So, I used to get a whole bunch. I have certain tricks.

For one, and I don't know if maybe I filled out some form with fake information on the Internet or what, but the scammers all have the name Newell Johnson attached to my (20 year old) phone number. So whenever they would ask for Mr Johnson, I was on their game right away.

When I found out about the bot Lenny (r/itslenny if you don't know), I would always ask them to hold and then for those to him.

The number of calls seemed to triple in a month.

Well then when I got tired of it, I started saying he had passed away.

The number of calls went down to nearly zero overnight after just one or two cases.

So, that tells me they are all using the same active server or some sort of centralized list they are sharing.

Nowadays, I always answer with a business greeting. Whenever a live person comes on the line, I always act like I'm taking notes. They ask me a screening question, and I just say okay. Then they forward me to the valuable people whose time they don't like to waste, and I say "well hi, Mr X. Pleased to speak with you, my name is u/MississippiJoel of company Y. How are you doing today?"

"Is this a business? Click."