Verizon Lawsuits and Reverse Phone Lookup: Telemarketers Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Earlier this month we discussed the lawsuit brought by Verizon against the business that resorted to illegal telemarketing strategy, using autodialers to advertise its product. Over half a million Verizon customers received their prerecorded message on their cell phones. Most of us have been bothered by similar calls and texts, and love to hate them. At the time, one or more smart consumers investigated the number from which the calls originated with the help of a reverse phone lookup. Having determined the name, location and nature of the overly ambitious company, they reported these findings to their cell phone carrier, who sued the offender.

Today we come to find out that Verizon has settled the lawsuit for $25,000, which it will donate to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. In fact, since the commencement of the first lawsuit, Verizon has been relentless in its pursuit of companies engaged in similar spamming violations. All the proceeds support various nonprofit charities. The Verizon spokesperson did offer a tip to prevent mass telemarketers from getting your cell number: keep it off social networking sites, since that's how the majority of spammers collect their data.

The best thing about the Verizon crusade is that all these lawsuits have established pretty solid precedents for the rest of us. Now, telemarketers will think long and hard before turning on their autodialers to spam your inbox, and adding insult to injury by making you pay for these disruptive calls. So, if and when they call you - and they will - follow suit and find out who they are. Once you run their number through the reverse phone lookup, call and let them know you'll report them to Verizon, even if it's not your carrier. They'll know what you mean.