Everybody hates telemarketing calls, especially the kind that rip people off. Everybody also hates junk mail. But like bacteria fighting bacteria, the U.S. Postal Service thinks the mail can battle the phone.
In November, the USPS, along with the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice and a host of other governmental and private organizations kicked off Know Fraud, an ambitious effort to inform every American household about the dangers of telemarketing fraud and how to guard against it.
The noticeable 6-by-11-inch red-and-white self-mailers perform a needed public service. On a red panel on the left side of the mailer, a headline blares, “WARNING… Don’t be his next victim.” The card shows a photograph of a bearded young man with a headset on, and the copy at the side of the picture admonishes, “Use these tips to protect yourself if he calls!”
The flip side shows an elderly woman talking on the phone. The copy exclaims, “Fraudulent telemarketers: They’ve got your number and now they want your money!” The card goes on to advise people to “Keep this card near the phone – know the difference between legitimate phone offers and fraudulent ones.”
The right side of the mailing piece lists a number of tips and guidelines for protecting oneself against this scourge, which costs consumers $60 billion a year, according to the FTC. The mailing is just one part of a greater FTC probe of the telemarketing industry that could lead to stronger regulations overall.
One just hopes that direct mail pieces, which on a good day draw a response from two out of every 100 people they are sent to, will teach the public to resist handing over their credit card numbers and life savings to a bunch of sweet-talking liars.
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