How did we ever live without called ID? Although we haven’t bothered to sign up for the federal “do not call” list because we are lazy and indolent, we get a similar effect by simply ignoring any call when the little box reads “caller unknown.” But that way we sometimes miss cell phone calls from actual people. We will no longer miss calls from actual people because starting last Thursday, ALL telemarketers have to identify themselves:
- Along with their telephone numbers, telemarketers will be required to transmit their names to caller-ID readers where technically possible, the FTC said.
Some telephone companies are not yet equipped to handle caller names.
Telemarketers may alternatively transmit the names and phone numbers of the companies for which they are selling products, the FTC said.
The new rule should make it easier for consumers to call telemarketers back and ask to be left alone, according to the Direct Marketing Association, a trade group.
The FTC tightened telemarketing regulations last year, creating the tremendously popular Do Not Call registry, which forbids telemarketers from calling households that do not want to hear from them. [Reuters]