YourCallerID’s Telemarketing Blog

By Peter Svensson, The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Last fall, U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy’s office started getting phone calls from constituents who complained about receiving recorded phone messages that bad-mouthed Murphy. The constituents were especially upset that the messages appeared to come from the congressman’s own office. At least, that’s what Caller ID said.

“People thought we were making the calls,” Murphy said.

The calls, which the Pennsylvania Republican estimated in the thousands, were apparently placed with fake Caller ID. That has been possible for a long time, but it generally required special hardware and technical savvy.

In the last few years, Caller ID spoofing has become much easier. Millions of people have Internet telephone equipment that can be set to make any number appear on a Caller ID system. And several websites have sprung up to provide Caller ID spoofing services, eliminating the need for any special hardware.

For instance, Spoofcard.com sells a virtual “calling card” for $10 that provides 60 minutes of talk time. The user dials a toll-free number, then keys in the destination number and the Caller ID number to display. The service also provides optional voice scrambling, to make the caller sound like someone of the opposite sex.

Caller ID spoofing appears to be legal, though many of its uses are not. The Federal Communications Commission has never investigated the issue, spokeswoman Rosemary Kimball said.

Lance James, chief scientist at security company Secure Science, said Caller ID spoofing websites are used by people who buy stolen credit card numbers. They will call a service such as Western Union, setting Caller ID to appear to originate from the card holder’s home, and use the credit card number to order cash transfers that they then pick up.

Exposing a similar vulnerability, Caller ID is used by credit-card companies to authenticate newly issued cards. The recipients are generally asked to call from their home phones to activate their cards. Some card companies maintain, however, that they use additional means to confirm new cards. And caller ID spoofing may not work for calls to 1-800 numbers, where the hardware can identify calls using a separate technology.

Two spoofing services contacted by The Associated Press, Spoofcard.com and Telespoof.com, did not return messages seeking comment about their business. However, some of the five or so websites in the business don’t appear to be completely unscrupulous: James said he had been hired by a few of them, which he would not name, to help stop the Western Union scam.

Also, both Spoofcard.com and SpoofTel.com say they will surrender call logs to authorities in response to subpoenas. Spoofcard.com’s site says the service is “intended for entertainment purposes only.”

Telephone companies can trace calls to their origin regardless of the Caller ID information they carry, but the process is laborious, especially since a call may be carried by several companies before reaching its destination. The fragmented nature of the telephone network also makes it technically difficult for the carriers to prevent spoofing.

At Verizon Communications, security manager John Lewandowski said the company often gets complaints about fake Caller ID after a telemarketer has spoofed his number to cover his tracks.

In a typical case, someone will be jarred in the middle of the night by repeated telemarketing calls. He checks Caller ID, calls the number — which is false — and starts “cussing out” the person at the other end of the line, Lewandowski said.

“And that poor guy was asleep. It wasn’t him at all,” Lewandowski said. The company investigates and tracks down the callers, he added.

Apart from fraud and telemarketing, Caller ID spoofing can be used for pranks and spying.

In one case, SWAT teams surrounded a building in New Brunswick, N.J., last year after police received a call from a woman who said she was being held hostage in an apartment. Caller ID was spoofed to appear to come from the apartment.

It’s also easy to break into a cellphone voice mailbox using spoofing, because many systems are set to automatically grant entry to calls from the owner of the account. Stopping that requires setting a PIN code or password for the mailbox.

In a slightly more complicated fashion, spoofing was part of the technique used by a hacker who broke into Paris Hilton’s cell-phone voicemail in 2004, according to security consultant Kevin Mitnick, who said he was citing hacking sources. The hacker apparently called the celebrity socialite posing as a technical-support person from the carrier, and lured the password from her.

That is known as a “pretext” call — someone poses on the phone as a customer, employee or even a regulator to obtain personal information from companies and individuals. And indeed, while Spoofcard.com contends that its service is for “entertainment purposes,” it also notes that “Private Investigators will find Caller ID spoofing valuable for pretext calls.”

Robert Douglas, a privacy consultant in Colorado, testified before Congress last month that pretexters trade tips on finding the best spoofing services.

Pretexters generally claim their practices are legal, as long as they don’t involve financial information. A bill introduced in the Senate would make it illegal to pose as someone else to obtain phone records, or to buy records from phone company insiders.

Douglas would like legislation against Caller ID spoofing as well, but there appears to be little interest in Washington.

“If I’m paying extra for Caller ID, which I do … there should be some ability on my part to believe what I’m getting,” Douglas said.

In Alaska, State Representative Bob Lynn has introduced a bill to make spoofing a misdemeanor. “False caller identification is more serious than pranks, or the annoyance of intrusive telemarketing,” Lynn writes. “It facilitates fraud, and can be potentially deadly.”

However, it is unclear what effect the bill would have. As Lynn notes, Caller ID is a federal issue.

YourCallerID.com Tracks Down and Reports Clandestine Callers.

YourCallerID.com is based in Tampa, Florida. Any contact inquires can be forwarded to admin@yourcallerid.com.

Many Canadians have found it tough to hang up on fast-talking scam artists pitching exclusive investment opportunities, pleading on behalf of questionable charities, and promising free trips and prizes.

While many consumers think they couldn’t be fooled by a telemarketing scam, police caution that fraud artists employ highly sophisticated techniques to manipulate, trick and bully. Consumers across the country were robbed of more than $1 million in 2006 in a variety of telemarketing fraud schemes, according to PhoneBusters, the national anti-fraud call centre. Cpl. Louis Robertson, of the RCMP’s Criminal Intelligence Analytical Unit, said fraud artists tend to cast a wide net. “You could be 16 years old or you could be 92 years old. You are a potential victim,” he said.

In December 2006, police in Montreal made a string of arrests, breaking up an alleged telemarketing ring that preyed on seniors and businesses in Canada and the U.S. Police say the alleged boiler-room plot, which targeted mainly Americans, defrauded its victims of up to $13 million over three years. One of the phone pitches allegedly had fraud artists persuading seniors to play phoney lotteries, in which the targets made fake tax payments on non-existent winnings. Authorities allege the scam artists targeted the vulnerable, aiming to rob people of their life’s savings.

Telemarketing fraud can have devastating results, leaving people emotionally shaken and in financial ruin. But experts suggest people can separate legitimate business calls from scams if they ask critical questions and hang up on suspicious callers. How to protect yourself “If it’s too nice, it’s not true,” Robertson said of telemarketing pitches that try to tap into people’s needs or desires. Fraud artists aim to exploit people’s vulnerabilities to their advantage by making lavish promises and offers. Who wouldn’t want a free Caribbean cruise to break a long and cold winter?

Why wouldn’t you want to enter a lottery if you were guaranteed to win? Consumers should slow down and ask questions before agreeing to anything. If you are unsure whether a service or offer is legitimate, take down callback numbers, ask the caller to mail additional information, and ask for references. The following tips will also help protect your savings: If you don’t remember entering a contest you have supposedly won, be skeptical and demand more information. Canadians cannot win out-of-country lotteries. If you are told you’ve won one, hang up immediately.

If a caller tells you that you need to pay for the delivery, taxes or processing of a prize, be cautious. Sometimes, telemarketers will ask their victims to send cash or money orders, as they cannot be traced. Ask for more literature to be mailed to you along with references before you agree to purchase a service or a product. If a person is calling on behalf of a charity, ask them to call back after you’ve done some research. Check Revenue Canada’s database to ensure it is a registered charity. Robertson said people who do surrender personal financial information over the phone are at risk of losing money and their identities. “Not only will you be a telemarketing victim, you are a potential ID-theft victim, next week, next month, next year, in five years, don’t know, but you will be put on the list and that list will be posted on the internet eventually,” he said.

Avoiding manipulation

To avoid getting entangled in a long and involved pitch, people should just end suspicious calls, Robertson said. “Hang up because they’re not scared of us,” he said. “With the new technology, it’s so easy to set up a boiler room.” People can now choose their own telephone numbers and area codes, making it difficult to trace calls, Robertson said. Consumers should also be alert to common manipulation techniques. Scammers will try to sell limited-time offers, encouraging people to sign up for a special deal before they’ve had a chance to do any research. Keep in mind that reasonable businesses will give their consumers a callback number and some time to consider special sales or deals.

Fraud artists also prey on people who are lonely by striking up a false friendship. A caller may use your first name and ask personal questions to create a profile and build some common ground. Be firm, and hang up on any suspicious callers. “They are professional phone callers,” Robertson said, noting they will try to cajole and convince with pleasantries and sweet voices. Alternately, some scam experts may try to use positions of authority to manipulate their victims. The caller may purport to be a government official, a bank manager or a lawyer as an intimidation technique. If you are concerned about a potential problem, ask for a callback number and contact a lawyer or a trusted third party to respond. A scam in January 2007 saw people pose as Canada Revenue Agency workers. Callers were asked to provide personal bank account information. The federal agency warned it never asks people to deposit money into bank accounts registered to an individual, noting all tax debts are payable only to the Receiver General for Canada. What to do if you’ve been scammed Many people who have been scammed are embarrassed or figure it’s too much bother to do anything about it. A poll conducted in 2006 by the Strategic Counsel for the Competition Bureau of Canada found that four in ten respondents said they “did nothing” to resolve incidents of marketing fraud. The top two reasons respondents gave for their inaction was that they assumed it would be too arduous a process and the amount of money stolen was not worth reporting.

But police warn that if you have surrendered information or money, you may be added to a “sucker list” — a database of potential victims that is traded among fraud artists. PhoneBusters notes that telephone fraudsters who have succeeded once will continue to pursue their victims.

Authorities say consumers should also call their local police, banks, PhoneBusters, or the Competition Bureau. Online complaints can also be logged on the RECOL (Reporting Economic Crime On-Line) website (www.recol.ca). Complaints are filed, prioritized, and directed, where appropriate, to partners, including PhoneBusters, the RCMP and the U.S. Internet Fraud Complaint Center. For computer automated calls coming from mysterious numbers, consumers should go online and check databases for telephone numbers and company information. Robertson urged people to take the time, no matter how small the amount.

“If you lose $40, are you going to take the time to call your local police and be on the phone here for 15 minutes?” he asked. “But if the bad guy hits 400 people at $50, at the end of the line, it is a fairly large amount of money.”

• The good: TeleZapper telemarketing call blocker; easy-to-use digital answering machine; three user mailboxes; cheap.
• The bad: Not a true 2.4GHz phone; no backlighting for dial pad; poor LCD backlight and readability; poor call quality; unstable charging position; pointy antenna.
• The bottom line: This bargain cordless phone system zaps telemarketers, but it suffers from pointed flaws.

Almost every state has a free, opt-in “do not call” service, which renders moot the primary feature of the VTech TZ2551 cordless phone system. The phone offers a digital-spread-spectrum cordless phone with a built-in, three-mailbox digital answering machine in the base station, but it’s hard to overlook its many flaws.This phone’s main selling point is the TeleZapper feature. TeleZapper emits a signal that tells predictive-dialing computers (which just dial numbers sequentially until someone answers) that your number is disconnected. Since our test lines are doubly protected by both the New York “do not call” list and by caller ID blocking, we could not test TeleZapper’s effectiveness. Regardless, TeleZapper is more gravy than it is a reason to buy this model.

Although the box reads “2.4GHz,” the TZ2551 is actually a hybrid phone. The 2.4GHz is used only for your end of the conversation, from the handset to the base. Your caller’s voice travels from the base to the handset using the more interference-prone 900MHz bands, although neither our Wi-Fi setup nor the nearby microwave oven seemed to cause any undo interference.

We’re not particularly fond of the TZ2551’s silver-and-black design, but it’s not hideously ugly either. The keys are well spaced but aren’t backlit, while the LCD has only a faint, pea-soup-green backlight that rendered the dim type in the three-line display difficult to read. As with many upright phones, the handset sits uneasily in the charger and is prone to being accidentally dislodged.

But this phone’s worst ergonomic feature is the 1.5-inch, hard rubber antenna on both the base and the handset. For some reason, the antenna’s tip comes to a rather sharp point, making it especially dangerous and painful if you somehow hit your ear with it when bringing the handset to your head. This is definitely not a phone for a home with young children.

As with most modern cordless phones, you get call-waiting caller ID, assuming you subscribe to this service from the phone company. The phone holds as many as 99 names and numbers in its internal caller ID memory (most phones only store about 50 numbers), 40 names and numbers in its phone book, and 10 speed-dial numbers. The digital chip can hold 15 minutes of messages, but there’s no way to limit the length of an incoming message. A caller can spend as long as 4 minutes rambling. The machine cuts people off only if there’s just 30 seconds left on the chip.

Sound quality is below average, rather tinny and buzzy. The VTech TZ2551’s range fell well short of that of other 2.4GHz phones we’ve used–barely 50 feet–probably because of its hybrid nature. We got most of the rated and above-average six-hour talk time and a bit more than the below-average six-day standby time.

VTech TZ2551 Specs and Features

Overview: Telemarketing Blocker is free Caller ID screen software that retrieves callers’ telephone number using your voice modem (you must have subscribed Caller ID feature from your TeleCom and your modem supports Caller ID in your local state). It can block your unwanted calls from telemarketers, surveys, charities, prank calls or automated dialers.

System Requirements:

• Pentium75 CPU or faster

• Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

• 32M RAM

• Voice Modem (Caller ID supported)

• Sound Card and Speaker (optional)

• Caller ID service from your telephone company

  Program Features:

  • Caller ID informs you of who’s calling

  • Two types of black list (private black list and public black list)

  • Auto answers calls in blacklist and play SIT tone to the caller

  • Play a wave message (”please put me on your do not call list”) to blocked calls and then hangs them up automatically

  • Complete history of all calls received

  • Works in two modes (Transparent or Replace Ringer)

  • Auto load while system starts up

  • Minimize on start up

  • Hide to systray

  
  Software Download: (475K Bytes)
  http://www.kengolf.com/download/teleblocker.zip

Since the launch of the federal Do Not Call List in 2003 (http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall), some states have discontinued individual do-not-call programs, merging their information with the federal list. Other states continue to maintain separate do-not-call lists, whose registrants may or may not be shared with the federal list.

The links below provide information about do-not-call laws and list programs in each state.

·        Fraudulent telemarketers understand human nature.  We all want to believe that it’s our lucky day, that we can get a great deal, or that we can solve our problems.

·        Older people are disproportionately targeted by fraudulent telemarketers. That’s because they’re home to get the calls, they have money saved that can be robbed, and they’re too polite to hang up.

·        It’s important to know who you’re dealing with. If a company or charity is unfamiliar, check it out with your state or local consumer agency and the Better Business Bureau. Fraudulent operators open and close quickly, so the fact that no one has made a complaint yet doesn’t guarantee the company or charity is legitimate. Ask for advice about the type of pitch you received and the danger signs of fraud.

·        Some telemarketing pitches are blatantly fraudulent, and you should know the signs. It’s illegal for telemarketers to ask for a fee upfront if they promise or claim it’s likely they’ll get you a credit card or loan, or to “repair” your credit. It’s also illegal for any company to ask you to pay or buy something to win a prize, or to claim that paying will increase your chances of winning. And it’s illegal to buy and sell tickets to foreign lotteries by phone or mail.

·        Other danger signs of fraud may he harder to recognize. They include: pressure to act immediately; refusal to send you written information; use of scare tactics; demands to send payment by wire or courier; demands for payment of taxes or customs fees to claim a prize; requests for your financial account numbers even though you’re not paying for something with them; promises to recover money you’ve lost in other scams, for a fee; claims that you can make lots of money working from home; and refusal to stop calling when you say you’re not interested.

·        Beware of identity thieves. Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, asking to verify personal information they should already have. Contact the company directly to confirm before providing information.

·        How you pay matters. If you pay for a transaction with cash, checks, or money orders, your money is gone before you realize there is a problem. Paying by credit card is safest because you can dispute the charges if you don’t get what you were promised. You don’t have the same dispute rights when you pay with debit cards or give your bank account number. Bank debits have become fraudulent telemarketers’ preferred form of payment.

·        Where telemarketers are located matters, too. Some fraudulent telemarketers are deliberately located in other countries because it’s more difficult for U.S. law enforcement agencies to pursue them. It may be hard to tell where they are; they may have mail forwarded from the U.S. and use telephone numbers that look like domestic long-distance. Be very cautious when dealing with unknown companies from other countries.

·        Be prepared when you answer the phone. Think about the advice you’d give someone else about how to detect fraud, then follow that advice yourself. Use Caller ID or an answering machine to screen calls. Don’t hesitate to hang up on suspicious calls.

·        Know your “do-not-call” rights. Put your number on the national “do-not-call” registry to stop most telemarketing calls. Call 888-382-1222, TTY 866-290-4326 or go to www.donotcall.gov. You can also tell companies not to call you again on a case-by-case basis. Report violations of your “do-not-call” rights through the “do-not-call” number or Web site. Report telemarketing fraud to the NFIC at 800-876-7060, www.fraud.org.

Can I really make money suing telemarketers in small claims court?

Yes, in many cases! You can also forcefully recapture your telephone and your privacy.

Few consumers know that under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA)*, a company that calls you without your permission or without a prior business relationship must remove your name from their calling list immediately after you ask them. Armed with this little-known law, you can banish telemarketers from your life. If the company calls you again, you may sue them for $500 for the first violation and for triple damages for each violation thereafter. You can also collect $500 plus triple damages if you can prove other violations. And even if they never call you back, you can still take action against the company for damages. For example, the law requires that the company maintain a “Do Not Call List,” and a written “Do not Call Policy” which they must provide to you on demand.

Since most companies do not have a written policy, they can be sued for not providing a copy of the policy. The words “on demand” are critical to the interpretation of this law. It is the same wording used in the California Vehicle Code requiring you to provide your driver’s license to a police officer. Legally the company must comply with your request for the “Do Not Call Policy” under ordinary standards of reasonableness. We think five working days is reasonable, although a strong case could be made for demanding the policy via fax or overnight courier.

Click here to see the violations for which a telemarketing company can be sued.

Using “rejection psychology” to your advantage

Believe it or not, telemarketers are trained to “enjoy” the experience of being rejected by you. They are playing a numbers game. Here’s why: They know that on average, one out of 25 people will say “yes” to their offer. As a result, they actually count the “No” responses, with the understanding that for every 24 rejections they will get at least one sale. However, this constant rejection by hundreds of people a day takes its toll. This is why most telemarketers only work four to six hour shifts. The strain of constant rejection is both emotionally and physically exhausting. As a result, when you actually seem glad to hear from them, they are inclined to spend more time with you, even if all you are doing is talking about the weather and gathering the information you need to sue their employers.

Kill them with kindness

We advise never being hostile to a telemarketer —they are trained to deal with hostility, but none of them know how to deal with cheerfulness and enthusiasm. Telemarketers are trained to “take control” of the sales call. When they call you, they have only one intent: to make a sale. Your objective is to get enough information to use the law against them. This means that you have to turn the tables and take control of the conversation. The best way to take control is by being cheerful and asking frequent questions in a non-threatening manner. On page 4 we showed you the information you need to gather in order to sue successfully. In telemarketing terms, this is called “qualifying the prospect.” And the best way to control the call is to interrupt their script by using your script. Read on…

Putting the “Yes/No/Maybe” sales principle to work for you

Most telephone sales people are trained using a sales technique called “Yes/No/Maybe.” The objective of “Yes/No/Maybe” is to get you to say “yes” or “no” as fast as possible. Once you say “Maybe” and start asking unusual questions you slow the marketer down.

Almost 99% of the time, the person calling you will be reading a script. The script is used because years of market research show that salespeople who read a script over the phone and stick to it with minimal deviation tend to make more money. Phone scripts are especially designed to prevent you from asking questions that put you in the costly “maybe” category. All they want from you is a sale. But what you want is the information required to optimize your chances of winning a lawsuit or getting an out-of-court settlement. Your job is to “reel them in.” Yes, it takes hard work and time, but remember, the cruelest thing that you can do to telemarketers is to keep them on the phone without buying anything. Every minute you spend, every question you ask, is costing them money. The kindest thing you can do is hang up the phone. Some consumer advocates have claimed that if everyone in America kept a telemarketer on the phone for just one minute, instead of hanging up, the industry would be bankrupted in a matter of months. After you have qualified a target company as an eligible lawbreaker (they are not a survey firm or a tax-deductible non-profit), you need to send them the following letter. This letter is especially designed to make the strongest possible legal case. Send this letter five working days from the time of first contact.

Now you simply wait for the company to violate the law.

You sent your letter and now you wait. Enjoy the increased silence of your phone in the meantime. Inevitably, one of the companies will break the law in one of five ways: 1) They call you again in the next 12 months. 2) They neglect to put you on the “Do Not Call List” 3) They are not maintaining a “Do Not Call List.” 4) They do not have a written “Do Not Call” policy. 5) They were unable to provide a copy of the “Do Not Call” policy on demand. Once any of the above are violated, you are poised to exercise the full rights of the law. We call this the “F.I.S.T.” legal strategy. “FIST” stands for “File, Inform, Settle, or Trial.”

Even if the envelope claims “You’re a Winner!” you might want to think twice before mailing in that sweepstakes voucher.It could be fake, and a con-artist might be getting the real winnings — out of your wallet.

Telemarketing fraud costs Georgia consumers nearly $500 million annually, according to the Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs.

As an attempt to educate consumers, the state designated this week as the first annual Georgia Consumer Protection Week.

“The people who engage in (telemarketing) are professionals,” said Michael Rupured, University extension consumer economics specialist. “They are so good that they can persuade people who know better to give out credit card information for bogus products.”

Sweepstakes opportunities, prize offers and charity requests are all chances for con-artists to make money off unsuspecting victims.

The best way to make sure the person on the other end represents a legitimate business is by asking questions and checking the caller’s references, according to a Georgia consumer affairs office publication.

Telemarketers acquire names using different sources, such as magazine subscription lists and warranty cards, according to the publication.

A goal of the task force is to increase the number of consumers on the Georgia No-Call List. The list is sent to companies nationwide notifying them of people who want to be removed from call lists, he said.

To be placed on the Georgia No-Call list consumers can visit (www.ganocall.com).

I would just like to take a minute to discuss a few things with telemarketers. I have noticed lately that someone might call my phone and come to find out, as soon as I answer it, they hang up. The caller id says “Unknown Caller”, but it still displays there phone number. They never leave a message or anything. Sometimes they continue to call back numurous times. If you are like me, this is just as annoying as if you had to talk to them and you would atleast like to know who called. YourCallerID.com has created a database that is user driven. Users can use www.YourCallerID.com to submit phone numbers and comments on phone numbers that are “Unknown” or are known as telemarketers.

I think this is the best way to really let other people know of who called you. You may search the database of unlisted phone numbers, as well as add your own comments, if someone has called you and you are unsure of who it is.  The site also will list numbers buy State as well as other critieria. Please feel free to leave feedback regarding the site. This is in the first phaze of development so please report any issues.

My introduction to cellphone solicitation recently arrived in the form of a note from “Roman.”

It said, “Get software 80 % o.f.f. 9fast-secure-immediate download) visit:” and it listed a Web site that I wasn’t even able to reach.

Clearly the note indicated trouble because I don’t know anyone named Roman, and if I did, he probably wouldn’t send me a text message written in such salesman-speak.

A few days later, “Rex” was offering me investment advice.

I decided it was time to figure out how to keep Rex, Roman and their solicitous friends out of my electronic universe. These messages were more than just an annoyance. Unlike telemarketing calls at home, these unsolicited cellular messages were costing me money since my cellular service plan charges for each message beyond a certain number.

It’s against Federal Communications Commission rules for telemarketers to use automated dialers to call cellphones, but that brings me little comfort after the communications I’ve gotten from Roman and Rex.

Here’s what I learned after talking to representatives of both the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission, the two agencies charged with enforcing the laws and protecting consumers in the electronic world. The FCC and FTC Web sites offer a trove of information on blocking unwanted phone calls and Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Market, or CAN-SPAM as it was termed in a 2003 law passed by Congress; the rules took effect in March 2005.

Putting your cellphone number on the national Do Not Call Registry will stop most but not all telemarketing calls. You can register free online at www.donotcall.gov or by dialing 888-382-1222 from the telephone you want to register.

It takes seconds and the registration will last five years. In 31 days most telemarketers are required to stop calling, according to the recording I accessed. Later, you can confirm that you are registered by dialing the same number or checking the Web site.

Still, the Do Not Call Registry doesn’t equal Do Not Send Text Messages.

The FCC ban includes messages sent to cellphones and pagers only if the message uses an Internet address that includes an Internet domain name, generally that part with the “@” symbol.

The ban doesn’t cover a couple of critical areas: short messages like those sent from one mobile phone to another that don’t use an Internet address; and e-mail messages that you get forwarded from your computer to your wireless device.

Calls from or for political organizations, charities and telephone surveyors are still permitted, as are calls from companies with which you have an existing business relationship. Commercial e-mail messages to your wireless phone or pager are allowed only if you’ve given express prior authorization, according to the FCC. That’s where you have to be careful. When ordering anything online, it’s common for the box asking to receive “e-mail updates” to be prechecked. So be sure to find and uncheck that box before sending along your order.

Beyond that, the two federal agencies charged with policing the ban on making unsolicited phone calls say there is little that can be done about unwanted text messages.

For years, telemarketers repeatedly called William Haas asking him to donate to the Virginia State Police Association and other public safety charities.

And for years, the Blacksburg man gave.

But earlier this year, Haas, 74, started asking questions.

He discovered that some of his donations weren’t tax-deductible and that in some cases, the telemarketers were keeping up to 85 percent of his donation.

“They’ll never see my money again,” Haas said.

“I just think there’s too much money going into the pockets on the other side.”

From 2004 to 2006, public safety charities in Virginia received about 26 percent — or about $6 million — of the $23 million that Virginians donated, according to data from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Professional solicitors hired by the charities kept the rest.

Without the money generated through telemarketing, some of the public safety charities have said they would have to cut back drastically on the programs and scholarships they provide, or shut down altogether. Fundraising on their own is not an option, they say, because it is too expensive.

The American Institute of Philanthropy suggests that it should not cost more than $35 to raise $100, but that’s a goal that’s not always met.

The high cost of raising money doesn’t surprise those who have studied telemarketing and fundraising. Nor is the issue unique to public safety charities. Nationally, charities receive about a third of the proceeds of fundraising campaigns, according to the philanthropy institute.

“It is an expensive form of soliciting,” said Michael Wright, manager of regulatory programs for VDACS’ office of consumer affairs.

It can also be troublesome for solicitors.

At least three public safety charities in Virginia knowingly use a telemarketing company that has butted heads with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations of misrepresentation. In September, the FTC filed its second lawsuit against that company, Civic Development Group LLC.

Producing results

The Virginia State Police Association has helped troopers’ families pay for funeral expenses and successfully lobbied for the state to pay health insurance for members who retired on disability or who are on long-term disability leave.

“The money we make from fundraising helps us do these kinds of things,” said Kenneth Bumgarner, president of the association.

The association is currently raising money through golf tournaments and raffles to help pay for a van for Mike Smith, a Salem dispatcher who has muscular dystrophy. A small percentage of money the association receives from telemarketing will be used to match donations made to Smith’s fund.

Bumgarner said he’s bothered by the small return the association gets from the solicitors it hires, including CDG.

The association has signed contracts to receive as little as 18 cents for every dollar collected.

Bumgarner would like to find another way to generate money, but no other type of fundraising the association has tried or considered achieves the same results.

“Believe me, we’ve thought about it,” he said. “We’d like to have every penny of every dollar.”

The association has invested money that its members hope to tap into in the future to replace telemarketing.

Michael Nilsen, director of public affairs at the Association of Fundraising Professionals, said charities should approach fundraising as a way to develop long-term and fruitful relationships with donors.

“They’ve got to look at it as an opportunity to build champions and advocates,” he said.

Telemarketing makes it difficult for charities to build those relationships because solicitors often don’t share the donor lists with them, Nilsen said.

Also threatening those relationships, Nilsen said, is the sense of betrayal some donors feel when they discover how much of their money goes to the solicitors.

“We think this is one of the key reasons fundraising gets a lot of bad press,” he said. “You keep seeing these stories, and I think, frankly, in the long run, they [charities] are hurting themselves.”

Some charities know they are in a tough situation.

The Virginia State Firefighters Association received as little as 15 cents per dollar, or $154,849 of the $1,050,123 collected, during a yearlong telemarketing campaign with CDG that began in October 2004.

But that’s money the association couldn’t have raised itself, said the group’s first vice president, Norman Rice.

The Virginia Police Chiefs Foundation, which has used CDG for more than 10 years, knows from experience it can’t raise the amount of money that professionals can.

The foundation’s staff of three tried doing their own fundraising with mailers, but it was time-consuming and ineffective, said Lex Eckenrode, chief executive officer of the foundation.

“If we lost the CDG money today, we’d probably have to gear down and close up,” he said.

Money raised by CDG accounts for 20 percent to 25 percent of the foundation’s annual budget, which for 2007 is about $550,000, Eckenrode said.

Tax records show that in 2004 the foundation got $1,137,961 from various fundraisers, including CDG efforts, and other public support. The fee for fundraising was $1,028,480, so the foundation netted $109,481.

That money went toward the $259,776 the foundation spent on training for officers and a leadership school for young adults.

The foundation brings in additional money from fees, special events, grants and other fundraising.

But even with that money, Eckenrode said the loss of funds raised by telemarketers would be detrimental to the foundation.

“It would cripple us,” he said.

Behind-the-scenes work

Fundraising is expensive not only for charities but also for the companies doing the work, representatives of two fundraising companies said.

“We’re providing a service that has a cost associated with it,” said Len Wolstenholme, spokesman for Florida-based Xentel, a company that raises money for several Virginia volunteer fire departments and charities, such as the Roanoke and Richmond firefighters associations.

“We’re not holding a gun to anybody’s head to do business with us.”

By hiring professionals, a charity is guaranteed a certain percentage of the proceeds. The charity doesn’t have to spend any money to raise money because the fee is taken from what’s collected.

It is the professional fundraiser that is taking the risk, Wolstenholme said: If a campaign doesn’t raise enough money to cover expenses, the solicitor takes the hit.

“In our case, the charity is never worse off,” Wolstenholme said. “They’re always better at the end of the day.”

Between 2004 and 2006, Xentel and CDG kept $7.8 million of the $10.2 million that they raised for Virginia public safety charities. Those two solicitors alone accounted for almost half the money raised for public safety charities in Virginia in those years; another 17 or so professional solicitors raised the other half. CDG by far raised more money than any other solicitor.

Wolstenholme and CDG said most of the money the companies keep pays a long list of bills, from rent to research and accounting services. Labor is the biggest expense.

CDG said in a statement e-mailed to The Roanoke Times that the company is grateful to see a 5 percent profit from fundraising campaigns.

Wolstenholme stressed that there are things going on behind the scenes that people don’t realize.

“It’s not a simple process of me sitting down with the phone book,” he said.

Xentel invests a significant amount of money into data systems, analysis software, call management systems and the people who maintain and operate that technology, he said.

One fundraising company based in North Carolina has discovered a way to profit without taking a large amount of money from the fundraising pot.

The company, Community Support Services, typically gives charities 55 percent of every dollar collected in donations of less than $25, and 100 percent of every dollar collected in donations of more than $25.

But the company works only with rescue squads and fire departments, and it doesn’t raise as much as some of the larger fundraising companies. For instance, CDG raised an average of $1.48 million per campaign for public safety charities between 2004 and 2006. Community Support Services raised an average of $11,695.

It makes a profit by offering a free family portrait to donors, who often end up ordering — and paying for — more than one copy.

But digital cameras have hurt the photography business, and unless the company can find another product that interests donors, it may have to start taking more of the proceeds from the campaigns, said company President Gary Smith.

On Sept. 27, the Federal Trade Commission announced it had filed a lawsuit against CDG, accusing its solicitors of misrepresenting themselves or misleading potential donors when raising money for police, firefighting and other nonprofit organizations.

CDG said in a statement that the company will fight the allegations.

“We do not believe there is any basis for the current action and intend to defend it vigorously,” the statement said.

This isn’t the first time the FTC has brought action against CDG.

The company in 1998 settled a lawsuit without admission of wrongdoing. That suit alleged that the company misrepresented to consumers that the money they donated to the American Deputy Sheriffs’ Association would benefit law enforcement in their own community or state. The FTC charged that almost none of the money collected benefited law enforcement in the donors’ community or state.

The Virginia Police Chiefs Foundation is using CDG for its current fundraiser.

Eckenrode is aware of the solicitor’s past legal trouble. But he said that other than one complaint about an aggressive telemarketer, he has never had problems with the company.

“People are sued all the time,” Eckenrode said. “I deal with police departments, and they’re sued all the time. People are innocent until they’re proven guilty.”

Bumgarner, too, knows about the lawsuits.

He said he’ll monitor the current suit, and the association’s board of directors will schedule a meeting to discuss whether they want to continue to use CDG.

Xentel has been sued in at least three states, accused of misrepresenting itself and where the donor’s money would go, or of violating a state’s laws. The company has not been sued in Virginia.

Xentel settled those lawsuits with no admission of guilt. Wolstenholme said consumers were not taken advantage of and that the company didn’t fight the allegations because it would have been too costly.

Homework for donors

Haas did what many donors don’t do. He asked questions.

He wants people to be aware of where their money is going.

“I’d like to see the public gain knowledge of what is going on here,” he said.

Wright, who has worked for the Office of Consumer Affairs for 29 years, said donors need to do their homework.

It is the responsibility of the potential donor to find out how much money the charity gets from the donation, how much of the money goes to the charity’s programs, and what those programs are, he said.

It is also the donor’s responsibility to find out if donations are tax-deductible.

For instance, a donation to the Virginia State Police Association’s general fund is not tax-deductible because the money in that fund is used for lobbying. Donations made to funds that benefit specific individuals are also not tax-deductible.

“If you got all the facts and you still want to continue, then by all means. It’s your 20 bucks,” Wright said.

The Federal Trade Commission assures that cell phone numbers will not be released to telemarketers at any time in the near future despite the claims made in e-mails circulating on the Internet.

In addition, according to the agency, it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the DNC Registry to be protected from most telemarketing calls to cell phones.

The truth about cell phones and the DNC Registry is:

• Contrary to the e-mail, cell phone numbers are NOT being released to telemarketers, and you will NOT soon be getting telemarketing calls on your cell phone.
• There is NO deadline by which you must register your cell phone number on the 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 on their cell phones without their consent.
• The national associations representing telemarketers have stated that their clients do not intend to start calling consumers’ cell phones.
• There is only ONE DNC Registry. There is no separate registry for cell phones.
• The DNC Registry accepts registrations from both cell phones and land lines. You must call from the phone number that you want to register. If you register online, you must respond to a confirmation e-mail.
• While the telecommunications industry has been discussing the possibility of creating a wireless 411 directory, according to the FCC, even if a wireless 411 directory is established, most telemarketing calls to cell phones would still be illegal, regardless of whether the number is listed on the federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry.

The following are instances where you should consider filing a complaint against a telemarketer.

If you:

• Have been on the Do Not Call Registry for at least 31 days and are contacted by a telemarketer who is not exempt.
• Receive a telemarketing call that you believe is a scam or is misleading.
• Are solicited to pay a fee to join the National Do Not Call Registry.
• Are not put on a company’s internal do not call list after requesting to be.
• Have received a junk fax without having an existing business relationship with the sender.

You will need to compile as much information about the company as possible to include with your complaint: the company’s phone number as transmitted through Caller ID or your fax machine, or provided verbally by the telemarketer, the name of the company, and date of the call or fax. If the telemarketer says it is calling on behalf of another company, you can ask for the name of the telemarketing company in addition to the name of the company on whose behalf they are calling. Read our Telemarketing Script for more details.

Do not forget to provide your phone number on the complaint, especially if you are listed on the National Registry. If you are complaining about a junk fax, be sure to provide your fax number on the complaint. Both the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission can fine telemarketers up to $11,000 per violation.

Complaints may be made to Federal Trade Commission (FTC):

• Telephone: (888) 382-1222 TDD: (866) 290-4236
• Online complaint form: https://www.donotcall.gov/Complain/ComplainCheck.aspx

Be skeptical if you receive a call or postcard offering you a free or bargain travel package, especially if the price seems completely unreasonable. Do not give out your credit card number, checking account number or agree to send money up front until you get the full offer in writing with all costs and conditions and have time to check it out.     Do not be pressured into buying “NOW!” This should be your first warning sign. A good offer today will remain a good offer tomorrow.     Refuse the offer if you’re told that you have 18 months or more to take the trip. By the time you try to make reservations, the company could be out of business. Many illegitimate firms will use stall tactics so your offer will expire before you can take a trip. Besides, promising that bargain prices to a desirable location are available at any time are usually false. Prices and availability vary wildly between peak and off-season. No company can guarantee below normal off-season rates at the peak of the tourist season.     Get everything in writing. Make sure the written information includes the price of the package plus any additional charges. Find out exactly what is included in the package price and what isn’t. Get the names of specific hotels, airports, airlines and restaurants that are a part of the package. Contact these establishments to double check the arrangements (Find the phone numbers yourself. Do not use a number provided by the company). If they’ve never heard of the firm offering you the trip, don’t sign up.     If the package doesn’t include certain parts of your trip, such as air travel to and from the port of embarkation for a cruise, find out if you have to purchase that through the company or if you can arrange your own travel. Some companies offer you the cruise and hotel accommodations at cost, but then make a profit by selling air travel at a ridiculous mark-up.     Check prices with local travel agencies. Unscrupulous companies often have hidden charges that can end up making a trip cost more than if you’d bought it through a reputable agent. You may not even find out about these charges until you are already in the middle of the trip and are unable to refuse payment. After you get all the information in writing, shop around to see who has the best deal. You may find out that the travel agent down the street can get you a cheaper trip with less hassle.

If they want to loan you money, tell them you just filed for bankruptcy and you could sure use some money.

If they start out with, “How are you today?” say, “Why do you want to know?” Alternately, you can tell them, “I’m so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems; my stomach is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died…” When they try to get to the sell, just keep talking about your “problems.”

If they say they’re Joe Doe from the XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary.

Cry out, in well-simulated tones of pleasure and surprise, “Judy! Is that you? Oh, my GOODNESS! Judy, how have you BEEN?” Hopefully, this will give Judy a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where she could know you from.
 
Say “no”, over and over. Be sure to vary the sound of each one, and keep an even tempo even as they’re trying to speak. This is the most fun if you can keep going until they hang up.
If MCI calls trying to get you to sign up with their Family and Friends plan, reply, in as sinister a voice as you can muster, “I don’t have any friends…would you be my friend?”

If they clean rugs: “Can you get out blood? Can you get out GOAT blood? How about HUMAN blood?” Alternate: “Sorry, my floor is made of stone.”

Let the person go through their spiel, providing minimal but necessary feedback in the form of an occasional “uh-huh”, “rilly” or “how fascinating”. Finally, when they ask you to buy, ask them to marry you. When they get all flustered, tell them you couldn’t just give out your credit card number to a complete stranger.

Tell them you work for the same company they work for.
Example:

Telemarketer: “This is Bill from Water Tronics.”
You: “Water Tronics! Hey, I work for them too. Where are you calling from?”
Telemarketer: “Uh…Dallas, Texas.”
You: “Great, they have a group there too? How’s business/the weather?!?”
Telemarketer: “Sorry, we can’t sell to employees.”
You: “Oh, okay. Bye!”

(Jerry Seinfeld version) Tell the telemarketer your busy at the moment and if they give you their phone number, you’ll call them back.
Telemarketer will say “We’re not allowed to give out our number”.
You say, “I guess you don’t want anyone bothering you at work, right?”.
Telemarketer will agree. You say “Now you know how I feel!” Hang-up.

A Texas Specialists in B2B Outbound Telemarketing that spliced together audiotapes of telemarketing conversations in order to place unauthorized charges on the phone bills of Missouri businesses will pay more than $1,400 total to the state and to those businesses that were defrauded, Attorney General Jay Nixon said today. Nixon said WebXites, one B2B Outbound Telemarketing based in Houston, fraudulently placed start-up and monthly fees for Web page design services on the phone bills of 23 Missouri small businesses.

Nixon says WebXites’ specialists in B2B Outbound Telemarketing sales would call small businesses and offer them a free 30-day trial period to try the company’s services, while informing the recipient of the call that it was being recorded for accuracy. Most declined the sales pitch, but WebXites spliced the calls to create audio tapes that made it appear as though the business expressly authorized the purchase of WebXites services and agreed to have charges for those services placed directly on its phone bill.

WebXites would then send the phony audio tapes to the target business’ phone company so that it could charge the $49.95 set-up and monthly fees to the phone bill of the target business without the business’ consent. Among the small businesses victimized by the scam were a pizza restaurant, a pharmacy, a business that sells log homes, and a chiropractor.

“This Specialists in B2B Outbound Telemarketing took the art of telephone fraud to a new level,” Nixon said. “In some cases, the targeted businesses made it perfectly clear that they were not interested in the services that WebXites was providing, but still found these charges on their phone bill. Small businesses have enough challenges in trying to succeed without having to worry about being victimized by such a shameless scam.”

If you are wanting to add your cell phone to the Do Not Call list, you may call 888 382 1222. You must call this number from the number you are wanting to be added to the Do Not Call list. You may also add your number to the Do Not Call list by visiting www.donotcall.gov.

 FAQ

Is There a Fee To Register with the National Do Not Call Registry?

• No. The service is free.

Can I Register More Than One Telephone Number? 

• Yes. There is no limit on the number of personal telephone numbers that you can register.  However, you may have to register more than once to cover all of your phone numbers. You can register up to three telephone numbers at one time if you register online at www.donotcall.gov.  If you have more than three personal telephone numbers, you will have to go through the online registration process more than once to register all of your numbers. If you register by telephone you can only register one telephone number  at a time.  This is  because you must call the registry from the phone number you wish to register.  But you can register multiple personal phone numbers by calling the registry from each of the numbers.  

Can I Register a Business Telephone Number?

• No.  The National Do Not Call Registry is only for home phone numbers.

Can I Register a Fax Number? 

• No.  Faxes are not covered by the National Do Not Call Registry.   

Can I Register a Cell Phone Number? 

• Yes, by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the cell phone or by logging onto www.donotcall.gov.

Will My Cell Phone Be Assaulted by Telemarketing Calls if I Don’t Register?

• No.  Because telemarketers are prohibited from using automated dialers to call cell phone numbers, telemarketing calls to cell phone numbers are rare.  However, there’s no harm in registering your cell phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry.

Will I Receive Confirmation That I have Registered?

• If you register by phone, you will not receive confirmation.  However, you can verify your registration by calling 1-888-382-1222 or by logging onto www.donotcall.gov. If you register online, you will receive an email for each telephone number that you register.  You need to open each email and click on the link in the email within 72 hours to activate your registration.  If you don’t click on the link in the email, the number you tried to register will not be added to the registry.

Will My Registration Expire?

• Yes.  Your registration will expire five years from your registration date.  You can check your expiration date by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the number you wish to verify or by logging onto www.donotcall.gov. After your registration expires, you will have to re-register. The National Do Not Call Registry was created in 2003, so registrations will begin to expire in 2008.

What If I Get a New Telephone Number? 

• You will need to register the new number.

How Does the Registry Work?

• Telemarketers are required to search the registry every 31 days and delete from their call lists the phone numbers of consumers who have registered.

How Soon After I Register Will I Start Getting Fewer Calls? 

• Telemarketers have up to 31 days from the date you register to stop calling you.

Will Registration Stop All Telemarketing Calls? 

• No.  The National Do Not Call Registry does not apply to calls from or on behalf of political organizations, charities and telephone surveyors.   The registry also does not apply to calls from companies with which you have an established business relationship (see below), or companies to whom you provided express written agreement to receive calls.

Can Some Companies Call Me After I Register?

• Yes.  If you bought, leased or rented something from a company (i.e., if you have an “established business relationship” with the company), the company can call you up to 18 months after the transaction - - even if your number is registered with the National Do Not Call Registry. In addition, if you submit an inquiry or application to a company, the company can call you for three months after the inquiry or application - - even if your number is registered with the National Do Not Call Registry.

Can I Stop These Companies From Calling Me Again?

• Yes.  If you receive a call from a company with which you have an established business relationship, don’t just hang up.  Instead, tell the caller that you wish to be put on the company’s “Do Not Call” list.   Companies must keep their own Do Not Call lists and are prohibited from calling anyone on their list for 10 years.

Can I Stop Charities From Calling Me? 

• Calls made by charities are not subject to the restrictions of the National Do Not Call Registry, and charities are not required to keep their own Do Not Call lists.  However, if a third-party telemarketer calls you on behalf of a charity, you can ask the telemarketer to not to call you again on behalf of that specific charity.

Are Telemarketing Calls from Overseas Covered by the National Do Not Ca