FTC Allow Telemarketers Access To Mobile Phone Numbers

[Rocco Augusto]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://mobilitysite.com/2008/12/mobile-phone-numbers-go-public-today/' target='_blank'>http://mobilitysite.com/2008/12/mob...o-public-today/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"In its profound wisdom, the FTC is allowing cell phone numbers to be released to telemarketers today. Now you can have the pleasure of being annoyed by a pesky telemarketing when you are just sitting down to dinner and have the pleasure of paying for it as well. Whatever possessed a government agency that is supposed to safeguard citizens&rsquo; rights to release private information to these vultures? In my opinion, telemarketers are the lowest life forms in the food chain and should be hunted down and exterminated. There should be a bounty on them."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/zt/auto/1228161833.usr8.jpg" /></p><p>I rarely receive telemarking calls on my mobile phone but I also have a habit of not answering the phone when someone who is not in my address book calls me. I figure if it is important they will leave me a voicemail and if they know me they will know to shoot me an email or SMS message instead of calling in the first place. However this decision still annoys me. It was one thing when telemarkers called you on your landline and you didn't have to pay for the call, but now that any of these answered calls are going come out of your minute package I feel this is highly inappropriate. I mean really, who still uses telemarketing nowadays? We live in the future. You would think these people never heard of SPAM before. Come on people, get on the ball!</p><p>The good news is you can add your mobile number to the national Do Not Call list. To do so please point your browser to <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall" target="_blank">http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall</a>.</p><p><strong>EDIT: </strong>Story turned out to be false, but its still a good idea to add your number to the list or even to make sure your landline is added to the list as well.</p>

[Duncan]

I'm always amazed that you have to pay for incoming calls. We don't in the UK, and frankly it seems absurdly unfair. You can control who you phone, but you can't control who phones you, as this story makes clear.

[JamesM]

According to Snopes.com, this is false:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/cell411.asp

[emuelle1]

Thanks, James. This one pops up every now and again, but seeing it here somehow gave it some credibility.

[onlydarksets]

Yep, this is false. There are only two news releases from the FTC today:
FTC Office of Public Affairs - News Room (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/index.shtml)

The originating site should be embarrassed - there isn't a single source cited in the "article".

[ignar]

I'm always amazed that you have to pay for incoming calls. We don't in the UK, and frankly it seems absurdly unfair. You can control who you phone, but you can't control who phones you, as this story makes clear.

I'm totally with you, Duncan. I don't mind telco doubling the cost of calling (and sending SMS) if they drop charge for incoming ones.

[Sven Johannsen]

On the other hand, I don't suppose it hurts to register your number with the National DNCL. I do occasionally get a telemarketing call on my cell, even on the Pay as you go T-Mobile SIM I only use to throw in a handset to play with it. Never used that number for anything, and still have gotten calls on it.

Then you can inform the transgressor that you are on the DNCL and you would like their information so you can provide it to the authorities, so they can collect the fine. Wish there was a bounty ;)

[Rocco Augusto]

... there isn't a single source cited in the "article".

This is true, I was originally unsure whether or not to post about this but since the phone number and web site for the DNCL both went down today due to heavy use, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

As someone said above, it doesn't hurt to have your number on the DNCL but yes, it is ridiculous that we have to pay for incoming calls here in the US. I remember back in the day we could get the first minute for free but then the carriers caught on that no one spoke longer than a minute :D

[yvilla]

Well, this particular story may have been false, but for the past few months I have been getting a great number of spam calls on my mobile, to my utter dismay and outrage. Hmmm, I wonder if T-Mobile is the bad guy here.

Anyway, it got so bad I added my mobile number to the do not call registry about two weeks ago!

[Rocco Augusto]

Anyway, it got so bad I added my mobile number to the do not call registry about two weeks ago!

Have you noticed a decrease? I would suspect it would take longer, but you would think since this is just a database that the telemarketers would be required to match their call lists up against this do not call list often.

[John Cody]

"it is ridiculous that we have to pay for incoming calls here in the US."

As the story mentioned, it would be crazy for the FTC to pass a ruling that would result in costing cellphone users money (for the incoming telemarketing calls).

However, if incomming calls were free, then this big reason for not allowing such a rule would be removed from the equation, and make such an allowance much more possible.

So, I'm OK with being charged for incoming calls if it's one of the main reasons why I don't get telemarketers calling my mobile :)

[ctmagnus]

I added my cellular number to the Canadian version of the list the first day it was possible to. And I just received my first telemarketer call on a number that I've had for seven years or more. :mad:

[onlydarksets]

This is true, I was originally unsure whether or not to post about this but since the phone number and web site for the DNCL both went down today due to heavy use, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

As someone said above, it doesn't hurt to have your number on the DNCL but yes, it is ridiculous that we have to pay for incoming calls here in the US. I remember back in the day we could get the first minute for free but then the carriers caught on that no one spoke longer than a minute :D
Don't get me wrong - I registered mine several months ago after receiving a bunch of calls. They dropped to zero afterward.

[yvilla]

Have you noticed a decrease? I would suspect it would take longer, but you would think since this is just a database that the telemarketers would be required to match their call lists up against this do not call list often.

Not yet Rocco, but when you register it says you may expect cessation in about 30 days; apparently telemarketers are required to update their exclusion lists by checking with the registry database once a month.

[carbonyle]

I really don't like calls but i need a phone (a smartphone) to write sms to my girlfriend.
So i decided to use a call firewall. If someone i don't know calls nothing happend same things for sms. Those softwares has a log to see if someone try to call/sms you. I thinks its the best things to do to protect yourself from "SPAM caller"
This is not an add. but look at this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=307178 (freeware of course !)

[Fritzly]

"it is ridiculous that we have to pay for incoming calls here in the US."

As the story mentioned, it would be crazy for the FTC to pass a ruling that would result in costing cellphone users money (for the incoming telemarketing calls).

However, if incomming calls were free, then this big reason for not allowing such a rule would be removed from the equation, and make such an allowance much more possible.

So, I'm OK with being charged for incoming calls if it's one of the main reasons why I don't get telemarketers calling my mobile :)

Personally I would expect the Governament to ensure that people privacy is protected.
Unfortunately here in the US this does not happen and I am not reffering just to telemarketers: Doctors and Hospitals selling informations about people health is, for example, a much more serious, and ignored, issue.

[questionfear]

Have you noticed a decrease? I would suspect it would take longer, but you would think since this is just a database that the telemarketers would be required to match their call lists up against this do not call list often.

depending on the telemarketer there are dial-in programs that screen a number prior to placing the call, presumably to catch people who have updated their DNC status recently. So a more sophsticated/conscientious telemarketer would presumably not get through as soon as the DNC update hit.

[Pony99CA]

[...]conscientious telemarketer[...]
There's a good oxymoron for you. :D

Steve

[Sniff]

Wow, I might just unsubscribe from Thoughts media for this post. How about a quick check on the legitimacy of information before posting something so stupid?

This is the type of stuff I get on email from a noob computer user or in the spam folder...