Website Seeks To Track Unknown Telemarketing Calls
By Denise Rockenstein

An online database has been established at www.800notes.com to help phone service customers track unsolicited calls from unknown phone numbers. The goal of the Web site is to provide the public with a tool for compiling questionable phone numbers and sharing information about those numbers.

"Many phone numbers used by the telemarketing industry, collection agencies, non-profits, even your bank, not mention con-artists, are unpublished," Julia Forte, Web site co-creator said. "So, the idea is to let the public build a database of such phone numbers. If someone wants my business, I want to know who they are."

The Web site can be accessed and used free of charge as it is supported by advertising. The service covers the United States as well as Canada. Success of the Web site relies on input by members of the public who have received unwanted or questionable phone calls.

"At 800notes.com people contribute phone numbers they come across with and share what they know about their owners. If the number belongs to a collection agency, you will most likely find its name, address and read how others handled the calls," Forte said. "If it's a telemarketer, people share ways to opt-out. If the caller offers you a trip to Cancun, you can check out other people's experiences with the company."

The Web site also contains news and articles related to phone service issues such as tips to avoid getting scammed, what do when your identity has been stolen, how to handle harassing phone calls from debt collectors, information about do-not-call lists and more.

It also contains humorous videos of people getting back at annoying telemarketers.

"My partner and I started the Web site two years ago and since then the database has grown tremendously," Forte said. "This site has proven itself to be a valuable tool in the fight against junk calls, illegal telemarketing and phone scams."

According to the Web site, a Yuba City man was convicted in December 2008 for participation in a massive Costa Rica fraud scheme that targeted US residents. Juan Luis Llamas, 33, who reportedly worked as a room manager of a telemarketing call centre operating out of Costa Rica, was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of us$4.2 million jointly and severally with co-conspirators.

Indictments in the case charge the defendants with conspiring to defraud US residents out of millions of dollars by deceiving them into believing that they had won a large monetary prize in a sweepstakes contest.

According to the 800notes.com report, 33 defendants have pleaded guilty, three of whom have been convicted in jury trials. In September 2008, telemarketing room owner Giuseppe Pileggi, 48, of Montreal, Canada was reportedly sentenced to 50 years in prison and ordered to forfeit us$8.3 million.