Now they are calling to do a survey for the National Marine Fisheries.  They have called us about 6 times and I keep requesting that they take our number off their list and not call again but they keep calling.  Very irritating as they call when we are sleeping.

Thanks, Sam. Yours was the only helpful (and rational) posting.

I am from dekalb county too.....it was a strange voice message. She told me to call back at my earliest convenience too

She requested we call back to 800-778-2818 Said she was Nancy Johannson from "DEMOS?" -- "a public policy" research group.  Asked to provide the individually assigned code when returning call to them (#8x503xxxL = Must be extra-special, super-important, really keen!).  They probably want to tell us the real story about UFOs and that the earth is flat.
**Caller ID/Message from 800-639-2030 / 800-6392030/ 8006392030
_Sunday_ 07/27/08 10:16a to Spokane,WA

When asked of the company and phone number, the telephone surveyor said they are calling on behalf of Marco Internation at 800-778-2818.  Informed the surveyor that he was calling on a cell phone and to remove my number from the calling list.  The surveyor was not responsive when I picked up the phone....the line was quiet for 2 minutes before he came on the line.  When asked of his employer/client, it took a few tries to get the information out of him.  Overall, it was a strange experience.

The message said they were from the DeKalb County Board of Health. (I live in DeKalb County, Georgia). They asked that I call them back at my "earliest convenience". Since they did not address me by name in the message, I am highly dubious.

Same dekalb county board of health baloney. I told them to drop dead!

Caller, female, was conducting a survey of salt water fishing.

Your a moron and probably sit around collecting welfare benefits off the employees that work for this company.

Received a call at 8:41 PM on 09/18 from 802 861-2976. I let the call go to voicemail and someone named Mario "from the XX Department of Health" wanted to speak to me. Didn't use a name, left the 800 number, and wished me a great day which is a little odd at that time of night. Also knew Mario wasn't local as he mispronounced my county.

Think I'll let these guys talk to my answering machine before they talk to me.

Got call today at 10:30 a.m. from woman who said she's with Macro Intl. and doing survey for IRS to see how people feel about their customer service.  Huh? Who on earth is Macro Intl?  Surely they jest.  Who would say anything good about the IRS.

I said this was the third call from their company and to stop calling; this is now harassment.  I refused to answer any questions at all and hung up in anger.

Caller ("Patricia") left message to call about health survey for AZ Health Dept.  Caller ID indicated private caller so I was extremely cautious. (Why would a govt. agency be labeled private caller?) I called back - (800)778-2818 - but never heard a company name.  I spoke with a young man who explained they don't like to employ caller ID because people typically don't take the call or call back.  I told him I was one of those people.  He asked to verify my phone number and removed me from their call list.  He was very polite.

Caller left msg stating they were calling from the Ohio State University and the Ohio Dept of Health.

Said it was a survey for health insurance information.

She requested we call back to 800-778-2818 Said she was Nancy Johannson from "DEMOS?" -- "a public policy" research group.  Asked to provide the individually assigned code when returning call to them (#8x503xxxL = Must be extra-special, super-important, really keen!).  They probably want to tell us the real story about UFOs and that the earth is flat.
**Caller ID/Message from 800-639-2030 / 800-6392030/ 8006392030 07/27/08 10:16a to Spokane,WA

They left me a message on my answering machine and left me a master ID.
I called them back and they IDd themselves as MACRO and they do surveys.
Then I gave them my master ID, and they told me that it's a gov't survey to discuss credit card debt, or how a person survives without credit cards.
No way am I doing that, so I told him so.

I actually know a few people that work for them. They're a Telephone Research Company. They're completely legit. The reason that they call for the Department of Homeland Security and for the VA and for the TX Department of Health is because they do surveys for different state and federally sponsored research programs. They do health surveys for different states, part of the CDC sponsored BRFSS (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) health study that is done in each state. They also do an annual health study for VA. They have their website www.macrointernational.com (they recently changed the name of their company from ORC Macro to Macro International). There's also a website for the Health study they do, www.cdc.gov/brfss. The 1-800-778-2818 number is their main verification number, though they have a couple of other ones, you can call it to get more information, they can usually refer you to the State Health Coordinator for your state. They don't ask information like your name or social security number, and you actually have the right not to answer any question you feel is intrusive. Oh, and the reference number that they give is in case you want to participate in the survey. Because they don't have your name or address or anything, they use the reference number to identify which phone number they called.

Received call at 9pm at my home saying they're doing a survey for the New Hampshire Dept of Health and Human Services and wanted to ask general health questions about everyone at the residence.
When I asked to be removed from their calling list the caller, Ashley, became quite persistant saying that i'd simply be re-input into their system and called again.  when I told her that i would consider that to be harrassment and would take legal action, she offered a supervisor, Brian.
After 10 minutes, "Brian" finally agreed that i'd be removed from their call list.

Message was left from a woman couldnt make out her name clearly but stated she was calling from macro international on behalf of the US Dept of Homeland Security.  Left the number 1-800-778-2818 to return the call with a NA#.  If truly representing US Dept of Homeland Security all government numbers will reflect such, the caller id recorded just the number 1 on the id box.  My daughter has served in the military and anytime she called from a government telephone it stated it was from US DOD.  This 800 number according to google is referencing a study from 2002 the company contracted to complete the study was ORC Macro:  
The study is designed to assess the psychological and behavioral responses of Washington, D.C. metro area residents to the sniper attacks in October of 2002.  The study is a collaborative effort by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the District of Columbia Department of Health, and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Message was left on my machine - twice.  Caller had a heavy accent and said she was calling to do a survey of residences for US Department of Homeland Security.  She left the the number above and asked that i call her back.  using code ?NA? or ?18? 99 50 796. She was hard to understand but the message sounded fishy to me. Therefore, I didn't call back. K

Macro International http://www.orcmacro.com/.

called regarding va dept of health survey