(Sorry about the title and this post has nothing to do with photography.)
Canada’s National Do Not Call List turns five years old in September. If you registered your phone number(s) with the Do Not Call List back in 2008, remember that registration lasts only five years. To keep your number(s) on the list, you must re-register every five years. Thanks to a recent change, once you register a phone number, it stays on the Do Not Call List indefinitely unless you de-register it.
Political parties are exempt from the Do Not Call List. A provincial by-election is being held later this week in the area of Toronto where I live. Today I received 14 phone calls, between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm, from the three candidates running for election. A few of these calls were from real people but most were automated “robocalls.” This telephone assault started a few days ago and will continue right up to election day.
Business to business telemarketing calls are also exempt. You are not supposed to register a business phone number, or even a personal number used for business purposes, with the Do Not Call List.
Surveys and opinion polls are exempt from the Do Not Call. So some telemarketers will use a fake, meaningless survey as a prelude to their sales pitch. Sometimes they will offer a fake prize for completing their pretend survey. To collect your “prize,” you have to phone another number which leads to their sales people.
Speaking of scams and fraud: the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
