I don't answer the phone unless I recognize the caller. If the caller ID shows a phone number only, I look it up using whocalld.com, a free reverse number lookup service. Whocalld uses some kind of robo-callback system to figure out the names of telemarketers to feed into its database. It also records these calls and posts them on its website. They are fun to listen to.
Many of the calls are from scammers pretending to be from Google, promising that they can get your website on the front page of search results. Others are from free burglar alarm hucksters, fake charities, free vacation bilkers, car warrantee peddlers, loan sharks, and health insurance fraudsters. It's disgusting and amusing to listen to these boiler-room hustlers reading from their scripts, alternating between threats, promises of free stuff, appeals to authority, dire warnings, and feigned disbelief that you are not taking them up on their offers.
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