Are cell phone numbers about to go public this month? Fact Check

A message is spreading online that claims cell phone numbers go public “this month” and will be given to telemarketers. The message also urges readers to call a DO NOT CALL hotline to have your number blocked.

An example of the warning can be seen below –

REMEMBER Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month.
All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time… It blocks your number for five (5) years.
You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.
HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON. It takes about 20 seconds.
Please forward to family and friends.

The message above makes several different claims, and they are almost exclusively false. We break down the message below.

Perhaps the most salient detail about the accuracy of the above message is that no, phone numbers don’t go public “this month”. In fact, this message has been spreading online since 2004, meaning for over a decade, this message has been telling readers that cell phone numbers are to go public “this month”.

Cell phone numbers have never “gone public” as described in the message above, and there has never been a deadline to call a DO NOT CALL registry. Additionally, cell phone numbers have never been given to telemarketers in the manner described in the warning, and there have never been an ensuing onslaught of marketing calls to anyone who failed to observe to the advice given in the warning, much less being charged for such calls.

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It is likely, given the date this message began to circulate online, that it was in response to a then-proposed wireless directory in the US between several wireless providers (including T-Mobile and AT&T) in 2004 that would see each wireless provider pool their information together to create one large directory of cell phone users. If the message above was in fact in response to that proposed wireless directory, then it would have still been entirely inaccurate for two reasons …

– The wireless directory would have been strictly opt-in, meaning a cell phone user in the US would have had to explicitly agree to have their phone number included.

– Those who agreed to be part of the service would never have had their number given to telemarketers or even made available to telemarketers. The wireless directory became part of the existing 411 “information” service, and a user would have to call the service and given the details of the person they wanted to connect to. A list of participating cell phone numbers would never have been made available either online or offline.

So no matter which way one looks at this, the above message is entirely spurious, and the longevity of its circulation alone should be enough to discourage anyone from sharing it today.
It is also worth pointing out the claim that a registration to the National DO NOT CALL list also no longer lasts 5 years. While this may have been accurate when the message was authored, registrations now last indefinitely.

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The contact information for the Do Not Call registry in the above message accurate for US readers (1-888-382-1222) and registering your number there is certainly good advice if you want to help curb telemarketing calls. However it also should be noted that most forms of telemarketing calls to cell phones (including the use of autodials) is already illegal under existing legislation. As such, entering your phone number into the registry is still no guarantee you’ll be protected from telemarketers willing to break the law or, of course, scammers.

The FTC has also debunked this long running hoax on their websites here.