Phone Scam | Personal Privacy Rules

September 29, 2009

3 Simple Ways to Stop Unwanted Phone Calls

Filed under: Phone Privacy, Phone Scam, Telemarketer — admin @ 7:59 am

It seems like every day when we receive phone calls from unwanted phone numbers. These calls may be telemarketers, they could be political robocalls, or even some type of criminal who’s trying to obtain your personal information. You’ve heard many times about how you need to protect your personal information on the internet yet sometimes we seem to let our guards down when getting a phone call. Also, with email, you use anti-virus and anti-spam programs so that you don’t receive spam and other unwanted email.

Today, with the advent of a the more global and computerized world, its imperative that you take these steps so that first you can reduce, if not eliminate, unwanted phone calls — but also, to preserve your personal privacy and sanity.

1) Register your number: Ensure that every phone number you have is registered with the FCC on their do not call list and update any new numbers you get. This includes cell phone numbers, home phone numbers, even work numbers. After you enter the number, telemarketers have 30 days to stop calling your phone number.

2) Ask Them to Stop: Some unwanted callers don’t abide by the do not call list. In fact, one high profile case made the news recently. They’ll still incessantly bother you to no end — I heard of one person who was receiving 10 calls a day for a week from the same caller — just tell them to stop. Here’s how: Politely** ask for the following information in order and write it down, name of company, name of person, ask them to put you on their do not call list, write down date and time they called. Hint: **Politeness helps get you the world, meanness will persuade people not to help. If they do keep calling see this.

3) File a complaint: This has two simple steps... First: The FCC’s do not call website is a good first stop if they call more than once (see link above). Unfortunately, the FCC’s website does not allow you to lookup the phone number of the caller to see who they are and what they’ve done to others. It seems like it may fall into a bureaucratic hole (possibly). Secondly: Use a reverse phone directory like CallCatalog.com to find out who they are and also post a visible complaint to help tell others who these people are.

CallCatalog.com is a reverse phone directory of unwanted phone calls that is updated by users like yourself You can file a complaint and also see what other people have experienced with these callers.

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March 23, 2009

How to Stop Telemarketers from Calling You

Filed under: Phone Privacy, Phone Scam, Telemarketer — Tags: free reverse phone directory, privacy, reverse lookup, Telemarketer — admin @ 11:42 am

Telemarketers are a constant threat to our privacy, quality of life, and (for some) well being. Telemarketers fall into two different groups….people who are actually trying to sell a product or service AND those people who act like telemarketers but are really criminals who are trying to get your private information. Remember to never give out personal information to someone who calls you.

You can follow these three simple steps to decrease or even stop these calls.

1) Put your name on the do not call list. The US Government created a do-no-call list that telemarketers must review monthly. They are not allowed to contact you if your name is on this list. EXCEPTION: If you expressly give a company permission to call you. Be careful what you sign. File a complaint on the government’s site if someone does call you.

2) Tell them to stop. If a telemarketer does call you, do the following things: 1) ask the name of the person, 2) get the name of the company they work for, 3) note the time/day 4) ask them to put you on their do not call list. Write all of this down and keep it as a record.

3) Use Caller ID. If a caller calls with an unknown caller-id, let it go to voicemail. If the call is important, the caller will leave a voicemail. You can easily listen to the voicemail then and determine if you want to call them back. Many telemarketers or call scammers will not have sufficient information on the caller id to determine who they are. You can always use a reverse phone directory to determine who they are.

Its key to remember that you should never give out personal information to anyone you don’t know who calls you. You can always call them back at their main number (the one you know) to verify they are who they say they are.

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March 22, 2009

Beware: Is that Telemarketer Really Telling You the Truth?

Filed under: Phone Scam — Tags: free reverse phone directory, Phone Scam, telemarketers — admin @ 7:46 pm

I received a call the other day from a nice person who said she was from my credit card company and wanted to offer to lower my rate of my credit card. She provided a few pieces of information to verify that she was from my bank, then went on to ask me some additional personal information. I provided some information to her, then she said thank you and said she’d get back to me. Fortunately, all of the information I gave her was false. I’ve heard of these scams before and was curious how far she’d go.

More and more people today are receiving “telemarketer” type calls offering both opportunities to reduce your credit card debt, improve your auto warranty, consolidate your credit cards, or many other offers. Most of these are scams.

The foremost rule when getting a call from someone you don’t know: Don’t Trust Them.

Here’s what to do when you get a solicitation on the phone:

1) Do you want to listen? Typically I politely tell telemarketers no thank you and to place my name on the do not call list. More often than not, once they know you’re not interested they’ll hang up and go to the next unknowing caller.

2) Does it sound real? Its truly possible that you may get a real call from your bank, stock broker, or other company you do business with. I’ll always get their name and extension or department, then say I’ll call them back. I’ll lookup the real general business phone number (eg my bank) and ask for that person or extension. This way I can ensure they’re real when I call them.

3) Send to voicemail? Caller ID is a wonderful thing. If I don’t recognize the phone number, I’ll let them go to voicemail and if its important enough, they’ll leave a message. For those that don’t or who keep badgering me, I’ll look them up on a reverse phone directory. These directories tell you who called, and often show other callers’ experience.

Its key to note that you truly can’t trust callers today. You never know if they’re real or trying to scam you. Never give out personal information if they call you. I’ve found a good website that allows you to find out who the caller is and use it from time to time, see CallCatalog.com.

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March 20, 2009

SAT-Related Telemarketing Scam

Filed under: Phone Scam — Tags: free reverse phone directory, Phone Scam — admin @ 6:12 pm

Just another reason not to trust people you don’t know on the telephone. A new phone caller scam targets SAT-takers of a specific high-school in Ohio. The scam involves the caller calling people who have taken the SAT. They tell the person that the child checked a box saying that their child wants more information about how to improve SAT scores. They then go on to ask for a credit card number and more information. Police are actively investigating the scam.

It sounds real. They want a credit card number, the child’s name and address. Remember, if you ever get a call from an unwanted caller — including a Telemarketer or other curiously unknown caller — you can look them up on a free reverse phone directory. Find out who they are, then share your experience with others or file a complaint.

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