When sharing a house with other guys a few years back, I and another housemate who had night schedules would have to field numerous telemarketing calls for a third housemate. It got irritating after a while, to say the least.

The best way we dealt with the calls was this:

When the caller would ask for the housemate, George, who wasn't at home, we would act as if he were and scream, "George, you've got a call!!!", loud enough for the telemarketer to hear. We'd then place the phone down on the counter and wait about three minutes. Then, pick up the phone and ask the telemarketer if he had picked up yet. Of course, the answer was "no". So we'd repeat the process all over again.

After about the third time, they'd get the message! Feels good to waste their time for a change!!

I also pulled the "He's dead" answer a few times. It's great to hear them get all flustered on the other side!!!