system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How are telemarketers benefiting by calling me and hanging up without saying anything?

I get these calls all the time from random numbers, and when I answer there's no one there.  A lot of the time when I call back it will say "You have reached an nonworking number."  How is that benefiting whatever company is calling, if they're not even trying to sell me anything?
gpt
As soon as a telemarketer is free for a new call, their systems will dial multiple numbers hoping that someone will pick up. The first person to answer is lucky enough to talk to the telemarketer, the rest of the calls are either kept on hold waiting for another free telemarketer or hung up on.