Now I Know: A Profitable Way to Stop Telemarketers

This is something I wrote five years ago today; I don't know if it'll still work but I'm still tempted to try it. -- Dan
 

A Profitable Way to Stop Telemarketers

In June of 2003, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission opened the doors to the National Do Not Call Registry, a database of phone numbers whose owners didn’t want to receive calls from telemarketers. The registry, centered on a website at DoNotCall.gov, was generally rather successful for a while, but over the years has become less and less reliable. (If you want to know why, Mental Floss has a good explanation.) The rule of thumb now: if you give your number to an organization — online in particular — you’re going to ultimately get unwanted robocalls.

Which stinks.

Combatting these calls is a fruitless endeavor despite all sorts of efforts. It’s not a problem limited to the United States, either; other nations have established similar Do Not Call efforts with a similar lack of sustainable success. Take for example the efforts in the UK; called the Telephone Preference Service, it is widely considered to be broken at best.

And yet, one guy turned the tables.

In 2011, Lee Beaumont lived in the English city of Leeds, and like most everyone else, was fed up with the telemarketers — human and robocallers alike. His friends and family rarely called him on the phone; it being 2011, they and most other legitimate contacts sent him primarily emails and texts. As a result, many if not most of the calls he received were unsolicited ones from people trying to sell him something (or scam him). Changing his number wouldn’t work — ultimately, he’d have to give out that new number to a bank, retailer, or someone else who could let it seep into wherever telemarketers get their data.

And that’s when an idea hit him. Per the Guardian, Beaumont “paid £10 [that’s about $13] plus VAT to set up his personal 0871 number,” a premium-rate telephone number. (Americans know these as 1-900 numbers.) As the BBC explained, Beaumont then used that as his phone number whenever a commercial relationship was involved: “Every time a bank, gas or electricity supplier asked him for his details online, he submitted it as his contact number.” He was honest about what he was doing, telling these organizations that, yes, this was like any other 0871 number and, yes, you’d have to pay to call him, but that he was fed up with phone scams and didn’t know what else to do.

The number ultimately forwarded to his regular phone number, but not before callers were informed that if they stayed on the line, they’d be charged 10 pence per minute for the courtesy of speaking with Mr. Beaumont. Callers didn’t know this, but Beaumont received 70% of that per-minute fee. And it kind of worked. The BBC reported that the number of such calls Beaumont received fell by approximately half, and yes, some others actually paid up. Within two years, he made about £300.

Not everyone was happy with Beaumont’s ploy, though. Phone Pay Plus, the regulator of 0871 and other premium phone numbers in the UK took exception. Through the press, they advised against others following in Beaumont’s footsteps, saying that “premium rate numbers are not designed to be used in this way” and warning those who dare try that “they will be liable under [Phone Pay Plus’s] code for any breaches and subsequent fines that result.”



Now I Know is supported by readers like you. Please consider becoming a patron by supporting the project on Patreon. 

Click here to pledge your support. (If you do, in gratitude, you'll have an ad-free Now I Know experience going forward.)

Bonus fact: Another way around telemarketer spam? Change your name to something difficult to pronounce, maybe. That’s what a British man originally named Tim Price figured, at least. In 2012, according to Metro, Price changed his name to “Tim P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-price” (pronounced, he says, “Tim Per-per-per-per-per-per-per-per-per-per-rice “) under the theory that telemarketers would just go to the next name on the list rather than try to sleuth out the pronunciation. Whether it worked went unreported, but Tim 10P Price spent £100 — $130, give or take — to give it a try.

From the Archives: Off the Hook: A creative use for pay phones.
Like today's Now I Know? Share it with a friend -- just forward this email along.
And if someone forwarded this to you, consider signing up! Just click here.
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Archives · Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 Now I Know LLC, All rights reserved.
You opted in, at http://NowIKnow.com via a contest, giveaway, or the like -- or you wouldn't get this email.

Now I Know is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Some images above via Wikipedia.

Now I Know's mailing address is:
Now I Know LLC
P.O. Box 536
Mt. Kisco, NY 10549-9998

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your email address or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

Older messages

Now I Know: The Center of the Universe, Oklahoma Edition

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Given the effect, it's probably more accurately described as a Total Perspective Vortex, at least if the President of the Galaxy is using it. View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the

Now I Know: JFK and the Two Joe Russos

Monday, July 11, 2022

It wasn't a clean sweep but there was a janitor involved View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives Part of me hopes stuff like this wouldn't work today; part of me fears

Now I Know: How My Search for Strawberry Jam Led to Pigs in Las Vegas

Friday, July 8, 2022

It's the Now I Know Weekender! View this email in your browser · Missed an issue? Click here! If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format is different than the rest

Now I Know: The Recursive Candy Bar

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Give me a break? View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives Today is National Chocolate Day (apparently) so here's a story of never-ending chocolate, originally from 2017. As

Now I Know: The Runway

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

A tiny town steps up to the task View this email in your browser · Missed one? Visit the Archives I think this is a nice story about a community coming together to help a stranger; I hope you enjoy it!

You Might Also Like

👀 3 small biz ideas you’ve never thought about

Thursday, March 28, 2024

These unconventional Main Street biz's will raise your eyebrows... 3 small biz ideas you've probably never thought about Hey Contrarians, 🚨 Brace for impact 🚨 Our BigDeal podcast is coming to

3-2-1: On muddy puddles and leaky ceilings, the secret to productivity, and how to spoil a great relationship

Thursday, March 28, 2024

3 ideas, 2 quotes, and 1 question to consider this week. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

24 Hours Left: Grab Your Discounted CEX Ticket Now!

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Last call to save on your ticket - spring pricing goes away at the end of March ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Every cold outreach intro:

Thursday, March 28, 2024

I'm so impressed by what you are doing ‌ ‌ ‌ We have 4 updates for you this week: 1. On Peep's Mind Every cold outreach starts with a variation of "I'm so impressed by what you're

Here's What You Missed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Last week, David hosted a live Q&A about all things writing and Write of Passage. Here are ten of the best questions we covered. Write of Passage logo transparent-1 The Write of Passage Bootcamp is

Do you know where your burnout is hiding?

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When “outer work” meets “inner work” ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Beard Dough

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When Russians paid the government for the right to have facial hair ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

🧙‍♂️ 6 new sponsorships opps we hunted down

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Plus secret research on Lululemon, NerdWallet, and WHOOP ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

It's Q2: Time to build

Thursday, March 28, 2024

When people ask what Copywriting Course is, I have to explain it's actually a series of courses. It's like a tote bag that comes with a bunch of items: ​ You don't become a world-class

• Email marketing for authors + posts to 100K FB Group readers + Tweets

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Reserve your date... Email Marketing for Authors by ContentMo enable images to see this "Books of the Day" Promotions for Authors and Publishers with Social Media Extras! Dates Fill Up Fast,