Protect Your Personal Information

A toll-free number promises useful information about medical products or conditions. Should you make the call?

I'm Shirley Rooker for the Federal Trade Commission.

Frequently, we are tempted to call an 800 number for information. But what about the information that is collected from you during that call?

It will probably go into a database to be used for marketing purposes. Perhaps you really don’t want anyone to know you called the toll-free number. Well, in this day of caller ID, you can’t be sure your phone number isn’t being recorded. So if privacy is a concern, make the call from a public phone and don’t give out any personal information, such as your name and address.

Another way information can be collected about you is when you register at malls or fairs for free screenings, such as vision tests, mammograms, or blood pressure checks. Your information may become part of a marketing database. If that concerns you, don’t give any personal information, or only that necessary to receiver the services...and ask that it be kept confidential.

I'm Shirley Rooker, director of WTOP radio's Call For Action for the Federal Trade Commission.

January 2002