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.

April 1, 2009

Dish Network Violates Federal Do Not Call List?

Filed under: Telemarketer — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:53 am

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and four other states are suing the Dish Network because they’re calling people on the do-not-call list.

You’d think that big companies would abide by the simple do-not-call law, but they don’t.    If they don’t get the monthly data or actively choose not to do it you’ll get calls.  Keep in mind that the law doesn’t apply to charities.  You should always ensure your name is on the do not call list.  AND when you do get phone calls from unknown or unwanted callers, you can always look them up on the reverse phone directory here.  See below for an excerpt of the news…..

The U.S. Department of Justice, at the Federal Trade Commission’s request, filed suit today in federal district court charging that satellite television provider Dish Network, directly and through its authorized dealers, called numerous consumers whose numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry. The United States also charged Dish Network, previously known as EchoStar, with violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by assisting and supporting its authorized dealers in telemarketing Dish Network services via “robocalls” that deliver prerecorded telemarketing messages when consumers answer their phones.

“Since the National Do Not Call Registry was launched, it has been enormously effective at protecting millions of Americans from unwanted telemarketing calls at home,” said Eileen Harrington, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But because a few bad actors still don’t get it, we want to make it crystal clear. If you call consumers whose numbers are on the Do Not Call Registry, you’re breaking the law. If your authorized dealers call consumers whose numbers are on the Registry, you’re breaking the law. Either way, we will protect the privacy of American consumers and we will hold you accountable.”

March 29, 2009

Verizon Telemarketer Lawsuit Settled

Filed under: Telemarketer — Tags: , , , — admin @ 7:46 am

Another small win….from the news today, Verizon Wireless said today it has settled a lawsuit filed last month against Feature Films for Families, a Utah-based telemarketing company, for illegally calling Verizon Wireless customers and employees to advertise the movie, “The Velveteen Rabbit.” In addition to a permanent injunction preventing any future calls, the Utah-based telemarketer has agreed to a $25,000 cash settlement, which Verizon Wireless is donating to the charity, National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Small, incremental wins like this can help stem only some telemarketers.  Many of them don’t play fair and will call your phone number without care for the implications.  Always be careful, and on the watch for who calls you.  When they do, do a reverse lookup to ensure that they are playing fair.

March 23, 2009

How to Stop Telemarketers from Calling You

Filed under: Phone Privacy, Phone Scam, Telemarketer — Tags: , , , — 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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