Local GOP Web Site Likely Spreading Inaccurate Info About Cell Numbers Going Public

Don't get scammed, check first

Update: Nov. 14, 2008 –– I had emailed the Hays County GOP and notified the party that it had incorrectly / falsely provided cell phone misinformation to the public and that it should remove it and publicly apologize for this error. One hour later I checked the site and the party had removed the false cell phone commentary without an apology or any reference to it. It appears the GOP is trying to pretend the incorrect information was never on the site. Politics as per usual? No one wants to admit to a mistake?

-- P.S.

An alert reader has caught the local GOP web site passing on some possibly bogus information.

Party officials, it would seem, have bought into a scary chain email that's been going around for a couple of years warning that our cell phone numbers are about to be released to the whole world and to those obnoxious telemarketers.

Their web site message is almost identical to the errant email.

Here's what it says: "REMINDER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month. All cell 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 National Do Not Call List from your cell phone at: 888-382-1222. It takes about 20 seconds of your time and blocks your number for 5 years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number."

A quick check with Google found dozens of entries debunking this information as myth, or half true at best.

Here's one of the entries, posted Jan. 25, 2008:

Email Hoax: Cell Phone Numbers NOT going public. I received a note yesterday from an advocate who forwarded on an email claiming that cell phone numbers were about to be released to telemarketers and the email contained the official Do Not Call Registry phone number.

The email claimed: "Cell phone numbers going public tomorrow – Reminder: All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow 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: (888) 382-1222. It is the National Do Not Call list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number. Help others by passing this on to all your friends. It takes about 20 seconds."

In an attempt to alert others, many of us proceeded to forward this email on – just as the email advised. A few minutes later while doing a bit of research on these claims, I was happy to find our numbers were not about to be released – rather, it was just an email hoax.

The good news is, if you acted on the email and called the Registry to log your cell phone number, no harm was done. You simply added another level of protection by registering your number with the Do Not Call Registry. The phone number itself was and is, a known legitimate number to the offical Do Not Call Registry.

You can call the same number to register your home phone number if you haven't done so. If you did so years ago – remember it only blocks calls for five (5) years.

FTC facts: "If you've received an e-mail telling you that your cell phone is about to be assaulted by telemarketing calls as a result of a new cell phone number database, rest assured that this is not the case," the FTC says. "Telemarketing to cell phone numbers has always been illegal in most cases and will continue to be so. In response to recent e-mail campaigns urging consumers to place their cell phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission issue this advisory to give consumers the facts."

Registry program: 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. Wireless 411 service: Qsent Inc. is working on a "wireless 411" directory and the new Wireless 411 Service will provide cell phone users the choice and opportunity to list cell phone numbers in the same nationwide voice 411 service they use for land-line phones. They must opt-in to the service to be included, and consumers wishing to be left out of the directory need only ignore the opportunity to be included. Directory numbers will be given out individually, as requested, but the directory will not be published or sold to telemarketers.