Friday, June 6, 2014

Illegal phone calls to my business — June 2014

For the month of June, I'm going to log illegal phone calls made to my business. As a business, my phone number is easy to find and is not on the National Do Not Call Registry. I'll let you research why these calls are illegal and you can submit a comment if you disagree. I have checked each number using Google search to insure that it isn't for a legitimate business.

June is done. Almost 50% of the calls to my business were illegal. My conclusion: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is responsible for enforcing the laws and regulations, has totally lost control over the marketers.

On June 10, I removed all of my blocked numbers. Calls to a blocked number go directly to voice mail without my phone even ringing. Also note that I don't use the word "Hello" when I answer the phone; some systems incorrectly key off of that. I have Reveal from Cincinnati Bell which makes it harder for anonymous or private callers from calling my business. I did not include missed calls and there were a few of those the last week when I was on vacation.

If one of these phone numbers is yours and you want it redacted, please contact me by email.

Phone NumberCaller Identifier NameDate, Time of CallType of CallBusiness Mentioned or Note
402-260-1555West Point, NebraskaJune 4 1:21 p.m.Hang up
458-201-0551Eugene, OregonJune 4 5:10 p.m.RobocallBusiness loan
678-606-5652GA, USAJune 6 11:06 a.m.Robocall"Google Maps service provider"
458-201-0419Eugene, OregonJune 9 1:13 p.m.Hang up
714-233-2319Huntington Beach, CaliforniaJune 9 2:02 p.m.Hang up
714-233-2319Huntington Beach, CaliforniaJune 9 2:34 p.m.Robocall"Small business loan up to $250,000"
661-295-8596Palmdale, CaliforniaJune 10 8:41 p.m.Robocall"Political call," "SBA grant for exports"
215-383-1717Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaJune 11 4:33 p.m.SilenceWaited for 30 seconds after answering.
216-278-0121Cleveland, OhioJune 13 3:56 p.m.Hang up
206-858-8178Seattle, WashingtonJune 16 1:47 p.m.2-second rule
661-295-8596Tullahoma, TennesseeJune 16 9:41 p.m.RobocallRecycle your electronics.
727-938-0000Tarpon Springs, FloridaJune 18 1:44 p.m.RobocallU.S. Federal Data Corporation (see note 1)
253-236-2670Kent, WashingtonJune 19 2:52 p.m.Hang up
361-400-1007Yorktown, TexasJune 23 12:18 p.m.Hang up
513-452-5045Harrison, OhioJune 23 12:47 p.m.Robocall"Someone has claimed your Google business listing."
513-247-****Cincinnati, OhioJune 25 4:03 p.m.Spoofed; SilenceSee note 2.
214-440-0271Plano, TexasJune 26 2:17 p.m.One ringSee note 3.
800-646-6942Toll FreeJune 30 7:24 p.m.Hang up
800-646-6942Toll FreeJune 30 6:45 p.m.SilenceWaited for 20 seconds after answering.

Times are in Eastern Daylight Time (U.S.A.)

Explanation of type of call

2-second rule: The marketer must talk to me within two seconds after I have finished my greeting. This marketer violated that rule.
Hang up: I answered the phone and the marketer hung up on me without speaking.
Robocall: An automated system called me.
Silence: After I answer the call, give my company name and say, "This is Bruce," the marketer does not respond. The note shows how long I waited for a response.
Spoofed: See note 2.

Note 1: The Better Business Bureau has given the U.S. Federal Data Corporation an "F" rating.

Note 2: The caller actually spoofed my company's fax number. When I answered it, there was silence and I hung up after 15 seconds. There is no way my fax machine placed this call. I don't know if this is technically illegal, but I'm wondering how many other people they're calling using my fax number.

Note 3: This call only rang one time and left the caller identifier but hung up before the second ring. My understanding is that marketers try to time the number of rings to avoid voice mail.

There are a number of services for tracking these types of phone numbers but there are too many to choose from. I will use the format here instead but just for one month.

Updated July 6.

2 comments:

  1. We keep receiving calls daily from this number at our mobile accessories business at www.mycutemobile.com. Then, the woman on the other line requested for the owner. When I told her the owner does not come in everyday, she hung up. It has been going on for days for about a month now. Looks like it clearly is a spam according to these other people who received calls from them.

    Does anyone know where or how we can report them so that they will stop calling and stop scamming people?

    ReplyDelete

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