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Register with the national Do Not Call registry. Get Anonymous Call Rejection from your telephone company. Designate a certain ring tone for all of your contacts. Purchase a phone with a mute ringer function. Take your number off of all public listings. Switch to cellular only.
This does not stop businesses you have recent dealings with (including debts and collectors) from calling, nor does it stop not-for-profit organizations. However, if you are plagued by telemarketers, this will significantly reduce your calls.  This project is headed by the federal trade commission and located online at www.donotcall.gov . State programs exist as well and you can often join them online too. Most phone companies will now let you block all calls that do not display a caller ID number or come through as "Private." This will specifically remove a large number of telemarketing calls. Some phones have a feature that will allow you to designate a special ring tone for any specific phone number that might call in. Select a different ring tone than your normal ringtone for their number and when you hear it, lift and lower the receiver quickly.  This will keep you from having to speak to them.  (or you can let the machine get it.) Alternatively, buy a phone made for hearing impaired that features a flashing light (and which can be muted) that alerts you to calls. Phone books are a bit out of date, but phone number listings still exist online, and companies capture as many of these as they can. You can tell your phone company that you no longer want your number publicly listed. It should instead be considered a non-published or private number, not even available through directory assistance. Obviously this is a last resort, but it can be highly effective. Most cell phones can be easily set up to block certain callers, and additional apps can be downloaded that will allow you to send all calls from outside your contacts list directly to voice mail. Best of all, the federal government bans all use of automated dialers (the devices used by the vast majority of telemarketing firms) to call cell phones.