Getting more calls after signing up on the Do Not Call List

I was getting about 2 calls a week from telemartketers. I figured signing I and my husband's phone numbers up on the Do Not Call List that they would stop. I noticed about 2 weeks later that we each started getting about 10 calls a day. After 2 months, I removed our numbers from the list and the calls have slowed back down to a few a week. It seems that the telemartketers that dont follow the rules use the numbers on the Do Not Call List. Being on the list lets these callers know that its a valid number that it is used by someone.

The tele-scammers do not use the Do Not Call List as a source of numbers to call.  My cell phone has been on it since I got this number more than 10 years ago.  I get less than 10 pest calls/year.  

Your registration on the Do Not Call list does not go into effect until you've been on the list for 1 calendar month. So if you signed up in April one calendar month is May and it becomes illegal to call you in June.  Businesses that have done business with in the last 6 months can call you, even if you are on the list.  That includes businesses you have only spoken to or if your only contact was to enter a drawing. Politicians and charities - even fake charities - can still call you.

And then there are the scammers.  They are already planning to trick you into giving them money. For a scammer the Do Not Call List law is just one more law to break.

Since I got alot of calls after I listed our numbers on the list, then they slowed down after I removed them, then that tells me they got our numbers off of the list. Doesnt that make sense? or do you truly believe all goverment programs work right?

I've had my cell phone number since 2002, (on the DNC for years as well)  and only in the last year have I seen a significant increase in telemarketing and fraud calls, SMS and txt messages--like from nothing to two or three a week.   I've had my landline for 10 years, also on the DNC since day one.      When I first got it I was deluged with telemarketing calls.   The DNC seemed to slow this for awhile, but recently the numbers have gone up significantly, mostly "Rachel" style robocalls, for everything from cruises and credit cards to security systems.   It seems the offshore boiler rooms are becoming bolder as they see the US government can't touch them even as they blatantly violate US law.

The list is far from perfect.  Its not enforceable if the call is coming from a foreign country.  Even in the US enforcing it isn't high priority.  But I think your calls stopped because you didn't fall for the sales pitches and scams.

Anyone planning to telemarket (like the photography studios that used to call me every couple of months) is required by law to BUY the list.  Its not free, they have to pay.  I think it costs several thousand dollars.  They then have to not call those numbers. A scammer won't spend the money. They call anyone and everyone.

I protect my cell phone number like the gold in Fort Knox.  I don't enter contests.  I haven't given it to Facebook.  I don't give it to merchants when I make a purchase.  I don't sign up for loyalty cards.  Because, in my opinion, thats where many tele-pests get lists numbers to call.

My cell phone is on the Do Not Call List.  It will stay there. Your numbers aren't on that list.  That's your choice.

} that tells me they got our numbers off of the list. Doesnt that make sense?

Not one bit. As people in science and statistics like to say, "correlation does not imply causation". To prove that your fresh federal DNC registration somehow alerted telescammers to another "hot one", you would first need absolute and total global monitoring over who and what collects, stores, trades, and sells your phone number. No one has that power. You do have power to limit your number's exposure to that data trafficking, but not the traffic itself. You therefore cannot remove every factor which kills your conclusion.

An illegal junk caller *might* in theory pay for access to the DNC list and trawl it for useful numbers, if it doesn't mind being well exposed to federal oversight. Even assuming the feds don't see the fraud or don't care, it's a stupid and wasteful method of finding sales leads. If there is one thing telescammers do well it's keep their overhead low. Working a targeted and focused list of leads is more efficient by far than blasting entire counties and states. Companies which track our data bread crumbs and compile lists for sale existed long before there was any discussion of creating a "no call" database. They are not obsolete just because a computer can dial x-thousand numbers a day.

Not Michael is correct all the way about the limits of the DNC program and how *your behavior* can attract unwanted phone calls. My experience has been similar to that of him and Ted. I described it in September 2012 in an infamous thread here.

https://800notes.com/forum/ta-13190fa73c4fc8a ... 155949908589254

We lock car doors. We lock house doors & windows. Watch our bank accounts & credit card statements. But zero security for our phone numbers. A direct link to YOU. R47 has said for years, get a voip phone number. He's right, 100% right. Your choice, Google Voice, MagicJack, computer based, or a home made system. Give THAT number out, & set the voice mail to "quick" (a few rings). For your real phone number, give it out to as few people as possible, & don't have voice mail. If Mom phoned, her number will be on caller ID. You will get junker calls on your home phone (believe me, you will), don't call them back. The idea is NOT to spread your real number around. Magic Jack is nice in the fact you can have voice mail messages sent to your email in box. Check & delete over morning coffee. It's very easy to complain about the Do not call list, but what have you done to protect yourself lately?

While I enjoy being 100% right about something, it's actually Lone Stranger who has often advocated the use of VOIP as a defense mechanism. That's not a trigger I can pull right now but I agree with the concept. I've aliased my email addresses for years, generating a unique and disposable address for each person and company I contact. It's been an excellent method of nearly eliminating spam, simply by becoming invisible to spammers. I would do the same with my phone number except there are simply not enough ten digit sequences handy for anyone to assign a unique alias to each caller.

The next best thing is as you describe, retaining a "public" or decoy number which you won't mind losing if it's heavily compromised.

if your numbers are on the no call list nobody sure have it but that does no good.please stop calling when we do not give our number out to the companys

I used to. Some Auto Insurance company trying to give me quotes. One Debt Collector called looking for my neighbor, but I got rid of him real quick.

The same thing happened to me. The day after I signed up for the Do Not Call list, I got flooded with calls -- all from different numbers around the country, and always no one on the other end when I pick up -- and it hasn't stopped. I used to get 1 or 2 calls a day at most. After going on the DNC list, I've been getting around 25 a day. It only happened after I went on the list.

Perhaps someone who works with the list is selling new numbers to these companies. Since it shows they're valid numbers, they call them (since they're going to ignore the list anyway, doesn't matter that they're on it; but now they know it's a valid number).

So I don't think it's happening above board. But there are many people who work with the lists, and maybe someone is feeding them to these companies.

Or maybe they're doing it to punish people who go on the list, as a way of discouraging use of the list. I don't know. All I know is that it happened right after I went on the list, and I've had this number for many years, and it's never been like this!

I realize this doesn't happen to everyone. It could be random which numbers this ends up happening to. (If there's an inside person selling the new numbers, then it could be that it happens with numbers that come in while they're working. I don't know.)

Stop spreading such nonsense.  The DNC works for legitimate telemarketers.  Scammers, and thieves have no regard for the law.  Why would you think, that they would?  These vermin use autodialers.  Are you shilling for the scammers?

I seems really funny that someone would dredge up this thread considering it has been dormant for 2 years.

Still, there may be a point that an unscrupulous telemarketer(s) purchased the list to be used as their autodialer database.  I don't expect they all war-dial all the time.  It's probably gotten merged in with lots of other phone number lists.  If you want to purchase the list (which sellers are required to do), you can get information on that here: https://www.donotcall.gov/faq/faqbusiness.aspx

This is worth repeating.
I have yet to receive a call from a legitimate company.