Crap

I wouldn't bet the farm on that... I have a particular telemarketer who rings my home phone every day between midday and 3.00pm... and no matter how many times she has been asked/told - politely, not so politely, rudely, ever so rudely and downright abusively - she continues to call... suggesting to me that she is not using an automated dialer, that when a telemarketer aquires a number, any number, they can and will dial it.

I/we know her voice very well now, so the moment we hear it we just hang up... not that it deters her, either.  I have made a complaint with our National Do not Call Register, but to no avail... the calls, originating somewhere in Asia, continue to roll in daily.

I pay $6 bucks a month for call intercept which blocks all calls that don't display a phone number as well as allows me to enter up to 25 numbers that are instantly and totally blocked. It's the best $6 dollars a month I spend.

Certainly signing up for the national Do Not Call list is a good idea, you can also do this online at https://www.donotcall.gov/. However it's inevitable that a few truly annoying calls will continue to get through. That's when call intercept is invaluable.

I've heard conflicting information regarding how long this is good for. A Verizon rep told me it was only good for a year and had to be renewed each year. The OP suggests 5 years. However the FAQ at the donotcall.gov site says that the registration is good forever as long as the number is valid and the owner of the number doesn't opt out of the program.

Whatever. I renewed online just to be sure.

One final point is that I don't own a cell phone and am damn proud of it. Very few people truly need to be accessible 24/7/365. I view a cell phone more as a leash rather than as something that gives me some needed functionality. It's probably stupid to at least not have an emergency only phone in the car but it's a point of honor with me. I intend my epitaph to read "Never owned a cell phone".