would have fallen apart in court. But rather than deal with it, they just paid. Have any of you heard of a telemarketer successfully suing anyone because of a doctored recording? Yeah, me neither. And I don't think we ever will. There are hundreds of recordings of me saying 'yes' on YouTube. Snip one of those and bring it on, telemarketers!

Anyway, here's the podcast. There are three calls in here, and two of them are extremely raunchy so you have been warned.

Thank you for listening!

Roger

Is it legal to disrupt an illegal "Windows Support" call center? Also, what has Roger been doing for the last month to protect the world from unsolicited telemarketing? Actually, quite a bit and I tell you about it in this podcast.

In episode 13, I briefly describe the first three bots and give a small background of their creation. I didn't know what I was doing back then (I still don't!), but somehow managed to deploy multiple bots as I develop an evil genius plan to eradicate unsolicited telemarketing from planet Earth.

In this podcast, I discuss Google Voice integration and how Jolly Roger Telephone service is the PERFECT companion to any Google Voice service. In order to prevent abuse, Google has placed some restrictions on their simultaneous ring features, but I have managed to work within these restrictions so the Jolly Roger bots can intercept telemarketers to Google Voice numbers.

This podcast discusses how I do this, how you set it up, and the reasons why there are a few more steps than the traditional Landlubber service. However, it's totally worth it. As I try to tell everyone - do not block telemarketers, but send them to Jolly Roger bots instead. Every minute spent with a bot is one minute less that they can spend with someone else. If you have Google Voice, then please let me take your telemarketing calls!

This podcast includes an call intercepted automatically to a Google Voice subscriber who is using the Jolly Roger Telephone service. Please enjoy and help spread the word that there is a solution to outbound unsolicited telemarketing! Please let me know what you think of the service, the calls, and the podcast.

This is a very fun podcast. It is a series of seven calls that came to the same subscriber over about an hour's time. It's an offshore medical supply company - I think of them as scammers but it might be quasi-legal. They are trying to get a medicare or supplemental insurance number out of the bots. It ends up being about 42 minutes of their time wasted by Jolly Roger bots. The best part is the original "victim" of these scammers (i.e. my subscriber) is using the Simultaneous Ring feature that allows Jolly Roger to automatically answer these calls. My subscriber did not answer the phone - they may not have even noticed the calls (other than the very entertaining emails that came through at the end of each call). Jolly Roger picked up and WORE THEM DOWN. Bring it on!

There's a little bit of commentary between calls, but it's mostly this same company speaking to different robots. Very entertaining, especially if you get calls like this.

If you have elderly parents, I highly recommend this service. It is scary how much they already knew about "me", and they are very persistent.

If you have a landline, there's no reason to suffer through telemarketing anymore. Subscribe to Jolly Roger Telephone and get protected from these scammers!

Thanks for listening,

Roger

I interview the voice talent behind Whitey Whitebeard! I also play a couple calls between telemarketers and my robots, discuss my recent TEDx speaking experience, and talk about telemarketing. Please enjoy and as always I really appreciate you all.

I am often asked "what is the craziest call that your bots have handled?" Well, this is it. If you're new to this podcast, DO NOT START HERE. This is a crazy call. I don't know this guy ended up talking to a Jolly Roger bot, This is an unusual episode. Please let me know what you think of this one.

In this episode, I play a pushy sales call, a fake (?) job interview, and a wonderful call from Human Resources, and I do have a vulgar credit card reduction call. In between, I discuss telecommunications and telemarketing. Enjoy!