injury claim solicitors Unsolicited telemarketing is the verbal equivalent of junk mail and Internet spam. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that consumers lose billions of dollars each year to fraudulent telemarketers.� While most telemarketers are honest, and offer products and services that are legitimate, far too many are not.� Help protect yourself by following these simple suggestions. You won't get as many calls from irritating machines just as you are sitting down to have dinner.
First, some bad news.
Fraudulent telephone solicitors often prey on the elderly.� When an elderly person has been targeted, solicitors may call back repeatedly and use high-pressure sales tactics.� All too often elderly victims do not report these crimes. They are fearful that family members will think they are incompetent and unable to handle their finances.
A common telemarketing scheme is to solicit funds by posing as a charity. The offer may include magazine subscriptions for a reduced price, or discount light bulbs. The telemarketing firm may donate a small portion of the profits to a charity to help maintain their legitimacy.� Just as often, they do not.
Telemarketers now use computer-driven "predictive" dialers that automatically place calls on multiple lines. You may have noticed an increase in the number of times your phone rings and you answer, but there is no one on the line.� There is a delay between you answering the phone and the computer redirecting you to a telemarketer, or a recorded message. Some states have adopted "Dropped Call Laws" to help prevent telemarketers from placing multiple calls that result in hang-ups before a connection is completed. Unfortunately, these laws are difficult to enforce.
Now, some good news.
Because telemarketing generates hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue each year, it's unlikely that telemarketing will go away any time soon.� However, there are a few simple things you can do to reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive, and help prevent being victimized by fraudulent telemarketers.� Here are three important tips that are highly effective:
1. Don't give out personal information over the phone
Simple enough isn't it?� Do not provide personal information to parties that contact you on the telephone unless you are certain they are who they claim to be.� That includes your credit card information, bank account information, social security number, or any information that might lead to identity theft. If the caller claims to be representing a credit card agency or bank, they should already have your account information available. �
2. Sign-up for the National Do Not Call Registry
If you sign-up for the FTC's Do Not Call Registry, commercial telemarketers are not permitted to call your telephone number.� The rule does not apply to non-profit charitable organizations, political organizations, and companies that you have agreed to do business with.� Once you sign the registry, allow 31 days for it to take effect.� The web site address is provided at the end of this article.� The process is simple and easy.
3. Know your rights about telephone solicitation
The phrase "I do not make verbal agreements over the telephone" works like magic with telemarketers.� Don't agree to anything.� In a worst-case scenario, your conversation may be recorded and taken out of context.� Be safe. Don't say anything that even remotely sounds like an agreement. Instead, politely request that your name be added to their "do not call" list.� All telemarketers are required to comply. Usually they will reply that your request will take 30 days to process. End of conversation.
Do you want to play a trick on automated telemarketing dialers?
You know them all too well. They put a recorded voice message on your answering machine.� Here's the trick.� At the start of your outgoing message place a short recording of the three tones Ma-Bell uses to signal that a line is not in service - the familiar "doo dah dee" tones.� You can find them on the web by searching for the file "sit.wav".� When the automated dialer hears the tones, it drops your name from the callback directory.� Put the tones first, and then finish with your normal outgoing message.� It doesn't work with every automated dialer, but it does with most. Give it a try.
Just for a laugh I sometimes say, "I'm having dinner right now. Can I have your home phone number so I can call you back when it's convenient for me, and you're not at work?"� Let me know what responses you get.
