I looked at Snopes.com for cell phone numbers going public
and it seems as if it's an urban myth.
Here's the link:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/cell411.asp
That
said, the Do Not Call number given in the previous email is accurate and has
helped me significantly cut down on telemarketing calls on my home
number. You can use it for your cell as well, but according to Snopes cell
phone use for telemarketing is much more limited. Not to say I haven't
gotten the occasional unsolicited solicitous call on my cell but it has been
rare...
***********************************
Urban Legends - from About.com; confirmed at snopes.com
(also)
SUMMARY: Forwarded email warns that a directory of cell phone
numbers
will soon be published and urges users to enter their cell
phone
numbers on the federal 'Do Not Call' registry to prevent
unsolicited
calls from telemarketers.
Description: Email
rumor
Circulating since: Sep. 2004
Status: Mostly false
Email
example contributed by Wyonne M., Jan. 9, 2009:
-----------------------------------
Subject: Cell
Phone Numbers
Pass it
along...
REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public
next month.
REMINDER.... all cell phone numbers
are being released to
telemarketing companies 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:
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.
HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL
YOUR FRIENDS.. It takes
about 20
seconds.
-----------------------------------
Comments: Yes, you can add your cell
phone number(s) to the National
Do Not Call Registry.
But no,
you won't suddenly be at the mercy of 10,000 telemarketers if
you
don't.
While it's true that several of the major wireless phone
providers
announced a plan some years ago to establish a 411 directory
of
customers' cell phone numbers, it is not true that the plan
involved
publishing said directory for any and all to read.
Participating
companies said the numbers would be made available only
via telephone,
only to users who dialed directory assistance and paid
a fee, and only
with customer consent.
In any case, the point
has been moot since 2006, when the plan to
create a 411 directory for
cell phone numbers was indefinitely
postponed.
The Federal
Trade Commission does allow cell phone users to add their
numbers to
the National Do Not Call Registry — the same one already in
force for
landlines — either online or by calling 1-888-382-1222.
Doing so
probably isn't necessary, mind you -- per FCC regulations,
telemarketers are already prohibited from using automated dialers to
call cell phone numbers -- but millions have already signed up, and so
can you.
Contrary to what most variants of the email rumor claim,
there is no
31-day, 16-day, or 8-day deadline for adding cell phone
numbers to the
Do Not Call list — indeed, there is no deadline
whatsoever. More Info
from the Federal Trade Commission
=