Cell Phone Telemarketing

Recently I heard a rumor that cell phone companies were planning to release lists of their customer’s numbers to telemarketers. Telemarketers would likely love to get their hands on these new numbers, as the quantity of cell phone numbers now outnumbers that of land lines. Additionally calls to cell phones lead to a more targeted audience because the home phone can be answered by any number of people. A cell phone, on the other hand, is typically answered by only one person. This problem has not been a frequent one, although I do definitely get sales calls on my cell phone about five to ten times a year, so the thought of these calls becoming more frequent and disturbing me at inopportune times was a major concern. We all carry our cell phones on us nearly all the time. At work, school, meetings, church, a fancy restaurant, and many other places where we simply don’t want to be disturbed by even our close friends, never mind a telemarketer! This was going to take some research…

After a bit of searching I have learned that this is just a rumor which started out in a chain email. The e-mail says cell-phone numbers will be made public, and that telemarketers will start calling unless the user’s number is put on the National Do Not Call Registry. The e-mail then gives the phone number for the registry. Rosemary Kimball, a spokeswoman for the Federal Trade Commission, which operates the registry, tells us “That is totally inaccurate; there is no plan to release cell-phone numbers.” She further goes on to explain that there is no government cell-phone registry. Regulations already in place which prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phones. Even though this rumor has been proved to be false it does bring up a good point; how do we deal with telemarketers calling our cell phones? Where did they get my number in the first place? Most importantly, how do I get myself off their list?

Link: National Do not Call Registry – 1(888)382-1222