How do you sign up for spam calls? This question may come out of curiosity or when you want to prank a loved one. Here, we will talk about the common ways people get signed up for spam calls, whether accidentally or intentionally. This article also discusses the legalities surrounding adding someone’s phone number to get spam calls.
A Spam call, text, or email is an unsolicited message sent to someone without their consent. These messages, calls, or emails may advertise products or services. But, they can also be designed to steal personal information through phishing attempts. These calls, texts, or emails often offer scams with unrealistic returns or rewards. Overall, they are usually a nuisance. And when their intent is scams or phishing attempts, they can cause a security risk.
Under U.S. law (such as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003), it is illegal to sign someone up for spam or other forms of unsolicited messages without their consent. Violating the law can result in significant fines and other penalties. If the calls, texts, or emails the victims receive contain aggressive or threatening messages, they can be classified as harassment which means criminal charges. However, most spam situations lead to civil penalties and steep fines. So, you should always seek express consent before signing someone up for anything.
Generally, you can directly or indirectly add a phone number to get spam calls. Signing up indirectly often involves activities we carry out without understanding their implications such as placing ads on social media with our personal phone numbers. Others involve deliberately signing up to get spam calls. Let’s talk about all the different ways how to sign someone up for spam calls.
You can use the Automatic Number Identification to anonymously sign someone up for spam. This means finding a list of Telemarketers in your location and then dialing their numbers from the target phone number. For instance, if a Telemarketers number is like 900, or 888 in your locality from the target number. The number gets captured immediately and stored by the Automatic Number Identification System. This means Telemarketers in that area now have access to that phone number.
Sometimes, research companies offer surveys, panels, and free trials to the public. Usually, their goal is to access information that can aid them persuade more people to purchase their products and services. If you provide your phone number in that survey, then you’ve added the phone number to get spam calls from their telemarketers. In the future, they can simply use their auto-dialing software to call the phone numbers on their list.
Some certain websites can also be used to sign up someone for spam calls. Such websites often offer a series of free trials of their products and services and ask for your information such as phone numbers and emails in exchange. Once they get your phone number after you’ve signed up, they might call or send text messages in the future.
Posting a phone number publically is almost as good as signing someone up for spam phone calls. Let’s say you post an online ad with a target phone number, telemarketers and other people can be attracted to it. So, they might try to call that number. Spaces where you are likely to attract spam calls include Meta and Craigslist.
Having an account on any of the social media networks brings a remarkable amount of exposure and visibility to your doorstep. So, when you publish that person’s phone number on any of the popular social networks, you might as well have signed them up for spam calls or texts. The most effective are X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
What if you wanted to sign someone up for spam texts? Below are the two most effective ways to do that. As said before, always pay attention to the legal consequences before you sign up for spam calls or texts.
Companies often offer online forms, where you subscribe by providing details such as your email or phone number. If you do so with someone’s phone number, you might be signing them up to receive spam texts.
There are websites dedicated to enabling you to set up custom prank texts to your friends and family. Here are the popular ones to sign someone up for junk texts.
Emails are one of the popular ways of receiving spam content. However, as with other techniques, always check your legal implications before you sign up for spam calls. Here are some ways to sign someone up for junk email.
Signing up on untrusted websites is one of the ways to sign someone up for junk mail. These websites often have security leaks that telemarketers and malicious agents might take advantage of. Signing up on adult websites, gambling websites, and websites with content about college information are such occasions that can increase instances of spam interactions.
An email chain is a series of email messages exchanged between two or more individuals. Sometimes family members or work colleagues create these chain emails to be able to send specific information to a group of people at the same time. These types of email interactions can create loopholes, where people who don’t belong to the group join up to access the emails and addresses of other people to send spam emails to them. So, signing up someone to chain emails can increase their exposure to spam interactions.
Publicly posting their email on forums, social media platforms or even Facebook groups can increase the risks of spam interactions. Once you post their email publicly, other people including telemarketers and spammers might be drawn to calling that phone number.
Here are the scenarios that can happen when you sign someone up for spam phone calls, or texts, or junk emails.
So what can you do to safeguard against spam calls, or texts, or junk emails? Here are the most effective ways to do so.
Spam emails or texts often have unusual sender addresses that often don’t match the sender’s name. They also contain urgent requests, sometimes grammar or spelling errors, and unfamiliar links. Be cautious about messages that urge you to take action immediately. And avoid clicking on links in texts or emails from senders you don’t know.
There are many apps available to help block and identify spam calls and texts. Some popular ones include Call Bliss, Robo Killer, Hiya and Truecaller. These apps often offer features like call blocking, caller ID, spam reporting and call recording.
Yes, signing up for services online can sometimes lead to spam texts or calls. When you provide your phone number or email, it can be shared or sold to third parties that send you unsolicited communication. Always read the terms of service and privacy policy before signing up on any website.
If you accidentally answer a spam call, do not engage and hang up immediately. Avoid providing any information or even confirming your identity. Instead, find out more about the unknown caller using a reverse lookup service like MLocator and possibly report the phone number online.
Legitimate marketing emails usually provide valuable information or offers that are relevant to you. They would also explicitly ask for your consent to send marketing emails to you. And they usually have opt-out options like an unsubscribe button which they add to every correspondence so you can opt out of future communications at any time.
Now you know all the remarkable ways to sign up for spam calls. However, always remember that signing up someone for spam can be a bad idea since it’s potentially illegal and can have serious consequences. Beyond that, the information we’ve shared can also help protect you and others from becoming victims of spam or scams.
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