Unwanted Solicitation Calls

Beware: Big Rant Ahead!

Yesterday I got a phone call from Corporate Solutions on my cell phone that lasted 11 minutes. In my State it is against the law to cause undo cost to the consumer for a solicitation call. I answered some of their questions, 3-4 times I said they were calling on my cell phone and costing me money. They kept on pitching, saying it was a Free offer.

The pitch was a Free $1000 Online Shopping Spree. Along with that was an offer of 5 Free Magazines of my choice (they only had one in which I was remotely interested). All I had to do was pay for Shipping and Handling at $9.95 per month.

I asked to speak to a supervisor, and they complied. Then, HE Started Pitching me on the same offer saying I could put it on my credit card. Of course I said no, and reminded him they were calling on my cell phone.

At that point he said I could pay be check, or a bank transfer. Again I said no. I wouldn't give a credit card number or bank info, but they kept pressing asking me to confirm my address (which he mysteriously had).

I asked how they got my personal information, he said I provided it. I hadn't given anyone any information other than confirming my name being Joseph. I persisted in my refusal to provide the information they wanted, and pushed to find out how they got my name, phone number and address.

That's when he asked "Why did I waste their time?" and hung up.

I called 800-556-1537 which was on my caller ID and Corporate Solutions voice mail was full. I still have no idea where they got my info.

Around 6 months ago, I may have given some of the same information to a few survey sites I had applied to, but I wouldn't have used "Joseph" since that is one way for me to identify business from personal accounts. Another identifier is the fact they called on my cell phone, also used specifically for business.

I have kept personal and business accounts totally separate for this exact reason.

This leads me to the possibility that some of the affiliate advertisers I am, or have been associated with may not handle personal information quite the way they should. I have an idea at this point which company may have released this personal information (since they are now out of business and could profit by selling a list). Rest assured, if I find out for sure , you will know.

This is the main reason for keeping your personal and business information totally separate on the Internet. (It's a good idea offline too). Make sure you have at least 3 ways to identify the difference between accounts.

Have any of you run into similar situations?

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