How To Stop Spam Callers
How do you block spam callers or prevent spam calls to your cellphone? Easy!
08/03/2021
"South Africans are among the most spammed cellphone users in the world"
Buisiness Insider
A few months back, I made the mistake of ordering an item from HomeChoice.co.za. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the item I ordered it's just that they haven't stopped calling me since then. There's hardly a day that goes by when someone from Home Choice calls or I receive an SMS and it's driving me up the wall!
Cellphone marketing or SPAM has gone off the rails and everybody seems to be jumping on the bandwagon. Calls for personal insurance, calls to update your cellphone, calls to install home security, and worst of all, robot calls for everything under the sun. If you run your business from a cellphone or need to stay in constant contact with clients, receiving SPAM calls all day long can quickly set your temperature to boil.
So what can you do to put a stop to SPAM cellphone calls?
IT IS ILLEGAL TO CONDUCT UNSOLICITED MARKETING
Did you know that the Consumer Protection Act deems it illegal for marketing companies or sales organisations to contact you without your permission. So unless you didn't read the fine print when putting your signature on a dotted line, you didn't approve of unsolicited calls. Considering there was no dotted line to sign on when purchasing from Home Choice, I did not agree to the number of nuisance calls I receive on a daily basis.
While you can contact the SAPS in this regard, we all know that they have enough on their hands with day-to-day problems and probably won't find the time to take any action. That means it's up to you to take the next step.
INSTALL TRUE CALLER ON YOUR CELLPHONE
There is an app called TrueCaller that you can download onto a cellphone. It is a free app, although you can upgrade if you want an ad-free version or better management. It's quick and painless and will instantly block those calls you want to avoid. Since installing the TrueCaller app a few days ago, below is a quick representation of how many SPAM callers, and particularly Home Choice, have been blocked. In only a few days, 14 calls from Home Choice have been blocked by TrueCaller, as well as a few others from known SPAM numbers.
SIGN-UP WITH THE NATIONAL OPT-OUT DATABASE
If you want to put a stop to all direct marketing or telemarketing, signing up with the National Opt-Out database, run by the DMASA {Direct Marketing Association of South Africa}, will prevent calls of a direct marketing nature. If the direct marketer or telemarketing company fails to stop being a nuisance, you can then lay a complaint with the National Consumer commission at 012 428 7000 or complaints@thencc.org.za.