An annoying – but not infrequent – thing happened on the train to work the other morning. I am sure it has happened to you, too.
Your phone rings, probably on silent, while you're browsing the day's news, or your Facebook feed.
It's a number you don't recognise. But it's local. You want to ignore it – but what if it's important?
You swipe or hit the green button and as soon as you do, you hear that telltale five-second delay, and instantly you regret it.
The telemarketers have you again.
In the past three weeks, I have received at least five calls from companies offering to save me money on my energy account.
The woman sitting opposite me on the train volunteered that her husband receives up to five such calls a day.
Aside from always feeling offended – and slightly violated – that they have my number, I get irritated that they haven't even done their research.
You see, I don't even have an electricity account in my name.
Sometimes the calls are specifically relating to my investment property – an electricity account I haven't controlled for nearly two years.
And yet, they keep calling, usually while I am on deadline and always at the worst possible time.
The companies know the rules set by the Australia Competition and Consumer Commission and they skate as close to the line as possible.
I regularly get calls at 9.01am and 7.55pm – one minute and five minutes, respectively, inside the cut-off times.
While I may be in the top 10th percentile for detecting bulls---, sadly many people are not.
According to the Scamwatch website, more than 134,000 scams have been reported this year, costing more than $70 million in lost income.
These include dating scams, Nigerian scams and those whose purpose is to obtain personal information for criminal gain.
But countless more people are victims, often silently and unrecorded, of predatory and sometimes misleading "deals" being sold by telemarketers.
Personally, the best way to deal with these companies is to not deal with them. Put your number on the government's Do Not Call Register and while you're there, register any elderly or young relatives you have (anecdotally, they are often the easiest and most common targets), or those for whom English is not their first or preferred language.
Everyone is entitled to search for and get a better deal on their energy bills, health insurance and any other service. But do yourself a favour – do it on your own terms, and do not allow anyone to pressure you in to accepting their version of the "best" deal, for which they are certainly receiving a healthy commission.
Companies such as the energy company that repeatedly calls me thrive on the vulnerable, the time poor and the innumerate to make their sales.
The best defence is to politely but firmly tell them you are not interested, register on the Do Not Call list and take note of the time they called. If it's outside of 9am-8pm on a weekday or 9am-5pm on a Saturday, they are breaking the law and should be reported to the ACCC or your local consumer affairs authority.
And if you do happen to sign up, make sure you receive an offer in writing; you still have 10 business days from the time it arrives to change your mind.
Another trick is to store the number that calls you in your phone, so next time they call, you don't have to worry it's important. You can just hit the red button and get back to your day.
Melissa Singer is the fashion and lifestyle editor of The Age.