I just read a blog entry on-line that warns against trusting an (apparently) widely circulated e-mail, which claims that:
• cell phone numbers are going public, as soon as next month;
• all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies, and we will start to receive sales calls;
• as with any incoming call, these calls will cost us;
• to prevent this, we must call the National "Do Not Call" list from our cell phone (888-382-1222), which blocks the number for five years."
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consumer alert, there is no such thing as a complete nationwide directory of cell phone numbers, and therefore, there is nothing to release. Besides, the FTC already prohibits telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers, and since automated dialers are the industry standard, we’re "automatically" protected from 99.9% of cell-phone telemarketing calls. Or are we?
I have been suffering from telemarketing calls – both automated and direct – for months! I tried registering my cell phone number with the "do not call" directory – to no avail. At least several times a week, I receive messages and calls from various telemarketers. Somehow, they all recently got a hold of my cell number, and FTC ban or not, and I’ve been paying for these calls. Apparently, they don’t much care about breaking the law.
My best bet so far has been tracking them down one by one through reverse cell phone directory lookups. Using the number on my caller ID, I find contact information for the company and/or individuals who called, and threatening with facts about the broken law, demand they stop. It’s been an uphill climb, since no sooner I get through to one company and insist they remove my number from their directory, another gets a whiff of it and enters me into some contest or other or offers me better mortgage terms on the home I no longer own.
I’d like to know if there is a better way to protect myself from this unwelcome intrusion. If anyone is thinking of starting a class-action suit against cell-phone spam, let me know. Something tells me though reverse cell phone lookup may be the best help I can get.
