Frustrated with spam calls? Here’s how to stop telemarketing calls

How many times have we been rudely interrupted by a telemarketing call when we are in the middle of an important meeting, are driving, are in an extreme rush or are just not in the mood to humor anyone? Telemarketing and spam calls are something we all must live with in this day and age when businesses are cutting each other’s throats to attract the fleeting attention of the customer. Read on to find out how your phone number ends up with telemarketers and how to stop telemarketing calls?

But how do telemarketers know so much about you?

Your registration on the ‘Do Not Disturb’ registry notwithstanding, telemarketers still find a workaround. From two to five calls a day, telemarketers do know how to press a raw nerve and you need to understand the ways in which telemarketers work in order to block telemarketing calls.

Telemarketers can easily get hold of your basic personal details – name, birthday, emails and addresses. Have you ever wondered how and why an average telemarketer knows more about you than, probably, your neighbor? If you read the few ways by which telemarketers get hold of your number and other details, you’d realize its not that difficult and you may even smirk at the audacious simplicity of it all.

Let’s look at some of the ways in which you may end up unwittingly giving your number to spam callers.

• Reason 1: You received a gift on WhatsApp

We live in a world today where messages on messaging apps are forwarded without notice. Forwarded messages may contain malicious links that look very similar to regular webpages. This is one of the most common ways in which people end up giving their details simply because it promises a 'gift'. These gifts are enticing to anybody who lands on these phishing webpages and they range from mobile devices to cars and free phone recharges to lottery sums that leave your eyes and mouth wide open. Why wouldn’t you give away your phone number – one measly piece of information – for a chance to win (and get that soft ego massage we all crave for)? Understand this vital piece of information to stop telemarketing calls.

• Reason 2: You installed an app in a hurry without reading the terms

There is a new game making all the waves in the market and you find yourself in a frenzy to install it. Little did you know that it came along with a random music software. The continuous clicks on the ‘Accept’ button (did you read those Terms and Conditions? We bet you didn’t!) installed a few more questionable spyware and by the time you realized all the unknown extensions in your browser, the myriad of extra pop-ups that started appearing out of nowhere have served their purpose. They’ve successfully collected your keystrokes which may even include sensitive information such as login details and the data has already been sold to the telemarketers who are primed to exploit it in the best possible way. Its in your best interest to carefully read all the terms and conditions to block telemarketing calls.

• Reason 3: Your information was leaked by someone

This is the most common way to access information. In today's world, leaks happen at an alarming frequency on account of human or technical errors or security breaches. There have been innumerable examples of leaks and they’ve been unrelenting to even the heavyweights. Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL are some of the names that have had to go through a rough period of massive hacks and leaks which in turn burned a small hole in their pockets.

Leaks from credit companies and banks too put the information out in the world for anybody to access it which is why your telemarketers call you when they know that you need a loan as they already have the information.

And then there are ways like entering into an online contest, filling up a form, signing up for a service, donating to your favorite charity (oh, yes, they probably gave away your number) sharing it with your store to get discount credits, dialing numbers like 800, 888, 900… the list is virtually endless. Unfortunately most of these are services do require a valid phone number to be entered before you can avail of it, so it leaves you with no choice but to share your personal phone number, which can easily find its way to telemarketers.

How to stop telemarketing calls with a bit of common sense

Perhaps, the most sure-shot solution to save yourself from telemarketing calls is awareness. While we all crib about upholding privacy in an increasingly digital world, the way things work around us makes it nigh impossible to do that, it would seem. But just a dash of common sense and use of some easy solutions will help make your life a bit more sane and peaceful.  

There are a few other things you can do to protect yourself from the incessant barrage of spam calls. Be vigilant about how and to whom you give out your phone number. Be careful of apps that ask for too much access (why does a flashlight app need access to your call logs?). Read terms and conditions before downloading a software. Get a call and text blocker app or use your phone’s inbuilt service to block those nasty calls. Don’t accept calls that don’t look familiar. If it is a real person, he or she might likely text you to identify themselves.  

Get a cloak of anonymity and block telemarketing calls

Once it is established that telemarketers won’t receive your data if you don't hand it over to them, you have several methods that you can use to escape this process altogether. There are a string of ways to avoid the forever data-hungry marketing agencies, all of which are easily available to explore.

Services have been long established on the internet that give you an anonymous identity. These include services like temporary emails and phone numbers, Virtual Private Networks and Socks proxies that make you virtually anonymous to track and immune to data leaks. A solution to outwit those telemarketers that you can explore is to get a second phone number so that you can give that out freely without worrying about your personal number falling in the wrong hands.

Get a second phone number with the Phoner App and be at ease about your privacy

Temporary, or second, phone numbers come to your rescue while signing up for services and eventually save you from the constant spamming and an endless string of telemarketing agencies wanting to sell you the world. These phone numbers can be used to sign-up for non-personal uses.

The Phoner app gives you a second phone number that you can use and its free! Apart from getting a second phone number and answering your question of how to stop telemarketing calls on cell phone, you can also call from the second phone number and text anonymously. Phoner to Phoner text messaging is free and you can also change your second phone number without having to change your phone or signing any kind of contract.

Download the Phoner app today and buy yourself peace of mind. Your problem of ‘how to stop telemarketing call’ ends here.