Wisconsin’s No Call List: Unlike the National Do Not Call list, where you need to submit your number just once to get onto the list of numbers that telemarketers can’t call, state no-call lists aren’t necessarily in effect forever. Such is the case with Wisconsin, where the list expires every two years. According to WEAU News 13, thousands of people have dropped off the state’s list since January. Those who sign up for the free service before June can make it onto the July 1 list, so if you live in Wisconsin, call 866-9-NO-CALL or click here to get your number back on the no-call directory. Fox 11 News reports that the list is updated quarterly, so if you don’t sign up by this Sunday, it’ll be a few more months before you can make sure you’re on the list.

DMV’s Do Not Smile Policy: According to USA Today, four states have now adopted policies prohibiting smiling in your driver’s license photo. Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada and Virginia are combating identity theft and driver’s license fraud by putting this policy into place, and others might follow suit. Why the lack of mirth in the photos? The states have new, high-tech software in place that compares new license photos to old ones in an effort to stop people from assuming others’ identities. But the software doesn’t work as well if the faces in the photos have anything but a “neutral” expression… after all, we look different when we smile. Other states claim that their software works just fine with or without a smile, but the reality is that facial matching software would, by nature, be far more accurate if the faces had the same expression. So far, 31 states use some version of this technology, and in Illinois alone, the system has stopped 6,000 people from getting fraudulent licenses since 1999. So if you go to the DMV, don’t get too annoyed if they tell you not to smile… Protecting your identity and decreasing the incidences of driver’s license fraud are worth it.

Tired of junk mail in your mailbox? Want to be placed on every Do-Not-Call List possible, and keep those lists updated? Want to aid in the fight against email spam? Then sign up for the Privacy Council’s List Removal Service. A small monthly charge ensures that your name is removed from all major marketing lists, and that your name is KEPT off those lists. Sign up now!

So other than the annoyance factor, why does this particular telemarketing call deserve to be in the Marketing Hall of Shame?

First, the call source disregards the national Do Not Call list. Any and every phone number out there can be one of targeted numbers, despite the fact that it’s illegal for telemarketers to bother people on the Do Not Call list. Of course, the spoofed numbers hide the real source of the calls, so disgruntled recipients of the call can’t call back and complain, or even report the number with any chance of the government catching the caller.

Second, the call is not targeted at people who actually have car warranties, or even people who actually have CARS. It’s a blanket telemarketing attempt, conducted nationwide, without regard for who the call recipients are. The “second and final” notice is a scare tactic that isn’t remotely accurate. Imagine the frustration of the public-transit riders out there who get calls about the expiring warranties on their nonexistent cars! These calls are so widespread and so annoying that they’ve generated articles on multiple websites and investigation from multiple state governments. That’s quite a broad scope for a telemarketing scam.

Third, the calls are repeated relentlessly. Some people on consumer complaint websites comment that they’ve received this call dozens of times, often in the same day. I’ve personally received this call on my cell phone about once a week for the past few months.

Fourth, if the recipient stays on the line and speaks to a live person in an effort to clear up the apparent confusion, their requests to be removed from the call list tend to be ignored. Again, many people on consumer complaint sites say that they’ve asked to stop receiving the calls, but despite assurances that they will be removed from the calling lists, the calls continued.

Fifth, for those who actually purchased the extended warranty offered in the calls, the coverage turned out to be less than ideal. The telemarketers don’t represent the car manufacturers, and getting reimbursed for car repairs can be difficult, according to the Iowa Attorney General’s office (as quoted in the New York Times).

Last, for some of these telemarketing calls, there’s more than just annoyance at stake. Some of these car warranty calls are actually attempts to steal the identities and information of the call recipients. The callers use the same “final notice” scare tactics to trick people into giving up key personal information. So speaking to the callers can lead to more than just a useless car warranty; it can lead to a credit and identity nightmare.

What is being done to handle this particular telemarketing scourge? According to the New York Times, several state attorney generals are looking into the companies behind the calls in an effort to investigate legal wrongdoing (such as violations of the Do Not Call list) and whether the companies and warranties themselves are legitimate. Telling people that their warranties are near expiration might also be deceptive and misleading sales practices which justify legal action (this seems like a no-brainer, but the states must conduct their due diligence in looking into this case).

In the meantime, if you get a call that starts with “This is your second and final notice,” hang up. You might get more of them, and you might get annoyed by them, but you can do your part to fight back. Call your state’s attorney general office and complain. Go to the Do Not Call website and file a complaint. Make some noise, and the authorities will do what they can to make the calls stop.

To the companies behind the calls, nice job! You’ve become the first telemarketers in Privacy Council’s Marketing Hall of Shame.

Sources for this article: The New York Times, Caller Complaints, The Internet Patrol, Autoblog

Photo source: www.freedigitalphotos.net

Some consumers mistakenly think that being on the Do Not Call list means that they will receive no solicitation calls for any reason, but there are exceptions to Do Not Call. One exception is for political campaigns, and another is for charities. Legitimate charities are not restricted in their telemarketing calls by the Do Not Call list; less-than-legitimate charities, though, are one way that some people try to skirt the Do Not Call list and make some money. So how can you tell whether the charity calling you for your holiday contribution is really legitimate and trustworthy?

First, ask questions to find out where the money really goes. On average, charities get just 40% of the money that telemarketing companies collect in their name. In some cases, the telemarketing company keeps 90% or more of all the money they collect on behalf of the cause they are purportedly working for. As awful as it sounds, this practice is legal; the Supreme Court case Madigan v. Telemarketing Associates ruled that telemarketing companies can keep almost all the money they bring in, as long as they don’t claim that more goes to the charity than it does. Charities claim that even a small percentage makes a difference for them, but if you want to give to a worthy cause, you probably shouldn’t do it via telemarketer, since you’ll also be lining the pockets of the telemarketing company.

I’ll give you an example from my personal experience: A man called me once on behalf of the “fraternal order of police,” asking me to contribute to police officers in my area and delivering an emotional plea for the cops who needed me. I asked him, “Are you with the police?”

“No, ma’am,” he replied.

“So you work for a third-party company doing the solicitations?” I asked. (This is exceedingly common, of course, and doesn’t mean a charity is less than reputable.)

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Is your company a for-profit company, or a non-profit company?” I asked.

“For profit.”

Ah. Now we were getting somewhere. “So what percentage of my donation actually goes to the police?” I asked.

“Well,” he said, back on script, “Ten percent of the money that goes to the police goes to…”

“No,” I said. “What I mean is, if I give you $100, how much of that $100 goes to the police, and how much stays with your company?”

“Um, I don’t know that, ma’am.”

“Because you see, I know your company wants to make money, and I know that many telemarketing companies who solicit for charities only donate a small percentage to the charity itself. So why would I give any money to you, when I can just give it directly to the police in my area and make sure that it ALL goes to the cause that I support?”

“Well…” he didn’t have an answer.

I hung up with a clear conscience, knowing that any “donation” I made to this caller’s company would have mostly gone to the company itself, not to the cause they claimed to support.

By law, the telemarketer has to give you their full name, the company they work for, whether they’re paid for their job, etc., but you have to ask first. They’re not required to volunteer that info, and they’d usually prefer you didn’t ask. Legitimate charity calls will not have anything to hide when you ask them these questions.

Protecting yourself and your charitable donations doesn’t stop there, though. Make sure you never give out sensitive information, such as a credit card number, Social Security number, or bank account information, over the phone. Don’t give out your mailing address; instead, offer to confirm the address they have on record, and even if the address is wrong, confirm it anyway. If they have the wrong information for you, it might be a way of trying to trick the RIGHT information out of you, so don’t tell them what the real information is. Don’t give out your email address, and don’t let the telemarketer send you to a website to pay your charitable pledge, since that website might be a scam site that was set up to look legitimate and collect personal info from victims.

If you want to make a contribution but want to be safe about it, ask the telemarketer to send hard copy donation information to the address they have on file. If it’s wrong, just play along until you say goodbye and hang up, then look up the address of the charity you want to support and send them your contribution directly. That way, you’ll know that your money is going where you want it to go. All charities are happy to take direct donations if you offer them, and bypassing the telemarketing company entirely means that your identity is safe.

You can’t do much about charity telemarketing calls, since they’re exempt from the Do Not Call list, but you can take steps to keep your identity safe and make your contributions count among the charities you prefer.  

Sources for this article: Associated Content, North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, MSN.com 

“Hello. I’m calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge’s home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500.”

Here is the robocall’s full audio.

This is just one of the thousands of Political Robocalls from both parties that have been flooding phone lines in battleground states. According to a recent report by CNN, some voters are receiving as many as a dozen automated calls per day.

Some states, like Maine, are cracking down, claiming this is a violation of personal privacy.

According to Wikipedia, even those who have opted into the National Do Not Call Registry may still receive these calls, as political parties are exempt from the rules set forth during the formation of this registry.

Are these calls really effective, and why should we have to put up with this violation of our personal privacy?

Comment below to join the petition.

Wrong. Let’s go through some of the most common misconceptions of the Do Not Call Registry, and what the reality is:

Misconception #1 – Being on the list means no one can call you to sell you anything.

The reality – The list doesn’t include calls from political organizations, charities, telephone surveys, companies that you have a business relationship with (i.e., you bought something from them recently), and companies that you have already given permission (in writing) to call you.

Misconception #2 - You can register just home phones and landlines, not cell phones.

The reality – You can register any number, including cell phones, with the Do Not Call Registry. There is an email that has been making the rounds for years that insists a cell phone database is about to be released to telemarketers, but this email is a hoax. You are not about to be inundated with telemarketing calls to your cell phone, as it is against FCC regulations for automated dialers (which most telemarketers use) to dial cell phone numbers. Still, if you choose to register your cell number with the Do Not Call Registry, you may do that.

Misconception #3 – The same day that you register your number, the calls must stop.

The reality – It may take up to 31 days for telemarketers to update their systems and stop calling you.

Misconception #4 – Even if a telemarketer calls me without permission, they won’t be penalized. 

The reality – If you receive a call from a telemarketer more than 31 days after signing up for the Do Not Call Registry, and you don’t think the telemarketer is included in the list of permitted callers, then you can file a complaint with the Registry on their web page. If a telemarketer is found to be in violation of the rules, they will be penalized with a hefty fine, up to $11,000 per violation.

Misconception #5 – If you add your number to the Do Not Call Registry, the privacy of your information will be compromised.

The reality – Your number is placed in the registry solely for telemarketers to use in updating their own do-not-call records every 31 days. Phone numbers may also be shared with law enforcement officials, but other than that, all information is stored securely and not shared with anyone else. 

Misconception #6 – Your registration will expire after 5 years.

The reality – Pending final Congressional approval to make the list permanent, your number won’t be dropped from the list after a 5-year period (or any other period).

Misconception #7 – There is a deadline for registering your number.

The reality – There is no deadline for adding your number to the National Do Not Call Registry. You can do it at any time.

To learn more about the National Do Not Call Registry, visit the FAQ page.

If you are a business that uses telemarketing techniques, you should make sure that you are in compliance with the National Do Not Call Registry guidelines. The registry’s website has some information for businesses that you can use to learn more, such as the cost for accessing the Do Not Call database (the first five area codes are free), the potential penalties for violations, and the specifics about what calls are exempt from the regulations.

Sources: www.donotcall.gov, www.ftc.gov, www.fcc.gov, www.snopes.com