A practice that annoys. Every day, many consumers are confronted with cold calling. A practice regulated by law, even if certain companies continue not to respect the rules imposed by the government.
New rules govern telephone canvassing, calls are notably prohibited on weekends and platforms are prohibited from using numbers in 06 or 07. Since March 1, 2023, commercial platforms no longer have the right to canvass by telephone before 10 a.m., between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and after 8 p.m. These canvassing calls are limited to four times per month and are prohibited on weekends.
If you no longer know what to do about these nuisance calls, there are solutions to protect yourself.
Among the most common canvassing techniques are calls from telephone operators to offer you commercial offers. There are also silent or hung up calls, behind which there is no interlocutor. These automated calls are used to verify that your phone number is still active to update their database. Some automated calls also encourage you to press a button to listen to a commercial offer.
Some even try to reach you with a number that seems local or international, before hanging up. The goal is to have you called back on the same number and increase your telephone bill. This well-known method has a name: Wangiri. Others attempt to engage in phishing or phishing by posing as legitimate entities to steal personal and banking information.
For landlines, direct sellers must use numbers starting with 09 48 or 09 49. For call centers, the numbers vary depending on the region:
Never disclose your personal information during a cold calling call. Never give out your bank details. To limit these nuisance calls, it is better to block these numbers and contact your telephone operator to report this abusive behavior.
If the call concerns a commercial offer, ask for a written record by email, before subscribing to any offer.
If, despite these precautions, you continue to receive calls, you can file a complaint with the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), which helps individuals control their personal data and exercise their rights.