[FARC] all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow

[Bob Moroney]

Isn't this one of those urban legends that keeps cropping up every few 
months over the last several years?

Google the words "cell phone numbers released telemarketing", and check 
out the results that come back.

You can definitely register your cell phone in the Do Not Call Registry, 
but why bother? 

No matter what you do, you'll still get "wrong number" calls and maybe 
even those really annoying pre-recorded marketing calls (usually for 
debt consolidation rip-offs) that tell you to "Press 1" to get more 
information on whatever they're pushing.  The fact that your number 
(landline or cell) is listed in the Do Not Call Registry makes 
absolutely no difference with these calls, although it seems like the 
folks who run these operations do tend to go a bit lighter on the cell 
phone numbers, perhaps just to stay below the Feds' radar.  Or perhaps 
the cell phone providers block them more effectively. 

I'm reminded of the time when I fumble-fingered dialing a friend's cell 
phone number, and got someone else's cell phone.  Even after the usual 
apology for dialing a "wrong number", this fellow DEMANDED! that I tell 
him where I got his number.  I patiently tried to explain the concept of 
"Oops, wrong number, Sorry." to this person, but I'm not sure I got 
through to him.  My guess was that he was getting close to his time 
limit for the month, but we didn't get into that.  I was in a hurry...

73, Bob K9CMR
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Howard W3CQH wrote:
> REMINDER.... all cell phone numbers are being released to 
> telemarketing companies tomorrow and you will start to  receive sale 
> calls.
> .... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
> To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 
> 1-888-382-1222.
> It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of 
> your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
> You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You 
> cannot call from a different phone number.
> You can also block any of your phones from www.donotcall.gov