Terry Ambrose

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Stopping robocalls and other telemarketing scams

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stopping robocalls

The National Do Not Call Registry is commonly known as the Do Not Call list. The service began in 2004. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It still does in some ways. What many people don’t understand is, registering for the Do Not Call list does not guarantee an end to annoying telemarketer calls.

If you haven’t registered for the Do Not Call list, you should. A one-time registration process will help in stopping robocalls and other telemarketing calls. You can register by going to donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from a phone you want listed. Once you’ve taken this step, you’ll know the calls you receive are from a business or organization that is either ignoring the law or is outside of it.

How could an organization be exempt from the law? To begin, the rules only apply to sales calls. Political organizations, charities, debt collectors, and survey companies are exempt from the rules and can still call. There are also businesses you knowingly, or sometimes unknowingly, exempt.

The Federal Trade Commission is very concerned about stopping robocalls and is conducting contests to find a technology-based solution.

When you register to do business with a new company, they’ll ask for your “sharing preferences.” Since the request will likely be hidden in a mountain of text, it’s easy to miss or misunderstand the options. For instance, sometimes companies will make your request to not receive marketing materials sound like a request to not receive any communications such as statements or other needed documents. Don’t be fooled. Be careful, take your time, and ask questions if you aren’t sure. Saying no to marketing materials doesn’t mean saying no to doing business.

Stopping robocalls with technology

There is, however, another class of telemarketing calls I find incredibly annoying. It’s the robocall. The Federal Trade Commission is very concerned about stopping robocalls and is conducting contests to find a technology-based solution.

A service I just came across is called Nomorobo. The service intercepts robocalls. Reviews on the service are mixed. Some users claiming it eliminated all robocalls while others cite some failures. Either way, I’ve decided to give Nomorobo a try. It’s free. The signup process is not difficult. If it works, I’ll have fewer annoying interruptions.  And, isn’t that what we all really want?

About Terry

I started out as a skip tracer. Just in case you don’t know, that’s the guy who finds the people who don’t want to be found. It was the little things—getting paid to lie—that made skip tracing the fun part of the job.

Those years of chasing deadbeats taught me many valuable life lessons, such as liars come from all walks of life, and always keep your car in the garage.

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Comments

  1. Terry Odell says

    I looked at Nomorob, but it seems to be only for VOIP type phone systems. We’re old-fashioned (and in a remote area with lousy internet speed), so it won’t work with our phones. 🙁

    • Terry says

      It does seem to be somewhat limited. Fortunately, there are some new options coming that might open things up a bit.

  2. Tom Zappe/St Louis says

    So how/how well does the Nomorobo plan work. How does one sign up? Does it inadvertently put you on another list?
    Thanks for the good work.

    • Terry says

      I’m not sure yet, Tom. I just found out about the service while writing up this piece and decided to give it a try. I have a suspicion it does work, however. Since the day I signed up (Saturday) we’ve received no telemarketing calls. We had a single ring come through yesterday and it was from an LA number we recognized as a telemarketer from previous calls. Right now, I’m giving it a tentative thumbs up. In a month I might revisit the issue so I can post an update.