Your Local Phone Company Can Stop Unwanted Telemarketing Calls

You may be able to eliminate many unwanted telemarketing calls by taking advantage of custom calling services offered by your local phone company.

• Call Screening (*60): Your phone can be programmed to reject calls from selected numbers with a service called Call Screening (your local phone company might use a different name for this service). Instead of ringing on your line, these calls are routed to a recording that tells the caller you will not take the call. With Call Screening, you can also program your telephone to reject calls from the number of the last person who called. This allows you to block calls even if you do not know the phone number. Most phone companies charge a monthly fee for this service.
  
  Call Screening is not a foolproof way to stop unwelcome calls. A determined caller can move to a different phone number to bypass the block. Also, Call Screening does not work on long distance calls from outside your service area.



• Call Return (*69): This service allows you to call back the number of the last person who called, even if you are unable to answer the phone. Some people suggest that Call Return can be used to stop harassing callers by allowing you to call the harasser back without knowing the phone number. Use caution with this method of discouraging harassing callers, however,
  as it could actually aggravate the problem. This service is generally paid on a per-use basis.



• Caller ID is not likely to allow you to capture the phone number of the determined telemarketing services. Many will block their phone numbers. However, Caller ID can be used to decide whether to answer the phone. Simply choose not to pick up calls marked "private" or "unavailable," or calls from a number you don't recognize. If the call is important, the caller will leave a message.



• Anonymous Call Rejection (ACR), a companion service to Caller ID, requires an incoming call from a blocked number to be unblocked before the call will ring through. Use of this feature forces telemarketing services to disclose the number - by entering *82 - or to choose to not complete the call. This service can be added to your local phone service for a fee or at no charge, depending on your local phone carrier. It is activated and deactivated with the touchtone code *77.



• Privacy Manager: Many local phone companies offer a relatively new service called Privacy Manager. Similar to Anonymous Call Rejection, it works with Caller ID to identify incoming calls that have no telephone numbers. Calls identified as "anonymous," unavailable," out of area" or "private" must identify themselves in order to complete the call. Before your phone rings, a recorded message instructs the caller to unblock the call, enter a code number (which you must give them), or record their name. When your phone rings, you can choose to accept or reject the call, send it to voice mail, or send a special message to telemarketers instructing them to put you on their "do not call" list.