Avoiding telemarketing scams
You and your family are sitting down to dinner and like clockwork, the telephone rings. The voice on the other end of the line speaks in a slow, robotic voice, like someone reading a fill-in-the-blank script. He is soliciting donations on behalf of some wonderful-sounding cause like, say, the “American Firefighters’ Gifted & Talented Amputee Fund.” You are asked to contribute whatever you can. Just give the guy reading you his script your credit card number and he will do the rest.
Not all of these calls are scams. Some are on the up-and-up. But both varieties can easily be eliminated and your dinnertime can be family time once again. Just head over to https://www.donotcall.gov, register your phone number and most of these cold-call solicitations will magically go away. Another smart thing is to upgrade your phone package to include features like Caller I.D.
However, some of these nuisance calls may persist. The more unethical the culprit behind the scheme, the more likely they will find your number and dial it. And there goes your dinnertime.
Spotting the bait
