N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper's office has received hundreds of complaints from residents about phone calls from home security vendors who use illegal robocalls and often ignore the Do Not Call Registry.
The caller may claim that burglaries are on the rise in your neighborhood, using scare tactics to sell alarm systems. It may be a recorded message saying that the FBI or SBI has noticed a spike in home invasions or "one every five minutes" in your area. The pitch sometimes goes on to say that you can get an alarm system free if you'll agree to let the company put a sign in your yard.
Recorded sales calls are against the law, and you shouldn't receive telemarketing calls at all if you are signed up for the Do Not Call Registry. The attorney general's office has investigated the calls and believes they come from telemarketing firms hired by alarm companies to generate leads. They have traced some of the calls and ordered the companies to stop making them.
The attorney general's office advises that you do not respond to such calls, which may prompt you to press a number to stop future calls. Pressing a number confirms that the telemarketers have reached a valid phone number, so you'll likely get more calls instead of fewer.
You should also report the calls by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or by filing a complaint online at ncdoj.gov. You can get accurate information about crime in your area by checking with local law enforcement or signing up for regular emails from Spotcrime.com.
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