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Your application of the definition of legitimate is ill-considered.<br>
<br>
Businesses sometimes heavily advertise their 800 #'s and the numbers
become like trademarks. In such cases, using any other number would be
like obscuring their identity.<br>
<br>
Thus, in the case of your telemarketing callers, the use of 800 #'s is
probably more "legitimate" than using the DID of some obscure line in a
call center. It more openly identifies the entity on whose behalf the
call is being placed. Indeed, it enables you to do screening.<br>
<br>
I receive calls from USAA, an insurance and investment service provider
that are legitimate and not telemarketing calls. I appreciate that
they bear the correct 800- caller ID so that I can readily identify
them.<br>
<br>
I set my caller ID to properly identify my role when I place a call:
personal or business, based on the business entity I am representing.
It is not fraudulent. It is a courtesy extended to the called party,
and might or might not be a toll-free number.<br>
<br>
<br>
Jacob Suter wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:002a01c99212$7909ecd0$6b1dc670$@net" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Is there *ever* a legitimate reason to do this?
I personally drop all calls from illegitimate CIDs (toll free #'s, area
codes that don't exist, etc)
After a 45 day logging period, we discovered exactly 100% of our 'toll free'
caller ID calls were for unsolicited telemarketing. Of course, in over 75%
of the calls, the 'legitimate caller ID' would have been somewhere in
south/southeast Asia.
I know if I'm doing it, there must be a pile more doing it too...
</pre>
</blockquote>
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