Some Realtors have been contacting Realty Times wondering why we haven't done a story on the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) evil plan to allow telemarketers to contact cell numbers instead of home phone numbers unless they are registered with the National Do-Not-Call Registry.

Emails circulating the Internet are announcing a deadline of December 15th, 2004, to get cell phones registered in time. The deadline has panicked people into adding more than three million additional numbers to the registry recently, according to news reports.

Over 69 million phone numbers are already on the registry, with thousands coming in daily, thanks to the power of the Internet. About one million Realtors use cell phones, and that's a hefty segment of the approximately 163 million cell phone users in the nation.

No wonder Realtors are panicked.

The emails have the ring of authority. Although the language varies slightly, the emails are authentic-sounding enough to prompt many people to forward them. Here are two Realty Times received:

Starting January 1, 2005, all cell phone numbers will be made public to telemarketing firms. So this means as of Jan 1st your cell phone may start ringing off the hook with telemarketers....but, unlike your home phone, most of you pay for your incoming calls on your cell phones. These telemarketers will eat up your free minutes and end up costing you money on your cell phone bills each month. According to the National Do Not Call List, you have until December 15, 2004 to get on the national "Do Not Call List"for cell phones. Before the 15th go to http://www.donotcall.gov and register your cell phones. It takes less than one minute to register up to three phone numbers. It will be in effect for 5 years. Read the instructions when you register. You will receive an email confirming your registration almost immediately, but your registration will not be complete until you click on the link in your email confirmation. Print this page. Pass this email on to people you know with cell phones.

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To All:

The National Directory of Cell Phone Numbers is about to be published. Once this happens telemarketers will have access to your cell phone number. Because the majority of us rely on our cell phones for business use, this will be extremely disruptive. These calls will also use our cellular minutes.

In a few weeks, cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. Call this number from your cell phone 888-382-1222. It is the national Do Not Call list. It blocks your number for 5 years. Please pass on to anyone that might have been missed.

You can also go to https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx and register.

The problem is, the emails aren't true.

"It's a hoax," says Jen Schwartzman, office of public affairs for the FTC. "There's no special registry for cell phones, no deadline, and no plans to publish a cell phone directory for telemarketers."

What makes the emails believable is they contain a number of true elements.

• There is a National Do-Not-Call Registry operated by the FCC.

• You can register your cell phone along with your home phone.

• The email features a real link to the National Do-Not-Call Registry Website - www.donotcall.gov.

• The registration instructions are true - it only takes a minute, and you do receive an email confirmation that won't be completed until you click on the link in the confirmation. The registration is good for five years.

Here's what's also true:

• Telemarketers are barred from calling cell phones because the cost the recipient money in cell minutes.

• FCC rules require that telemarketers purge their call lists twice a month of cell phone numbers, should they appear.

• Significant deterrents are in place to telemarketers, including up to $11,000 in fines if they call a registered number.

• There's not a single word on the FCC's or Do-Not-Call Registry Webpages about cell phones other than they can be registered, too.

Here's what isn't true:

• There is a deadline to register your cell phone. (There's no deadline, and never has been.)

• There is a National Directory of Cell Phone Numbers. (Doesn't exist - yet.)

• There is an entity that is going to make all cell phone numbers available to telemarketers. (Not true - yet.)

The Do-not-call cell phone email is so ubiquitous, it earned the number one spot on About.com's Urban Legends Top 25 for the week ending 12-5-2004.

The urban legend may have gotten its start with a plan by the cell phone providers are create a registry, but it won't be made available to telemarketers on the Internet, in a book or any other way.

At least that is what consumers were promised by the cell phone companies who are trying to set up a national directory assistance for cell phones.

According to news reports, Sprint Corp., Cingular Wireless, AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Nextel Communications Inc., Alltel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. have hired a company called Qsent Inc. to develop the directory assistance program. Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless provider, supposedly is not participating. The purpose of directory assistance is to aid consumers, say the organizations, not telemarketers. They claim the directory will not be published and will only be available to 411 operators just as directory assistance is available for home and business phone numbers.

The directory list will be opt-in only, which means you have to ask to be included.

Concerned Realtors may register their cell phone numbers, either by signing up on the Internet, at www.donotcall.gov, or by calling 888-382-1222 anytime. If you sign up by phone, you need to call from the phone you want to add to the list.

Published: December 15, 2004

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.