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There has been a recent increase in telemarketing calls to campus, according to Library and Technology Services (LTS).

LTS posted an advisory on their webpage this week, informing students of a recent upsurge in nuisance telemarketing calls.

According to John Turner of LTS, over 1,000 calls have been received from a telemarketing firm called Teleservices Direct. The actual number could be even higher if Teleservices has taken steps to mask the caller ID of some of its calls.

Teleservices Direct claims to specialize in telemarketing solutions directed at the student market. Most sales calls are intended to solicit credit cards.

When LTS noticed the large number of incoming calls, they contacted Teleservices and asked the company to stop calling. Turner says the calls appear to have stopped.

While they are an annoyance, the telemarketing calls are perfectly legal. FCC regulations permit telemarketing and prohibit Brandeis from doing anything to prevent the calls from connecting. However, students can take action on their own to avoid telemarketers.

LTS recommends that students sign up for the national Do Not Call (DNC) list.

Registering your phone at https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx makes it illegal for telemarketers to call you. Teleservices claims to have a DNC zero tolerance policy, and that they take extraordinary steps to avoid calling phones on the DNC list.