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Jul 23, 2008 5:16 pm US/Pacific
Ways To Stop 'Junk' Cell Phone Calls
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
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That cell phone call might not be from a friend -- it could be a telemarketer.
CBS
"Junk" cell phone calls are a growing -- and annoying -- trend in telemarketing.
"I think it's an invasion of your privacy," said Dustin Duhne.
"I think it's unfair. They shouldn't be calling," said Adam Ferguson.
"It started out with the one call, but over the last couple of weeks it's snowballed. It's taken on a life of its own," said Gretchen White, an employee at CBS 5.
One hundred twenty million Americans use their cell phones for business and to talk to family and friends, not to talk to telemarketers.
"We don't want to be getting hassled on our cell phones," said Paola Cubias.
For consumers like Gretchen, it's more than just a hassle.
"It's gone up to about 9 or 10 different numbers that I'm getting repeated calls from on an almost daily basis," she said.
We found website upon website with annoyed consumers complaining about junk calls and spam text messages. In fact, you can type in the incoming 800 number and find out who's calling you.
"The problem with these things, besides the fact that they're annoying, is that it costs people money," said Bill Nusbaum, a telecommunications attorney with The Utility Reform Network. The calls eat up your minutes and text messages can cost 10 cents each.
To stop calls, log into your provider's site and activate spam filters, change your default email address, and never click on spam text messages. You can also sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry.
All these suggestions help, but they don't offer complete protection. "There are a lot of loopholes," said Nusbaum. For example, political or charitable calls and companies you have a business relationship with can still call you.
"I want the rings to be ones with people that I want to talk to and conversations I want to have," says Gretchen.
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