PITTSBURGH — The national Do Not Call list is supposed to protect consumers from telemarketers and scammers, but Channel 11 News’ Katherine Amenta learned the list might not mean as much as it should.
Now 13 years old, the Do Not Call list has more than 222 million people on it, with nearly 10 million just in Pennsylvania.%
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“While the do not call list is intended to stop most telemarketing calls from reaching consumers’ homes, there are exceptions,” Amy Schulman with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said.
Included among the exceptions are political groups.
As for the groups that are not exempted, complaints nationwide about violators are up.
Pennsylvania ranked seventh as the state with the most violation complaints. Overall, complaints have more than tripled in the last five years mostly because of companies that ignore the list.
“Unfortunately, there's always going to be folks who do not comply with the law, or we have scammers out there who utilize spoofing technology,” Schulman said.
Spoofing, in which the person calling has tricked the caller ID, is a popular tactic in the Pittsburgh area, with scammers posing as the IRS.
“We always advise consumers to be very careful when they're giving any personal information over the phone, or they're making any payments over the phone,” Schulman said.
Programs have been created to provide an extra layer of protection for telemarketers. Privacy Star is one such program that has information online and an app to help block calls. An app called Robo Killer works to identify when an automated call is coming in and can block it.
To learn more about either app, visit the websites below:
- Privacy Star -- https://www.privacystar.com/
- Robo Killer -- http://www.robokiller.com/
To register for Pennsylvania's Do Not Call Registry or to file a complaint,
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