A question about telemarketing...

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but I just got this email from my uncle. I hadn't heard anything about this so I was wondering what all the fine people here had heard about it. So...here's the email...

"THE FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY, ALL CELL PHONE NUMBERS ARE BEING RELEASED TO
TELEMARKETING COMPANIES AND YOU WILL START TO RECEIVE SALE
CALLS........YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS......

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone:
888-382-1222.

OR -

GO TO: http://www.donotcall.gov/ TO DO THIS ONLINE


It is the National DO NOT CALL LIST. It will only take a minute of your
time. It blocks your number for 5 years.

So, my question is mainly...is it true that cell phone numbers will be released? Also, does the "do not call" list work?

Thanks a million!

Celling Your Soul http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/cell411.asp

It looks like a real human can still legally call you - and the do not call list would seems to protect you from this. Am I wrong?

Here’s what you need to know about the National Do Not Call Registry program:

FCC regulations prohibit telemarketers from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers. Automated dialers are standard in the industry, so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers on their cell phones without their consent.


The federal government does not maintain a national cell phone registry. Personal cell phone users have always been able to add their numbers to the National Do Not Call Registry — the same Registry consumers use to register their land lines — either online at www.donotcall.gov or by calling toll-free 1-888-382-1222 from the telephone number they wish to register. Registrations become effective within 31 days of signing up and are active for five years. There is no cut-off date or deadline for registrations.


Business-to-business calls are not covered under the Registry.

without checking the Caller ID first. Or I screen them through an answering machine.

More often that not, I don't even have the ringers turned on. I suffer from a remarkably low curiosity level where phone calls are concerned. I just think they're intrusive.

I don't have caller ID, but when I answer the phone I immediately say 'Hello' and if there is any pause at all - quickly hang up. If it was someone you know, they will try calling right back. If it's an automated dialer, it must be put back into the queue for a later attempt because they don't call right back.

I didn't answer your question, because I'm not working tonight. You can figure it out.

Merry Christmas .......

:hi:

he said that telemarketers sometimes just dial random numbers to, in effect, see when you are at home and available to answer the phone and that is the time of day that you will get most of your telemarketing calls. So, in other words, breaking your neck racing from the shower to answer the phone could only be the purpose of letting telemarketers know when to call you later.

I'm only as good as what I hear, and that's what I heard from my other uncle, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

So don't call me. LOL

if you promise not to call me ............

Merry Christmas........

and Happy Holidays too :hi:

telemarketers are like cockroaches. You can never get rid of them, but you can control them.

if you don't recognize the number, don't answer the call!!

That way you won't be charged for it..........

you are charged minutes for the message they leave. Even if they don't leave a message, the voice mail is answering, so there is a charge.

for a couple years now.

I used to work in telemarketing. This is not impossible. We used a random number generator and an auto dialer. This was in the days before cell phones but I can see where dialing a cell phone is not hard to do with the technology we had.

asking me to take a Cell survey. My phones caller id just new "New Call". :grr:

fact that some guy named Rodrigo used to have my number. Apparently he was a real deadbeat, because I keep getting cell phone calls from collection agencies asking to speak to him. When I explain that this is my personal cell phone number that I've had for nearly two years, they apologize, but I wonder when I will ever get to the end of calls from people who have reason to be cross with Rodrigo.