Do Not Call (and don’t forward!)
A friend of mine received an e-mail from a relative which claimed that:
REMINDER….16 days from today, 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. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
Well, it certainly SOUNDS plausible, as most “forward this e-mail to everyone you know!” letters do. And there is some truth to it: you can indeed register your cell phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry. But there is also some fiction to this e-mail forward: the claim that cell phone numbers will be “released” to the telemarketing industry is simply not true. From the Do Not Call Registry website:
Yes, you may place your personal cell phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. The registry has accepted cell phone numbers since it opened for registrations in June 2003. There is no deadline to register a home or cell phone number on the Registry.
So the warning that you only have 16 days (or 31, or whatever) to register is simply bunk.
Most of the emails I get like this get barely a glance & a quick flush!
There is some truth to this… Most cell companies will soon be listing numbers in a cell directory which will leave them open to an increase in telemarketing etc.. As stated, you can go ahead and add your number to the Do Not Call list, but there are also several numbers circulating that actually add you to advertising lists of numbers. Just be careful who who call.
Verizon customer numbers will be kept confidential and out of the directory, as will Chinook for now.