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Do you get a lot of calls trying to sell you products or services you never asked for? Sometimes telemarketing calls are random. Other times, companies trick you into sharing your information so they can sell it to the telemarketers that call you (without your permission). If you’re on the Do Not Call Registry, these calls are illegal. So, how can you cut down on the number of unwanted telemarketing calls you get?

If you share your info with websites offering coupons, sweepstakes, or quotes for products like insurance or warranties, the site owners might collect and sell it to different telemarketers. That’s when the calls start from telemarketers — making calls you never agreed to receive and selling products you didn’t ask for. And that’s when the law violations can start adding up too.

Today the FTC announced a settlement with Citizens Disability, a company selling Social Security disability advocacy services primarily through telemarketing calls. The FTC charged that the company bought people’s information (which came from websites offering things like coupons and sweepstakes) and used it to make millions of illegal telemarketing calls, including robocalls. The FTC also charged that the company falsely told millions of people it was calling in response to the person’s recent inquiry about their eligibility for Social Security disability benefits.

To help you cut down on unwanted telemarketing calls and avoid scams:

  • Protect your personal information. Before you enter your information on a website, search the name of the site plus “complaint,” “review,” or “scam.”
  • Report illegal robocalls at DoNotCall.gov. Many illegal robocalls lead to scams. Learn more at ftc.gov/robocalls.
  • Remember, if you’ve registered your phone number on the Do Not Call Registry, you shouldn’t get live sales calls from companies you haven’t done business with before.

For more advice on how to stop unwanted calls, visit ftc.gov/calls.

Topics
Unwanted Calls
Scams
Phone Scams
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