Stop Phone Spam

Al Macintyre's Radio Weblog : Al's random interests while learning what can be done with Weblogging, and perhaps what ought to be done.

Stop Phone Spam

Here is e-mail I received from the Attorney General for the State of Indiana (I live in Evansville Indiana), because I signed up for the state's no-call list. I have spiffed it up a bit to look nice in this location. I mentioned this in e-mail to Indiana friends when I first signed up for this thing, and may add to this story later with that kind of detail.

I have a few other posts to my weblog of similar topics to this one, such as Stop Identity Theft. Sometimes a link to one of my stories gets inexplicably broken (with the title in double quotes not being properly translated into a hyperlink, and I cannot figure out how to fix it on a timely basis. Use this directory of my stories as a backup if need be. http://radio.weblogs.com/0107846/stories/ Also see Security and e-law categories.

Date: 1 Oct 2002 15:51:10 -0000
Subject: Important Indiana telephone privacy information

You are receiving this message from Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter.

We are providing this information in standard text format so that no viruses or other damaging programs can infect your computer. (Al Macintyre has enhanced the appearance on this weblog story.)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TELEPHONE PRIVACY

You are now registered for Indiana's Telephone Privacy List. The following are answers to three "frequently asked questions" about the Telephone Privacy program. You may find them helpful.

Q: Will the Telephone Privacy law stop all telephone solicitations?

A: No. The Indiana General Assembly did provide exemptions for certain types of calls. Unfortunately, we cannot stop calls exempted by the law. Those calls include:

--Calls made at the express request of the consumer.
--Calls related to an existing debt or contract for which payment or performance had not been completed at the time of the call. (e.g., a debt you owe).
--Calls made on behalf of charitable organizations if the calls were made by employees or volunteers of the charitable organization.
--Calls made by real estate brokers or salespersons.
--Calls made by insurance agents soliciting the sale of insurance products.
--Calls soliciting the sale of newspaper subscriptions if the calls were made by employees or volunteers of the newspaper.

Q: What do I do if I receive a telephone solicitation?

A: Don't hang up. Get as much information as possible before terminating the call. In particular, we need the following from you in order to pursue your complaint:

--Name of the firm making the call.
--Date and time of the call.
--Product or service offered.
--Telephone number. (While this is not always possible, please make every effort to get a telephone number).
--Your participation. We ask that you be prepared to testify in court and obtain phone records from your telecommunications carrier.

Q: How do I file a complaint?

A: Filing a complaint is simple. Just visit our website:

www.in.gov/attorneygeneral,

download and complete a complaint form, and mail it to the address noted on the form. If you do not have internet access, you can call 1-812-355-5915 to request a complaint form. Please note that this number is different than the number used to register for the Telephone Privacy List.

Thank you for reviewing this important information. Your participation as an educated consumer will allow us to make the Telephone Privacy Program a success in Indiana.

Stephen Carter

Attorney General

If you did not mean to have your phone number registered on the List, you can remove it. The form to delete your phone number is available at: