Cell Phone Spam

Just when we thought we were rid of telemarketers thanks to the 'do not call' registry which put an end to annoying dinner time phone calls, they're back. Cell-phone spam is the new generation of annoying you via your most intimate possession. It may be a simple phone call asking you to join or try or the call can be a text message which shows up on your bill for $10.

Minimize your chances of getting unwelcome text messages:

• Call your carrier as soon as you receive a spam message. Three are no hard-and-fast rules govern the removal of text-message charges.
  

• Block cell spam at the source. Virtually all spam messages come over the Internet via a SMSC (Short Message Service Center) or e-mail/Internet gateway, possibly from overseas. Go to your cell account online and access your e-mail and/or messaging preferences. Then activate the setting that blocks messages over the Internet.

• Some carriers allow you designate certain addresses from which you don't want to receive texts. Check to see if yours is one of them.

• File a complaint with the FCC by filling out online form 1088.

• Register your cell number with the National Do Not Call Registry.
  

• Prevent spammers; never download to your phone from a service you don’t know and trust.
  

	Do-Not-Call Registry

You can register your phone number and it will remain on the national do-not-call list for five years. You may re-enter your number on the list when the five years have passed, and you may remove your number from the list at any time.

The Do-Not-Call registry does not prevent all unwanted calls. It does not cover the following:

• calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship;

• calls for which you have given prior written permission;

• calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements;

• calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations.

	How to Register

Subscribers may register their residential telephone number, including wireless numbers, on the national Do-Not-Call registry by telephone or by Internet at no cost.

Consumers can register on-line for the national do-not-call registry by going to www.donotcall.gov. To register by telephone, consumers may call 1-888-382-1222: for TTY call 1-866-290-4236. You must call from the phone number you wish to register.

In addition to the establishment of a national Do-Not-Call Registry, there are other amendments to the Commission's rules implementing the TCPA that may reduce the number of telemarketing calls to your home:

• If you subscribe to CALLER ID, you should know when a telemarketer is calling you: telemarketers are required to transmit Caller ID information and may not block their numbers.

• Telemarketers must ensure that predictive dialers abandon no more than three percent of all calls placed and answered by a person. A call will be considered "abandoned" if it is not transferred to a live sales agent within two seconds of the recipient's greeting. As a result, you are less likely to run to answer the phone only to find silence or the "click" of the calling party disconnecting the line.

In addition to these changes the rules provide: Telephone solicitation calls to your home before 8 am or after 9 pm are prohibited. Anyone making a telephone solicitation call to your home must provide his/her name, the name of the entity on whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number or address at which you may contact that entity. Company-specific do-not-call lists are available to consumers who wish to avoid telemarketing calls only from specific companies. For more information see our Unwanted Telephone Marketing Calls Factsheet

	How to Complain

Filing a Do-Not-Call Complaint

In addition to complaints alleging violations of the national do-not-call list, you may also file a complaint against a telemarketer who is calling for a commercial purpose (e.g., not charitable organizations) IF:

• The telemarketer calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM; OR
  

• The telemarketer leaves a message, but fails to leave a phone number that you can call to sign up for their company specific do-not-call list; OR
  

• You receive a telemarketing call from a company that you have previously requested not call you; OR
  

• The telemarketing firm fails to identify itself; OR
  

• You receive a pre-recorded commercial message from someone with whom you do not have an established business relationship and to whom you have not given permission to call you.
  

How to File a Complaint

You can file a complaint by e-mail (fccinfo@fcc.gov), telephone 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY, by fax to 1-866-418-0232, via our electronic complaint form at http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm, or mail. For the FCC to process your complaint you must either fill in the electronic form completely or otherwise indicate:

• your name and address;
  

• the home phone number where you received the solicitation;
  

• identification of the individual or company whose products or services were being advertised or sold, and any phone numbers included in the call;
  

• a description of the call;
  

• any phone number provided to allow you to “opt-out” of future calls;
  

• whether you or anyone else in your household gave the caller express prior permission to call;
  

• whether you have an EBR with the caller (specifically, whether you or anyone else in your household made any purchases of property, goods, or services from the company that called, or made any inquiry or filed an application with the company prior to receiving the call).

If mailing a complaint, send it to:

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554