Cold-calling – in which people are telephoned and encouraged to make a purchase – has been around almost as long as the telephone itself. It has also been widely abused as a means of stealing money from people through the pretence that they have won a prize. The advent of SMS, email and messaging apps provided the scammers with more tools. We urge everyone to take heed of the warning issued by Dubai Police over the weekend by ignoring any call asking for cash and reporting it to the authorities. We also think there is room to reassess the rules surrounding the legitimate use of cold-calling for marketing purposes.
While not every telemarketing call is a scam, it can be an invasion of privacy. Anybody who has received, say, the offer of a loan by phone call or text message will realise that the sender knows quite a bit about them – certainly their name and contact details, but also something about their financial status. Banks don’t offer no-document loans to people they know can’t afford to make payments. This is worrying enough in itself, but what about when it comes from a business that you have never previously dealt with?
It may be that we have unknowingly given permission for our data to be shared, as it was buried somewhere in the terms and conditions. The fine print that nobody ever reads can run, as one British insurance document does, to more than 38,000 words. This raises the question of whether simply pressing “I agree” when we download an app or make an online application is prudent. Should companies be forced to offer brief, plain-language versions of their terms and conditions? And should users be given the opportunity to opt in – or out – of specific services? For example, we may agree to our bank using our data to contact us, but not for the bank to share our personal information with an unrelated third party.
Solutions to the problems could also include a code of conduct for telemarketers, or a national “don’t contact” list that individuals can join to ensure they no longer receive cold calls. Technology makes it easy for data to be stored and shared, so we all need to be more vigilant about those things we want to remain private.
