CNN has an interesting article about games played by the telcos. Verizon and SBC and the rest sell your phone numbers to telemarketers, along with the heavy-duty equipment that makes the intrusive telemarketing calls. Then they sell programs to consumers to block unwanted telemarketing calls – the same customers whose phone numbers have been sold to the telemarketers in the first place. Then they sell things to telemarketers to help them get around the security shields paid for by the consumers. Must be nice to be raking in money from both sides.
