How to Prevent Telemarketers from Obtaining Your Number
Evangeline Bruce
July 15, 2008
Telemarketers get call lists in a variety of ways, and learning about how they get your number is the first step to preventing it from happening. While telemarketers can get your number from a lot of possible sources, there are two main methods of call list collection: public directories and business relationships. The good news is, with a little information and forethought, you can largely stop both.
Public directories are one of the first resources for telemarketers and others trying to assemble call lists because they contain a lot of information and are free and easy to access. Residential and business landline numbers, as well as the name and address registered to the phone are recorded within public directories like the white pages. While public directories will always be publicly accessible, you can control what information about you appears in them by requesting that any landline number you have remain unpublished. Telemarketers are not allowed to call cell phone numbers with whom they do not have a legitimate business relationship, so having an unlisted landline is a major point when trying to prevent your name from appearing on telemarketing call lists.
The other way that telemarketers get your number is through previous business relationships. Anytime you buy from a company or otherwise use their services, they are likely to collect your phone number and other basic information. Such personal data not only goes in their files, but also on their call lists, and companies sometimes buy and sell call lists and public directories from other organizations. This means that if you give your number to a company for any reason -- including a legitimate business relationship -- that information can be used later for unrelated purposes and by other groups with which that company has a history. The bottom line: be careful who you give your number to, and remember that you can always double-check the legitimacy of a number with a reverse phone lookup before you call them back and give away your precious personal data.
If you want to find out more about an unsolicited caller or have telemarketing complaints, there are many resources available to help. Caller complaints websites combine the resources of reverse phone lookups, caller complaints logs, and a telemarketing number blacklist to protect your information from telemarketers. Any caller complaints are not only filed with the FTC but are posted on the complaint log, and the number is added to the blacklist. Take advantage of online services like reverse phone lookups and caller complaints websites to prevent telemarketers from obtaining your number.
Public directories are one of the first resources for telemarketers and others trying to assemble call lists because they contain a lot of information and are free and easy to access. Residential and business landline numbers, as well as the name and address registered to the phone are recorded within public directories like the white pages. While public directories will always be publicly accessible, you can control what information about you appears in them by requesting that any landline number you have remain unpublished. Telemarketers are not allowed to call cell phone numbers with whom they do not have a legitimate business relationship, so having an unlisted landline is a major point when trying to prevent your name from appearing on telemarketing call lists.
The other way that telemarketers get your number is through previous business relationships. Anytime you buy from a company or otherwise use their services, they are likely to collect your phone number and other basic information. Such personal data not only goes in their files, but also on their call lists, and companies sometimes buy and sell call lists and public directories from other organizations. This means that if you give your number to a company for any reason -- including a legitimate business relationship -- that information can be used later for unrelated purposes and by other groups with which that company has a history. The bottom line: be careful who you give your number to, and remember that you can always double-check the legitimacy of a number with a reverse phone lookup before you call them back and give away your precious personal data.
If you want to find out more about an unsolicited caller or have telemarketing complaints, there are many resources available to help. Caller complaints websites combine the resources of reverse phone lookups, caller complaints logs, and a telemarketing number blacklist to protect your information from telemarketers. Any caller complaints are not only filed with the FTC but are posted on the complaint log, and the number is added to the blacklist. Take advantage of online services like reverse phone lookups and caller complaints websites to prevent telemarketers from obtaining your number.
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