Are you tired of having your life interrupted by telemarketers? The Federal Trade Commission wants to help.

The FTC is trying to create a

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national "Do Not Call" registry

.

Even telemarketers agree that the industry could use additional regulation. They say a few folks are giving the industry a bad name.

The proposed registry would include the entire United States.

The federal government is

soliciting comments

about the proposed registry.

Currently, 15 states have "Do Not Call" lists, but North Carolina is not yet among them.

Attorney General Roy Cooper plans to propose such a list to the General Assembly in May.

Until then, you can make sure telemarketers know that you do not want to be called again.

  1. Ask telemarketers who call you to put you on their company-specific "do not call" list. Existing regulations by both the FTC and the FCC prohibit a telemarketer from calling you after you have asked them to stop.

  • Register with the Direct Marketing Association's Telephone Preference Service, which allows consumers to opt out of receiving telemarketing calls from many national companies for five years. You can

    • register online

    .

  • Ask the credit bureaus not to share your personal information. The major credit bureaus offer an "opt-out" choice that limits the information shared with others or used for promotional purposes. Call

    • (888) 5-OPTOUT (567-8688)

    for more information.