Released September 3, 2008

STILLWATER, Okla. – The scenario is usually the same, you just sit down to dinner or turn on the television to enjoy your favorite show and the phone rings…it is a telemarketer. You wonder how can I get them to stop calling?

You can opt out of these inconvenient phone calls by signing up on the National “Do Not Call Registry.”

Glenn Muske, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service interim associate dean, assistant director, family and consumer sciences, said the “Do Not Call Registry” allows you to register both land lines and cell phones and registration is free. The registration is found on the Web site https://www.donotcall.gov or toll free at 1-888-382-1222 from the number you are registering.

“Calls are required to stop within 31 days of registration,” Muske said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop all telemarketer calls. Phone companies, banks, airlines, insurance companies, nonprofit charitable organizations and politicians are not under this jurisdiction and won’t be impacted by the list.”

This list also applies only to calls across state lines, so calls within a state will be permitted unless you get on the state’s do not call list. The Web site for state information is http://www.the-dma.org/government/donotcalllist.shtml.

Muske said to have agencies stop selling your information to direct marketers go to www.OptOutPrescreen.com or call 888-5-optout.

“The Web site provided is brief and there is a simple form to fill out,” he said. “You can opt out for a five-year period or permanently opt out. To permanently opt out, you will need to print out, sign and mail information to the provided address.”

To get on the Direct Marketing Association “Do Not Mail File” go to the Web site: http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist.

This can be accessed online, but there is a processing fee of $1, Muske said.

“The mentioned ways will considerably slow down credit card offers, but won’t completely stop since they get their information from other sources,” he said. “There is a frequently asked questions page for opting out found at https://www.optoutprescreen.com/faq/htm, that will assist with questions on this topic.”

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http://www2.dasnr.okstate.edu/Members/katie.reim-40okstate.edu/stop-unwanted-calls

Contact: Katie L. Reim, 405-744-6792, katie.reim@okstate.edu