PSA

I've always been so happy that cell phones aren't like pesky landlines, whose numbers are automatically listed in archaic phone books. As soon as I got my cell, I signed up for the national Do Not Call list. When my phone rings, I expect it to be someone I know and/or love, or the secretary at a medical professional's office, confirming my appointment.

In the last two weeks, I've been getting calls from these two numbers: 617-830-4620 and 617-245-9602. I don't answer (of course), and I googled each (of course), and lo and behold, the first is some nasty telemarketing company that tells me on its ethics page (a bad sign that it has one at all?) it respects the Direct Marketing Association's Do Not Call List, which uses info from the national Do Not Call list or state ones. My number is on both lists. So WTF?

The second number's source made me sad. From 800notes.com, where I found the numbers:

"I got a call from this number today. It was someone who asked me to donate to Barack Obama's campaign. I said that I was a supporter of Barack Obama, but that I don't give credit card info or money to cold-callers. I offered to donate on the web or at a local campaign office. The person on the other end wouldn't accept this for an answer, and fed me some line about the campaign needing money immediately."

Is it an aggressive Barack campaigner with no skillz, or is it an imposter, trying to steal my money? Probably the latter.

I want to know how my cell phone number leaked into world in the first place. Did Staples or J Crew or Crate and Barrel or the Boston Globe sell it? An idea: Let's boycott these companies! And stop shopping online! And write letters to our congresspeople!

I'm just kidding. My real idea is to never answer the phone again, unless I have a planned phone appointment set up in advance with a trusted friend. That'll show them.