Remember to register your cell phones for the "do not call" list

[mayfly]

JUST A REMINDER. In about two weeks ALL wireless phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: (88382-1222.
It is the National DO NOT CALL LIST... It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
To register online use the following link:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

[sunlover5]

I'll have to do this. I didn't know cell #s would be released

[rafala]

i just did it on line and it took 2 seconds. you type in your number, you can do up to 3 at a time, and they send you an email, you click on the link and you are activated. my email came through while i was still reading the info on the page so they are very fast.

karen

[hattielee]

Thanks for the reminder

[galena]

Another URBAN LEGEND!

You can read the entire story on snopes.com, but here is the point:

"Despite dire warnings about the imminent release of cell phone numbers to telemarketers that continue to be circulated via e-mail year after year, no such thing is about to occur, nor do cell phone users have to register their cell phone numbers with the national Do Not Call registry before a soon-to-pass deadline to head off an onslaught of telemarketing calls.

The panic-inducing e-mails (which circulate especially widely every January, since many versions of the warning list the end of that month as a cut-off date for registering cell phone numbers with the national Do Not Call registry) have grown out of a misunderstanding about the proposed creation of a wireless directory assistance service. although the gist of some warnings are correct in alerting consumers to a proposed directory of cell phone numbers, they are misleading in stating that such a directory will "soon be published" (the word "published" implies making a printed directory available, which the wireless consortium maintains they will not do) and in directing readers to sign up with the The National Do Not Call Registry.

The latter step will not keep wireless customer listings out of the proposed Wireless 411 database — it will only add their phone numbers to a list of numbers off-limits to most telemarketers, a step which is premature (because the Wireless 411 directory has not yet been implemented) and largely unnecessary (because the Wireless 411 directory information is not supposed to be supplied to telemarketers, and because FCC regulations already in place block the bulk of telemarketing calls to cell phones).

Some versions of the exhortation to cell phone users to add their names to the Do Not Call Registry erroneously state there is a specific deadline for getting listed. Says Lois Greisman, the Federal Trade Commission official who oversees the anti-telemarketing registry: "There is no deadline; there never has been a deadline to register."

Adding one's cell phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry won't have any adverse effect, but customers should be aware of exactly what that action will and will not accomplish."

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

[KAZMAN]

Another good rumor place to look at...

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

Summary of the eRumor
The eRumor warns that cell phone numbers will soon be published in the same way as the numbers for wired phones and that you should sign up with a new government cell phone "do not call" registry to prevent solicitor calls from coming to your mobile phone.
Some versions say the cell phone numbers are being handed over to telemarketers by a certain date, such as January 1, 2005.
Some versions say there is a deadline for listing your cell phone on a "do not call list" such as December, 2004.

The Truth
The U.S. government has established a "do not call" registry where you can list phone numbers you want blocked from unsolicited calls such as from telemarketers.
That registry is for both wired and mobile phones and there is no deadline by which a phone number needs to be listed in order to be protected from telemarketing calls.
There is not a separate cell phone registry.
The registry is at: [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now].

At this writing (12/3/04) there is discussion among mobile providers about setting up a mobile phone directory listing mobile phone numbers.
According to the Cellular Telephone and Internet Association (CTIA), a cell phone directory is proposed that would be available through calling directory assistance only, not published in writing or on the Internet.
So far, there is not a set date when that will be done and the CTIA says the numbers are not going to be "handed over" to telemarketers.
Users would have the option of not having their numbers listed in the directory.

Some telemarketers call some phone numbers regardless of whether they are listed in directories because they use devices that dial numbers in sequence looking for working numbers although at present, they are prohibited by law from including cell numbers.


Updated 12/03/04

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Version #1
Starting Jan 1, 2005, all cell phone numbers will be made public to
telemarketing firms. So this means as of Jan 1, your cell phone
may
start ringing off the hook with telemarketers, but unlike your
home
phone, most of you pay for your incoming calls. These
telemarketers
will eat up your free minutes and end up costing you money in the
long run.

According to the National Do Not Call List, you have until Dec.
15th
2004 to get on the national "Do not call list" for cell phones.
They
said that you need to call 1-888-382-1222 from the cell phone that
you wish to have put on the "do not call list" to be put on the
list.
They also said you can do it online at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

Registering only takes a minute, is in effect for 5 years and will
possibly save you money (definitely frustration)! Make sure you
register now!


Version #2

FYI:
A directory of cell phone numbers will soon be published which all consumers may access. This will open the doors for solicitors to call you on your cell phones, using your precious minutes. The Federal Trade Commission has set up a "do not call" list. It is called a cell phone registry. To be included on the "do not call" list, you must call

1-888-382-1222 from the number you wish to register......or you can go to their website at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] to sign up (under the heading "Register A Phone Number").

[tlspiegel -Closed]

Hoax... [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]