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Cell Phones Covered Under Do-Not-Call Registry

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - With the migration of people from land line phones to cell phones, advertisers have tried to go there too, and in many cases they're not supposed to.

Cell phones are covered by Do Not Call list rules, says Kurt Schroeder of the FCC (Deputy Chief Consumer Policy Division, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau), and that means many cell phones can be put on the National Do Not Call registry.

"Telemarketing calls cannot be made to anyone who is on the National Do Not Call registry," Schroeder says. "If the cell phone is for personal use and is akin to somebody's residential telephone line, the number can be put on the national Do Not Call registry."

Auto dialers and robocalls are prohibited, as are advertising text messages.  Schroeder says the FCC gets a "substantial number of complaints" about unwanted telemarketing.

Contact the FCC's Consumer Center by go to FCC.gov/complaints; calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:

Federal Communications Commission Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street
SW Washington, DC 20554

For more information on the national Do-Not-Call Registry: DoNotCall.gov. To register by phone, call 1-888-382-1222 (voice) or 1-866-290-4236 (TTY). You must call from the phone number you wish to register.

Reported by John Ostapkovich, KYW Newsradio 1060

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