Reverse Cell Phone Directory - Mobile 411 Truth Revealed

Since late 2004, rumors have circulated about a new type of phone directory aptly named 'mobile 411'. These rumors included tails of names, numbers, and addresses being made available to telemarketers and publicly accessible to all. However, like premature fruit from the grape vine, these rumors were a little tart.

The Truth About Mobile 411

Verizon Cell

Contrary to the chain letters which circulated at the time, mobile 411 was not, and is not, a publicly accessible list of names, numbers, addresses, or anything. It will remain illegal* for telemarketers to call your cell phone or any pay per use communication device, and they will not have any more access than currently as the result of mobile 411.

So what is it then? Mobile 411 will be a voluntary directory in which owners of cellular devices may opt-in to participate. Some companies will add this opt-in language to the carrier contracts at time of signing, others will simply allow consumers to add themselves. Verizon has declined participation in the directory. Cell phone owners will be available by calling into mobile 411 and asking for a person by name. According to the current plans for the directory - their number will not be provided at that time, but instead the caller will be directly connected to the person they seek. Therefore, the state of cell phone privacy shall remain largely unchanged.

The Reality of Cell Phone Privacy

But how private is your cell phone, really? These days, it seems like not very. I mean, how many of us have had daily calls from some weird or unknown number? And don't those FCC guidelines specifically say "No person or entity may initiate any telephone call... using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice..."? Then why is it every time we do get an answer from the weird number on our caller I.D. its always from a machine?

Unfortunately the answer is because privacy goes both ways. The same industry practices that keep our cell phones private from public use also shields clever telemarketers and other mischievous callers. Once they use one of the many methods available to access your information, they immediately employ their army of automated drones to the task of annoying us on a regular schedule. The anonymity provided to them by privacy regulations then make it nearly impossible to stop them from calling us illegally!

So Can We Stop Unwanted Calls?

Believe it or not, you can actually gain access to the same tools professionals use when finding out who a phone stalker or other suspected individual is. Special reverse cell phone directories have been created just for this purpose which let us type in any phone number and provide names, addresses, satellite maps, and background info for 98% of them. Armed with this information, we can easily notify telephone companies or regulating authorities about the caller and have them stopped quickly.

These directories are updated on a regular basis using computer technology to keep the information you need accurate. The databases can be searched in seconds, unlike scouring the Internet in frustration for hours or days attempting to find out about a number. We can finally use technology as the fire by which to fight fire!

*FCC Code of Regulations Title 47, Chapter 1, Part 64, Subpart L, Section 64.1200(a)(1)(iii)

Reverse Cell Phone Directory - Mobile 411 Truth Revealed

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