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Most large telemarketing firms use Predictive Dialers. This is where the computer places the call, not the human. When you answer, the computer is programmed to distinguish between a live answerer and an answering machine based on the length of the greeting. For example, if you just answer "Hello", the computer thinks, "Aha! A live one!". If it hears a long greeting, it hangs up. Having reached a live person, the computer will then transfer the call to the telemarketer. Here are two tricks I use: The computer only rings 3 times, then hangs up. So if you don't pick up your phone until the fourth ring, you are more likely to avoid telemarketing calls. If you pick up, answer, and then hear nothing for a few seconds, this is the time when the computer is transferring the call to an operator. Hang up during that pause. The only problem with these tricks is that the computer still has your number on its call list and will try again. The best way to get rid of them without buying more screening equipment is to repeatedly ask to be removed from their call list. Eventually, as others have noted, the number of calls to you should decline. JSK