On the 14th, before the Easter weekend, the new president of Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency), Carlos Baigorri, took office. He has a great opportunity to improve the lives of consumers, if he determines now to block the robocall —automated telemarketing, with dialing software and robot or pre-recorded voice—, which makes all of us hell, bypassing the CDC (Code of Defense Consumer) and the agency’s own rules.
The obligation for telephone sales operators to adopt the 0303 prefix was an advance in consumer relations. But recorded messages sent by software make it impossible to use a landline phone, and they multiply on smartphones. When they are not answered, they go to the message box, and we receive numerous warnings that there are voice messages.
According to a survey by telecom operators, 20 telephone numbers made 61.7 million calls in one month! This binge was only possible because the dialing was automatic.
I have a friend who moved from São Paulo to another state and who still hasn’t changed his phone bill, because it’s a family package. When she makes a call in the city where she lives, she is not answered. That’s because those who receive it, when they see a call with the prefix 11, imagine it’s online sales.
This telephone harassment is unbearable and does not respect time or day of the week. The use of recorded messages has been one of the ways to avoid restrictions on telemarketing, such as registering the telephone number in “Don’t disturb me”, Anatel’s initiative to contain unwanted commercial calls. Also, the phone numbers of these messages are not preceded by 0303.
There are other challenges for the Brazilian consumer. For example, criminal emails with viruses or e-phishing (which fish out sensitive user data such as logins and passwords for checking accounts and credit cards). In this case, you must install a good antivirus on your cell phone and computer, and never click on links or open unsolicited files.
The creativity of criminals and hacks disguised as businessmen is amazing, always keeping an eye on our money, especially in these difficult times.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
