Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch
At last month’s monthly meeting, Lt. Brian Blache, a forensic computer examiner in the Financial Crimes Division of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, gave an informative talk. One of his comments was that if you don’t answer your phone, eventually you will get few scam calls. I can attest that this is true. For many years, if a caller isn’t in my contacts list, they are transferred immediately to voice mail. I hardly get these calls anymore. His talk also reminded me of a column I wrote for another computer club in April 2014. It was my thoughts about the National Call Registry. I hope no one will mind too much if I repeat it here this month.
Does anyone remember the Perry Mason television show that aired back in the 1950’s and 60’s? Perry was a lawyer that had an extra phone line installed in his office. The only people who had this second telephone number were his secretary and a private detective. That way, when the phone rang, Perry knew it was important and would answer it immediately.
Here we are, sixty years later. Almost everyone has a telephone they can carry in a pocket or purse wherever they go. Isn’t technology great? Now we can get a call almost everywhere we are. Gone are the days of running to the telephone from the other side of the house, picking it up and hearing a dial tone.
Hardly anyone has to miss a call anymore. You can answer it in the mall, behind the steering wheel, walking down the street or sitting on your throne. How wonderful!
Unfortunately, behind every silver lining, there is a cloud. It is so easy for telemarketers to program their computers to call you and everyone else that has a phone number. Don’t you just love all of those interruptions? Me neither. I sure wish the government would save us.
Wait a minute! I nearly forgot! The government is already protecting us from unwanted calls. On March 11, 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the Do Not Call Implementation Act. The law established the FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry in order to facilitate compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. This law is working so good that compliance complaints have increased every year except one. You would think that complaints would decrease until unwanted calls are a thing of the past.
Could it be that people are complaining because of the law’s exemptions? A person may still receive calls from political organizations. Luckily for me, I don’t get any of those types of calls.
A person may still receive calls from not for profit organizations. Once again, I’ve been lucky. I don’t get any of those types of calls.
A person may still receive calls from companies with which he or she has an existing business relationship for up to eighteen months after their last purchase, payment or delivery from it. I can’t believe how my luck is holding. I don’t get any of those types of calls either.
My personal favorite exemption is that a person may still receive calls from companies conducting surveys. Turns out that some of these companies call with a survey and then ask for permission to make a follow up call. The follow up is an attempt to sell you something. Guess what? I haven’t gotten any survey calls.
Even though I have never registered for the Do Not Call list, I expect that my luck will continue to be pretty good. I don’t really care who has my phone number. If I receive a call from a number that isn’t in my contacts list, it goes straight to my voice mail. When my phone actually rings, I know that it is a call I might want to answer. Like Perry Mason, I don’t get calls from unwanted people.
Keep on clicking and thanks for reading.