FYI for USA residents

[calenwen]

Cell phone numbers went public yesterday.

All cell phone numbers are now being released to telemarketing companies and you will likely start receiving sales calls, which you will be charged for.

To prevent this, you can call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. This is the National DO NOT CALL list and it blocks your number for five years. (You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked.)

Or you can go to:
www.donotcall.gov

[Ivy]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/cell411.asp

[Jennywocky]

'nuff said. (http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/cell411.asp)

EDIT: Sigh. I'm fast... but not as fast as Ivy.

[calenwen]

lol, good to know.

[outmywindow]

Heh, I just registered my cell number about a week ago without having heard about this 'pressing issue.' I was there registering my home phone number, which gets about four or five telemarketing calls a day and I thought I might as well take care of the cell phone while I was at it. Every once in a while I get these calls on it which are strange prerecorded men speaking in Spanish. Where and how they figured I spoke Spanish I will never know...

[Anonymous]

For the longest time I got calls from a massage parlor asking for some guy who I've never heard of. I called them about three times to tell them that I am not him nor have I ever heard of him, but it never helped. A few weeks ago some woman personally called and left a message asking for the guy, and I've never heard back. Maybe I have a split personality, and my other half craves massage parlors? That's really my only experience with cell phone solicitation, though, which is surprising, since I always use my cell number when I have to give my number out to places which I don't completely trust.