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Do courier companies sell our cell phone number to spammers?

H

hajime

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
8,132
1,393
Hi, I signed up for notifications of my package via SMS on FedEx website yesterday. Since then, I got a lot more spam calls yesterday and today. I recall that the same thing happened last time. Don't recall which courier company. Do they sell our numbers to spammers?

Also, there are websites from non-courier companies that can track our package provided with a tracking number. What are they? If we provide our tracking number, I can imagine that they can use it to gather private information such as name, address, phone numbers, package info, sender info, etc.
 
Usually I just copy/paste a tracking number into Google by itself. Google figures out the shipping company and even provides some tracking info in the search results.

As for a number being given out. I couldn't say. But spammers have your number already. Those lists are traded and sold. Even if you never give out your number. Autodialers will try every number. Once someone answers or a voicemail answers. That number is now in a list. Which will most likely get traded and sold forever.
 
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I’ve not thought about it lately, but I remember a time when people had unlisted numbers. I suppose that is a dead feature these days.
 
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Huntn said:
I’ve not though about it lately, but I remember a time when people had unlisted numbers. I suppose that is a dead feature these days.
Click to expand...

Kind of pointless now. Since they are all in databases being bought and sold. It's not like there's sales people cold calling from the White Pages anymore.
 
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In the U.K. you can opt out of all unsolicited calls. Not everyone plays by the rules though.
I never give my mobile number out for deliveries etc. I rarely get a call.
 
hajime said:
Hi, I signed up for notifications of my package via SMS on FedEx website yesterday. Since then, I got a lot more spam calls yesterday and today. I recall that the same thing happened last time. Don't recall which courier company. Do they sell our numbers to spammers?
Click to expand...
No, common carriers do not sell customer phone numbers. I've had online accounts with all the major common carriers going back to the Nineties (FedEx, UPS, DHL, the defunct Airborne Express, maybe a few others) as well as a bunch of regional carriers. I've had my current number since 2007 originally with GrandCentral.

Amusingly one of the best anti-telephone spam services is Google Voice. Google acquired GrandCentral and relaunched as Google Voice. Over the years they improved the spam protection and their database of telephone spammers is massive. Apparently they also have some technologies that can detect faked Caller IDs and spoofed numbers.

One of the most common ploys is to spoof a number with the intended victim's area code and prefix to make it look like someone local is calling, so (212) 867-xxxx would be displayed to someone with a number like (212) 867-5858.

I don't get these calls anymore. Google Voice is blocking all of these.
 
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Huntn said:
I’ve not thought about it lately, but I remember a time when people had unlisted numbers. I suppose that is a dead feature these days.
Click to expand...
Unlisted numbers were for landlines to prevent publication in the white pages. Note that an unlisted number did not automatically give you special privacy privileges.

The US consumer protection laws for landlines are far more strict than cellular numbers which are pretty much a free-for-all.

The FTC's Do Not Call service (donotcall.gov) was for landlines only and only reputable organizations respected those lists. Note that some organizations were exempt: religious groups, charities (like your local Police Athletic League), political fundraising groups, etc.

There was another marketing trade group (Direct Marketing Association) that set up their own do-not-call list in the Nineties. I remember signing up for it twice because each request lasted five years. This was before it got so bad that the FTC had to step in.

There were also laws that specified that companies needed to maintain their own do-not-call lists. You couldn't just say "Stop bothering me!" or "Who gave you this number?" You had to specifically request, "Put me on your do not call list."

US cellular numbers have no such protection.

Whitepages are no longer published on paper but there are websites that accumulate old phone numbers via public records, etc.

Those landline consumer protection laws have not been nullified but almost everyone has switched to mobile phones.

I just checked my FTC Do Not Call registration: it is still on record and valid. I signed up in February 2009.
 
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Erehy Dobon said:
One of the most common ploys is to spoof a number with the intended victim's area code and prefix to make it look like someone local is calling, so (212) 867-xxxx would be displayed to someone with a number like (212) 867-5858.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I keep getting a call from (212) 867-5309 from some woman I don't know named Jenny ...
 
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Huntn said:
I’ve not thought about it lately, but I remember a time when people had unlisted numbers. I suppose that is a dead feature these days.
Click to expand...

Ya, but their the dishonest ones. Optus, Telstra, Verizon etc..

We trust them, not to do it. In actual fact i don't even trust Do not call registers for the same reason ..

Asking you to add yourself for protecting makes it easy to track afterwards anyway. If someones going find your number anyway, why make it easier for them?
 
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These companies can sell my telephone info as much as they like.

In Norway we can opt out of unsolicited marketing or sales calls. Any Norwegian or established company that calls me up to sell me something etc, would be subject to a fine and other sanctions if I complained. That goes for junkmail if I tell the post office I don't want any.

People can still drop flyers in my postbox and of course the scammers continue to ring. However, if I don't know the number I NEVER answer. If it is important they will leave a message and I will get back to them. Sometimes I have a bit of fun and answer the scammers and pretend to have a heart attack and die during the phone call. I have even enjoyed the Microsoft scammers calling me up to fix my PC. After several minutes when things are not getting installed as they would like, I then inform them I have a Mac :)

Companies that do surveys are still allowed to call. i suspect that is why a lot of the polling is wrong as people like me never answer them.

Actually, these days many people outside the close circle or for business actually prefer to arrange a time for a phone call or video chat in advance.

It seems like a long time ago when for many households there was a single telephone in the hall.
 
Just wait to become older and post you resume (including a phone #) on Web job sites! That’s when I started to get those calls!

What I tell kids whatever you do on web/social sites and the thing we say especially when young! To me when I’m really old elections of all kinds will become ‘he/she said this once’!
 
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