The Solution to Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

The day has been a busy day for you until your phone rang. You picked up the call without really checking the caller ID and boom, it was a call from yet another telemarketer who is trying to sell you a product. The issue is not the call, we all receive calls, the issue is that the telemarketer is the 10th telemarketer who has called you today to sell a product.

This blog post is not a reminder of the too many calls you receive from telemarketers but a solution to the issue. For starters, have you heard of the National Do Not Call Registry? Well, the registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls. It allows you to make the decision of whether a telemarketing company can call you or not. 

Quick Facts About The National Do Not Call Registry

1. To make sure you don’t get called by telemarketers, you will need to register on the National Do Not Call Registry. To add your number to the registry, go to donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register. It’s free. After registration, you’ll get an email with a link you need to click on within 72 hours to complete your registration.
2. After you register, organizations such as charities, political groups, debt collectors, and surveys may still be able to call you. You may as well get purely informational calls too.
3. After your number is on the registry for 31 days, you can report unwanted sales calls.
4. Registrations on the National Do Not Call Registry DO NOT EXPIRE. If you have previously registered your number, there is no need to register again.
5. Registration is free. Hence you are free to register your home or mobile phone number.
6. If you’ve already added your phone number to the Do Not Call Registry and are still getting a lot of unwanted calls, odds are the calls are from scammers.
7. Scammers can use the internet to make calls from all over the world. They don’t care if you’re on the National Do Not Call Registry. That’s why your best defense against unwanted calls is call blocking. It is important to note that know that call-blocking services could block some legitimate calls.
8. As a remedy to scammers, you may want to try a  call labeling service. Call-labeling services show categories like “spam” or “scam likely” on your phone’s display for incoming calls. Then you can decide whether to answer the call.   
9. The Registry is for personal phone numbers. Business-to-business calls and faxes are not covered.
10. Registration on the Registry does not expire. The Federal Trade Commission will only remove your number from the Registry if it’s disconnected and reassigned, or if you ask to remove it.
11. You can remove your number from the Registry by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to remove. Your number will be off the Registry the next day. 

If you feel overwhelmed by the number of telemarketing calls you receive, then you may want to add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry.