For most people, an unknown number means an instant decline, but for one peeved recipient, it meant opportunity.

When a pushy home repair salesman rang at the wrong moment, one man decided to give him a tragic story he’d never forget.

Let’s just say the conversation didn’t end the way the caller expected.

Keep reading for the full story!

Got an “Unknown Caller” and decided to get weird

Cell phone rings with “Unknown Caller.”

I decided to get weird.

The caller starts in with his sales pitch about whether we need any home repairs because they’re going to be in the neighborhood and want to save us a fortune…

So this man retaliated in a rather unorthodox way.

I put on my stressed-to-the-max voice and cried out, “My house burned down last night! My dogs died! My wife and I are stuck in a Red Cross shelter right now! What is wrong with you people?”

My wife was sitting next to me and nearly choked as I had answered the call on speakerphone.

She could hear it all. She is well acquainted with my seriously messed-up sense of humor.

The telemarketer could hardly believe his ears.

The poor caller, a guy, was left speechless for several moments before he very quietly said, “I hope things work out for you.”

Then he hung up.

My wife doubled up with insane laughter, and I began to fear that I might have traumatized the poor guy.

Oh well… My phone didn’t ring for the rest of the evening.

And that, folks, is how you successfully flip the script!

What did Reddit think?

This user followed a similar scheme to get back at some scammers.

Scaring them with excessive medical details works like a charm, too.

There are other, more subtle ways, to figure out who you’re dealing with.

Other times, people can take it a little too far.

The salesman probably hung up in total shock, questioning every career choice he’d ever made.

Sometimes you just have to beat a scammer at their own game.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.