Commission: Cell numbers won't be made public

No one is about to make wireless phone numbers public, despite a chain e-mail that has been floating around for years, according to the Nebraska Public Service Commission.

So there is little danger your cell phone number will get into the hands of telemarketers, as the e-mail suggests. 

In fact, it’s largely against the law for telemarketers to call cell phones, said Cheryl Elton, PSC consumer advocate.

Specifically, it is unlawful to use any automatic dialing system — or any artificial or prerecorded voice message — to call a wireless number. And most telemarketers use these systems.

If you receive a telemarketing call, the PSC’s Gene Hand suggests reporting it to the Federal Communications Commission or to the company involved.

But that means listening to the message long enough to find out who’s calling, he added.

Consumers can also put their wireless number on the do-not call list by phone or by going online, Elton said.

E-mails warning that wireless numbers are going to be made public have circulated for five or six years, Elton said.