"Not in Service" and "Illegal Scam" Calling....

Jim and I have a landline so we have a phone number to give to hotels and stores who absolutely must have our phone number to transact any business with us. You know the gambit. You order something online and the asterisk indicates that your phone number is a required field and you can't complete your order without filling in your phone number. You're lucky they don't also want your Social Security number and your birth date. I've actually had to resist pressure from some agencies who think they need my SS # when they don't.

But to have a landline is to need caller ID. I've received innumerable calls from "not in service," with a local number listed, and at least four calls from "illegal scam." Somehow scammers and telemarketers are able to pose as local callers using local numbers. Don't fall for that. If a number and name looks unfamiliar, don't answer the phone. Also, do not press any number "to be added to the 'do not call list.'" That's a ruse to let the scammers/telemarketers know you got the phone call. It only encourages them.

Search the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Information website for suggestions on how to block telemarketers. I saw at least one suggestion that looked like it might work, but I haven't tried it. I'd publish it here but that would be irresponsible if it didn't work.

If Congress could get rid of robocalls and telemarketing and revive the short-lived success of the "Do not call" list that, according to Slate, worked from approximately 2003 till either 2010 or 2011, Congress' approval rating would shoot way up. In the meantime, businesses and motels don't make themselves popular by insisting on having our phone numbers. Most don't need our phone numbers and shouldn't require them.

We really have to draw the line when businesses ask for our Social Security numbers and dates of birth. Ninety-nine percent don't need our SS numbers or our DOBs.