Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ucbvax!hplabs!hplabsz!taylor From: taylor@hplabsz.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.society Subject: Re: Telephone Privacy Issues Message-ID: <1096@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM> Date: Tue, 24-Nov-87 15:37:38 EST Article-I.D.: hplabsz.1096 Posted: Tue Nov 24 15:37:38 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 29-Nov-87 04:51:51 EST Sender: taylor@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM Organization: Aiken Computation Lab Harvard, Cambridge, MA Lines: 22 Approved: taylor@hplabs >...the use of computers to dial ... a series of phone numbers. >Questions to our readers - What can I do to hang up on such a call? >And what can I do to stop such calls from being generated? Are there >responsible (and responsive) agencies that will help? Etc. Although this depends on the exchange, it is usually possible to hang up on these calls by hanging up for 20 or 30 seconds. In many areas, the connection will not be broken for this amount of time if the called party hangs up; this is to allow the callee to change phones. On the second matter, in my bill this month from New England Telephone, I received a card to fill out if I did not want to receive computerized phone calls. A new law in Massachusetts requires the phone company to maintain this list free of charge to consumers, and requires all computer callers in the state to acquire this list and to remove the people on it from their computerized calling programs. This will not prevent us from receiving computerized calls originating outside Massachusetts, nor will it help anyone living outside the state. Perhaps other states will follow suit. David Albert