Health Talk Today

Do Not Call List

Telemarketing Robocalls

May 19th, 2011
by Marilyn.
3 comments

The other day, I got 11 telemarketing calls.  I’m on the Do Not Call list, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  They call my home phone, then my 800 number.  The calls are recordings, urging me to join their program to make “legitimate” & “automated” calls with the promise of earning thousands of dollars a week.  What makes them think I would buy their system when they make me pay for their commercial?   Because I have an 800 number, it’s free for others to call me, but I pay for every minute.

So, what are they selling?  I think most of them are selling the program that makes these robocalls.  They’re more than annoying.  They’re frustrating!  There’s no way to avoid them.  And there’s no way to stop them.  I’ve checked with Vonage, my land line phone company and my toll free company.

When I posted this on my Facebook wall, it started a discussion of what these calls really are and what we can do about them.  I learned about LeadNetPro, an online program that you can buy for $397, plus a monthly charge.  I watched a LeadNetPro video.  With a few mouse clicks, they can choose a company and narrow it by country, state or city.  The program scrapes the Internet and extracts phone numbers, addresses and email addresses.  Then, the program robocalls each number and plays a prerecorded message.  Now that I know how they’re compiling their lists, I don’t think pressing 9 will help.  It’s too easy to just generate another list.

National Do Not Call RegistryI shouldn’t be getting these calls.  I’m on the Federal Trade Commission‘s (FTC) Do Not Call list.  According to their site:  “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) amended the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to give consumers a choice about whether they want to receive most telemarketing calls. As of October 1, 2003, it is illegal for most telemarketers or sellers to call a number listed on the National Do Not Call Registry.”  Telemarketers and sellers are required to register with the FTC and search the Do Not Call Registry every 31 days.  They must “drop from their call lists the phone numbers of consumers who have registered.”  “Violators could be fined up to $16,000 per incident.”

My Facebook friend, Jennifer Fisher, has taken a proactive approach and shared her system with me.  According to Jennifer . . .

I actually listen to the message now, where as I used to just press 9 and hang up.  Every second that recorded message plays, they are paying an additional charge.   If you’re going to use the system then pay for the privilege of annoying me.

Some of them give a website so I go to that website.

If there is a contact email address down at the bottom, it is usually going to be directed to the owners of the program, not the voice spammer.  Sometimes I have to dig through the Terms of Service to find it, but if I do, I send the owners an email suggesting they stop their voice spammer from calling me… give the name of the person, their phone number, time they called, etc…

And I also let them know if they do not STOP the person from abusing our phone numbers, I will report them to the FTC and their Attorney General’s office.

In most cases, what these people are doing is in violation of their contract, they just don’t take the time to read it.  And because we don’t take a stand, they just keep doing it and doing it.

If it’s an email spammer, and they’re hocking a Network Marketing Company, I’m forwarding the email to that company with the same message.   I don’t know this person, didn’t ask for information… They’re scraping email addresses and phone numbers off the internet. Stop them NOW !

I agree with Jennifer and I’m going to follow her advice.  I’ll explain what I’m doing in the next post.

Related posts:
• Do Not Call Registry
• Phishing Scam

 

Do Not Call Registry

Dec 23rd, 2010
by Marilyn.
2 comments

STOP CALLING ME!  I want to scream!  I’m interrupted several times a day by telemarketers.  Even if I don’t answer the phone, thanks to caller ID, I still have to take the time to see who’s calling.  I’ve gotten 223 calls this year from 877-698-6905.  It’s AT&T calling to offer me their TV, Internet, VOIP phone and cell phone services.  And that’s just ONE of the telemarketers who call.

I also get lots of calls from Rachel at Cardmember Services.  It’s a recording offering to lower my credit card interest.  Today, I waited through the message for the first time.  I pressed 9 to talk with a real person.  After several minutes of music on hold, a woman went right into her pitch.  When she stopped talking, I said “I listened to the whole recording and waiting on hold to talk with you.  SHE HUNG UP!  Guess I’m not the first one who wasn’t interested in their sales pitch.

So, that’s IT!  I’m taking action.  After all, my phone number is listed on the Do No Call Registry.  They can’t keep calling me.  I decided that this week I’ll answer every telemarketing and unsolicited call and ask to be taken off their list.  And starting next week, I’m reporting every new call on the Do Not Call Registry website.

On the Do Not Call Registry‘s website, I noticed a Verify a Registration button.  To my surprise, my home phone number was NOT registered – Even though I KNOW I registered AND verified my number in the past.  So, I checked all the numbers that I’ve registered – home phone, virtual line, cell phone and toll free – and verified each number again.  Telemarketers have 31 days to stop calling me.

Have you registered your numbers with the Do Not Call Registry?  Have you verified lately?

Related posts:
• Telemarketing Robocalls
• Phishing Scam

Phishing Scam

Dec 6th, 2009
by Marilyn.
2 comments

old-desk-phoneI’m on the Do Not Call list and was hoping that would cut down on telemarketing calls.  I haven’t seen any difference, so I’m wondering how well that system works.  I’ve got nothing against telemarketers.  I used to be one.  It was legitimate and I wasn’t selling anything – Well, almost not selling anything.

I worked for a local telemarketing company.  I was able to work from home and be there for my kids – Something that most moms want.  I made courtesy calls for newspapers all across the country.  It was a very pleasant call to make.  I just needed to confirm that the problem they reported had been resolved.  Most everyone was polite and thanked me for following up on their complaint.  UNTIL I called someone with a chronic problem.  Then, I got an earful.  But, that was my job:  Identify the people who still need a solution to their newspaper delivery problem.  The “almost not selling anything” refers to the question that was asked on every call.  “Do you know anyone who would like to deliver the paper?”  That was a long time ago.  I burned out after 2 years of completing 1,000 calls a week.

For several months now, I’ve been getting telemarketing calls from 3 different numbers.  I haven’t answered any of them, thanks to Caller ID.  The voice is different every time, but the message is always the same.  They want a certain person, the same name every time, to return the call.  I googled the phone numbers and found I’m not the only one getting these calls.  It’s a collection agency, or so they say.  Everyone who reported the call was asked for a different person.  Those who returned the call to say it was a wrong number were interrogated.  They want all YOUR information and won’t tell you who they are or what they want.  They’re even rude enough to accuse you of hiding the person they say they are calling.

I want no part of this call.  I’m glad I researched it before I returned the call.  According to my credit card company’s security and fraud department, the call is a phishing scam.  They’re not calling the person they ask for.  They just want you to return the call.  They only want YOUR information.  They’re “phishing” for it.  Then, they can charge your credit card, steal your identity or whatever you give them access to.  Identity theft is big business today.  We all need to be careful not to fall for telemarketing scams.

I’ve written down those 3 phone numbers right next to the phone.  And there might be others.  I’m at a point where I don’t answer the phone if the caller isn’t identified.  Many of the telemarketers identify themselves on caller ID with a city and state.  I get a lot of calls from Denton TX.  Another call is from 800 Service.  Most don’t leave voicemail messages.  There’s plenty of time to return a call if it’s a customer for my business.

What kind of telemarketing calls do you get?

Related posts:
• Do Not Call Registry
• Telemarketing Robocalls

Marilyn Kvasnok

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