Want to Get Rid of Telemarketers? Just Say No

A former telemarketer has revealed two ways which can ensure that you will never again be bothered by their phone calls.

Erica Elson wrote in Reader's Digest that the two most effective ways to get off the call list are to refuse their offer three times, and to ask to be placed on that company's do not call list. Simply hanging up will not drop you from the list, nor will trying to strike up a conversation with the person on the other end of the line.

The Better Business Bureau also advises people not to get too chatty with telemarketers, and urges people not to give personal information to the telemarketer over the phone. The "telemarketer" could just as easily be a scammer, the BBB says.

You can also add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry; Elson says if you have your number on the national registry and verbally inform a telemarketer to put you on their do not call list, you will not be contacted again.