At one time, telemarketers were buying or collecting phone numbers as targets for sales calls. Today, telemarketers are purchasing many of the same numbers in order to
avoid calling them. The implementation of the national "Do-Not-Call" registry has resulted in over 50 million households registering their phone numbers. This list helps prevent unwanted phone calls reaching those who do not wish to be disturbed.
Numerous complaints have been made by consumers against telemarketers who have continued to call them. Faced with the consequences under the new regulations, telemarketing organizations are forced to delete the numbers on the national registry from their records.
And yet, many calls are still getting through. As of this article's post date, over 34,000 violation complaints have been lodged against the FTC. The FTC, for its part, is investigating the complaints and will presumably be handing out fines shortly.
The success of the do-not-call list is, of course, prompting many people to back the do-not-email list idea. I've covered this before in other articles on this site, but the main points deserve repeating: the do-not-call list idea works because telemarketers can't hide their phone numbers from the FTC.
The do-not-email list idea will fail for the same reason: spam is nearly impossible to trace.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams created NaturalNews.TV, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds.
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Monday, October 27, 2003
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