Is Anyone Else Getting Very Strange Telemarketing Calls?

A strange phone call came to me this morning.

It was a weird call, at a weird time. My phone rang at 5:30 a.m. with a (970) number. Despite the fact that I am already always awake at this time, for most people, that is too early to be blowing us up, right?

I'm not too much of a call avoider. I'll answer random numbers if I'm available. Hey, I figure any unknown number may be that call from Michael Jordan I've been waiting for, where he asks me to join him, Andrew McCutchen and Jimmy Fallon for a foursome at St. Andrew's. If I can, I mostly answer random calls.

Most of the time (every time, actually), it's not Jordan. It's telemarketers.

This morning the call was really strange. It was pre-recorded, but by the way the conversation started, it was hard to tell. You know when someone says "Hello?" on their answering machine message to fool you into thinking they are actually answering? It was like that.

At first , I couldn't tell if it was automated or not. They said they were from my dentist, and were verifying my upcoming appointment. I don't have an upcoming appointment, and my dentist office isn't open at 5:30 a.m., so I knew it was bogus, but the call had me wondering where they would go next.

The recording was actually really well done. Even at two minutes into the call, I had trouble telling if it was a recording or a live person. I started answering in gibberish to see if I could get a rise. Nothing.

Then, there was no call to action. I stayed with the call the whole time. No press one for something, no call back number, no website to visit. At the end they just berated me for not brushing my teeth, and ended the call.

Then, my buddy Goldberg from across the hall walked in and said, "I've been getting the weirdest phone calls this morning."

His calls were similar. Great recordings, thoughtful script that made it hard to tell if it was live or recorded, and strange subject matter. They called him about data overages.

We put it out there for listeners, and heard back that one person had a call about her broken computer system. Then, Goldberg took two more calls, and they were of questionable subject material, but still, good recordings, and hard to tell if it was a recording.

It almost seemed like some strange telemarketing campaign began this morning. From where and for what? I'm not sure.

It did prompt me to once again go to the National Do Not Call registration, and re-submit my information.

Have you received any strange calls like this?