During identity theft presentations I give to the community, one thing I recommend audience members do is consider adding their name to the national Do Not Call register.
This is one way to stop unsolicited phone calls from potential scammers who may be seeking your personal information.
3 questions I'm frequently asked during these presentations are:
1) Do I need to register my cell phone number?
2) Do I need to continue re-registering the number?
3) Can I remove my number from the Do Not Call Registery?
I've pulled the answers to these questions from the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) website. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency, collects complaints about companies, business practices, identity theft, and episodes of violence in the media.
From the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Consumers do not need to register cell phone or wireless numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to those numbers, despite viral e-mail messages saying otherwise.
Consumers may place their cell phone number on the Do Not Call Registry to notify marketers that they don't want to get unsolicited telemarketing calls, but federal regulations already prohibit most telemarketing targeted to cell phones.
The truth about cell phones and the Do Not Call Registry is:
- The government is not releasing cell phone numbers to telemarketers.
- There is no deadline for registering a cell phone number on the Do Not Call Registry.
- Federal Communications Commission (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' cell phones without their consent.
- There is only one Do Not Call Registry, operated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with information available at donotcall.gov. There is no separate registry for cell phones.
- The Do Not Call Registry accepts registrations from both cell phones and land lines. To register by telephone, call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236). You must call from the phone number that you want to register. To register online (donotcall.gov), you will have to respond to a confirmation e-mail.
- If you have registered a mobile or other telephone number already, you don't need to re-register. Once registered, a telephone number stays on the Do Not Call Registry until the registration is canceled or service for the number is discontinued.