Telephone canvassing or harassment… We are millions of French people to be victims of it. But how do you stop these calls? Read this guide!
Telephone canvassing: do not hang up without speaking!
Know that to fight against , not responding is not enough. Indeed, those who canvass you will therefore continue to call you until you answer. Also, they classify you in the files of potentially interested people.
Also, don’t pick up saying “I don’t have time/want to talk about this right now”. Canvassers understand “Interested but I can’t discuss it right now. Call me later”. You ask them not to call again and to rank you in the lists of people not to call again. Or to erase your information and contact details. They will not be able to oppose it!
Moreover, it is included in Article 21 of the General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR of the CNIL. “When personal data is processed for prospecting purposes, the data subject has the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning him for such prospecting purposes”. If they ignore your request, let them know.
Telephone canvassing: register your telephone number on the opposition lists
In fact, since 2016, the French government has made a tool available free of charge which effectively makes it possible to block their telephone number to any professional “with whom they have no current contractual relationship”, can we read on the website of the ‘tool.
Also, Bloctel.gouv.fr enforces law no. 2014-344 of March 17, 2014 relating to consumption. All you have to do is go to the website and enter your details.
In addition, for more efficiency, you can register your information on the orange list and the red (or anti-prospecting) list of the directory. This with your telephone operator. The first only blocks your phone number for canvassing professionals. And the second makes you invisible to everyone.
Notify the right contacts
Telephone canvassing: in the event of a repeat offence, report the number to the Directorate General for Consumer Competition and Fraud Prevention. This via the bloctel.gouv.fr and SignalConso sites (public service for consumers).
Pay attention to the conditions when sharing your data
Telephone canvassing: generally, you are asked to enter your personal data when you register on a website. So there is a box that we always forget to uncheck… The latter states that your information may be shared for commercial purposes. Now remember to uncheck it!
Filter calls
Telephone canvassing: to filter unwanted calls, there are several possibilities. On the mobile phone, it is therefore possible to manually block or hide each number or to download a dedicated application.
On the AppStore (IOS), you will find Orange Phone, Truecaller or Avira Security. While on the Google Play Store (Android), Google’s Phone app has an option to “Auto-filter and reject auto-calls”.
