Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Topic Author
mac_guy
Posts: 210
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:37 pm

Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by mac_guy »

I just received a phone call from a political polling firm called Matthews research. The call came from 919 area code in North Carolina ( I do not live in North Carolina, btw.)

The caller promised a 30 second survey. The survey was very indeed quick - just asked about my presidential election choices if election were held today and for fav/unfav opinions about candidates.

To my recollection, this is the very first time I have ever been part of a presidential poll. The call came to my cellphone. Normally, I don't answer calls that I don't recognize, but they have been calling for a couple days. In fact, they called me 4 times over the last 2 days before I finally answered (the calls all came from the same number.) I imagine this is a sign of statistical rigor as once you are randomly selected, they need to really to keep following up to avoid issues with response bias.

After I hung up, I tried to research the polling company and could not come up with anything. Now, I'm concerned it maybe wasn't a reputable poll. Maybe it's really a political research tool for a particular political party? Now I'm worried I'm going to get tons of calls and mailers asking for political donations. Could it also be a marketing research tool? Maybe knowing your political affiliation could be valuable to marketers and I could be hit with direct sales calls and mailers for products?

Anyway, has anyone heard of that polling firm? Anyone know if there are any laws that prevent pollsters from storing your responses and selling that info?
Last edited by mac_guy on Sat Sep 10, 2016 3:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
jfave33
Posts: 3287
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 6:18 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by jfave33 »

Doesn't sound like any sensitive data was given. Either way you have done it now and can't take it back. No use worrying about it!
Topic Author
mac_guy
Posts: 210
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:37 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by mac_guy »

jjface wrote:Doesn't sound like any sensitive data was given. Either way you have done it now and can't take it back. No use worrying about it!
Well, they addressed me by my name. If they know my name and phone number, then they also know my address. At the end of the poll, they asked for my birth year. Now they know my political affiliation. I've always registered independent and never wanted my partisan affiliations known. I'm kind of kicking myself now that I gave this info out on the telephone. They talked so fast and the survey started so quickly, that I didn't really have time to think things through.
User avatar
dm200
Posts: 23214
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 1:21 pm
Location: Washington DC area

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by dm200 »

I do not know any specifics of this "encounter" of yours. However, it is very common for parties and candidates to identify specific voters that they believe will vote for their candidate/party. They compile large lists of such "friendly" leaning voters and focus on getting these folks to the polls to vote. I am an election pollworker and at the last Presidential election there were two (same party) Party observers in back of me as I checked in voters. Using smartphones or notebook computers, they tried to match voters to their lists and then, from time to time during the day, sent lists to their party folks to call and/or otherwise encourage "their" voters to show up to vote.

It is possible (just a guess) that your contact may have been part of this effort. To "test" this, what you might do is, on election day, wait until the last hour that the polls are open to actually vote - and see if that party calls you.

Once candidates and/or political parties and/or officeholders "peg" you as someone favorable to them, they will call you, email you, send all sorts of "stuff" to you in the mail. For this (and many other) reason, I NEVER state over the phone how I plan to vote.

One thing I have thought of (but have not done) is making up something quite "bizarre". HOWEVER, this Presidential race is actually very, very bizarre - you just cannot make some of this up.
User avatar
dm200
Posts: 23214
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 1:21 pm
Location: Washington DC area

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by dm200 »

Let me also add that, as far as I know, voter registration lists are public information - as are registered party affiliation in those states where you can register by Party. While your vote is "secret", that you voted (or not) in any election is also public information. In my state, it is required that the election officer checking voters in MUST state, out loud, the name and address of the voter as part of the election process. Occasionally, a prospective voter "objects" -- BUT it happens to be required by law and/or regulation here.
TravelGeek
Posts: 4902
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 3:23 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by TravelGeek »

Check this out:

http://www.bellwether-research.com/contact-us/

'We are not “Matthews Surveys,” which may be a telemarketer. We understand whomever calls under this name employs bad practices which reflect poorly on those of us engaged in professional, transparent, and respectful public opinion research.'

(The pollster for Bellwether Research is Christine Matthews, which is how I/Google) found this).
Topic Author
mac_guy
Posts: 210
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:37 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by mac_guy »

TravelGeek wrote:Check this out:

http://www.bellwether-research.com/contact-us/

'We are not “Matthews Surveys,” which may be a telemarketer. We understand whomever calls under this name employs bad practices which reflect poorly on those of us engaged in professional, transparent, and respectful public opinion research.'

(The pollster for Bellwether Research is Christine Matthews, which is how I/Google) found this).

Interesting. Thanks for finding this. I'm going to have to see if I can find more about Matthews Surveys.
User avatar
obafgkm
Posts: 713
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2016 8:12 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by obafgkm »

mac_guy wrote: Interesting. Thanks for finding this. I'm going to have to see if I can find more about Matthews Surveys.
Please let us know what you do about it!
"I'm investing in stocks... chicken, beef, and vegetable. It's risky, but I know one day it'll pay off & I'll be a bouillonaire. Who knows, I might even open up a Broth IRA."
User avatar
ResearchMed
Posts: 16795
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 10:25 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by ResearchMed »

Just found this for you

http://www.matthewsyoung.com/surveys-cu ... ervice.htm

On the surface (without checking further at all), it seems legit.

And main number is area code 919.

If you are still concerned, you could call them on Monday and ask if they are currently doing political polling.
I'd assume they'd want to help keep their name clear - either way.

RM
This signature is a placebo. You are in the control group.
gks
Posts: 237
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 6:17 pm
Location: Middle Tennessee

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by gks »

mac,

You succumbed to the Dark Side. You answered a call you previously ignored that did not leave a voicemail. I don't know anything about Mathews Research, so I can't help you there. Frankly, I would probably lied my ... off to a pollster who had the effrontery to blind-call me for my opinion, and I had the bad judgement to actually answer the call.

On the up-side, you probably didn't reveal anything that Mathews didn't already know about you. After all, they have your cell number and probably your voting record.

Consider this a learning moment.

Greg

ps

obafgkm,

Who cares? Why do people think they have to answer questions posed by any pollster?

G
User avatar
Bob B
Posts: 680
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:52 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Bob B »

mac_guy wrote:Well, they addressed me by my name. If they know my name and phone number, then they also know my address. At the end of the poll, they asked for my birth year. Now they know my political affiliation. I've always registered independent and never wanted my partisan affiliations known. I'm kind of kicking myself now that I gave this info out on the telephone. They talked so fast and the survey started so quickly, that I didn't really have time to think things through.
Your name, address and phone number is not private. It is available in the phone book or online equivalent (unless you are 'unlisted'.) It may even be on every check you write.

What's to think about? Bottom line - why didn't you just hang up? It is nobody's business who you are voting for. Most data breaches are caused by the behavior of the victim (giving out information to random phone callers, not shredding documents, weak passwords, etc., etc.)
Regards, | Bob | Wiki
User avatar
jabberwockOG
Posts: 3088
Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 7:23 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by jabberwockOG »

gks wrote:mac,

You succumbed to the Dark Side. You answered a call you previously ignored that did not leave a voicemail. I don't know anything about Mathews Research, so I can't help you there. Frankly, I would probably lied my ... off to a pollster who had the effrontery to blind-call me for my opinion, and I had the bad judgement to actually answer the call.

On the up-side, you probably didn't reveal anything that Mathews didn't already know about you. After all, they have your cell number and probably your voting record.

Consider this a learning moment.

Greg

ps

obafgkm,

Who cares? Why do people think they have to answer questions posed by any pollster?

G

100% agree. Absolutely no unknown calls accepted on first ring. If they are legit they will leave a reasonable voice mail message. Under no circumstances do I spend more than 10 seconds speaking (please put me on your do not call list ...thank you) with uninvited fund raisers, or to marketing, sales, or pollsters of any kind.
RudyS
Posts: 2821
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:11 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by RudyS »

jabberwock wrote:
gks wrote:mac,


G

100% agree. Absolutely no unknown calls accepted on first ring. If they are legit they will leave a reasonable voice mail message. Under no circumstances do I spend more than 10 seconds speaking (please put me on your do not call list ...thank you) with uninvited fund raisers, or to marketing, sales, or pollsters of any kind.
Charities aren't bound by the do not call list. My stock reply is: "sorry, we do not respond to telephone solicitations." and hang up. One time ever, in decades, someone actually sent a followup solicitation. A recognized major charity. Sure surprised me!
delamer
Posts: 17458
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:13 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by delamer »

I block numbers on my cell (and home) phone if I get repeated calls from a number that is unknown to me. My policy is not to answer unless I know the number; if it is a call from someone that I know personally or do business with, the caller will leave a message.
One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not. - Alexandre Dumas, fils
Mudpuppy
Posts: 7409
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:26 am
Location: Sunny California

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Mudpuppy »

mac_guy wrote:Well, they addressed me by my name. If they know my name and phone number, then they also know my address. At the end of the poll, they asked for my birth year. Now they know my political affiliation. I've always registered independent and never wanted my partisan affiliations known. I'm kind of kicking myself now that I gave this info out on the telephone. They talked so fast and the survey started so quickly, that I didn't really have time to think things through.
Voter registration information is public in most states. It's easy enough for a campaign, or super-pact, to get the registration information of voters. They might even be specifically targeting those who registered as non-partisan (Independent is actually a party, non-partisan is no party) in an effort to win over the uncertain voters.

And yes, this may result in increased mailings and future phone calls. Just toss the mailings and send the calls to voicemail. And don't answer the phone next time someone keeps calling and doesn't leave a message. If it's truly important, they'd leave a message.
User avatar
vitaflo
Posts: 1905
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 3:02 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by vitaflo »

mac_guy wrote: Well, they addressed me by my name. If they know my name and phone number, then they also know my address. At the end of the poll, they asked for my birth year. Now they know my political affiliation. I've always registered independent and never wanted my partisan affiliations known. I'm kind of kicking myself now that I gave this info out on the telephone. They talked so fast and the survey started so quickly, that I didn't really have time to think things through.
Anyone who really wanted this information can get it, they don't need to call you.
User avatar
VictoriaF
Posts: 20122
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:27 am
Location: Black Swan Lake

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by VictoriaF »

If most prudent people don't answer pollsters' calls, how reliable the polls are?

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
Mudpuppy
Posts: 7409
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:26 am
Location: Sunny California

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Mudpuppy »

VictoriaF wrote:If most prudent people don't answer pollsters' calls, how reliable the polls are?
As I used to say back in the ancient days when I programmed calling scripts for a predictive dialer system used for marketing research and customer satisfaction campaigns: that's a problem for the research wing to solve.

And if political researchers are anything like the marketing researchers I dealt with, there's a whole lot of hoping for sufficient randomness and a whole lot of "abbreviated" campaigns when the data doesn't turn out to be the random sampling they'd hoped for.
User avatar
Steelersfan
Posts: 4129
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:47 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Steelersfan »

VictoriaF wrote:If most prudent people don't answer pollsters' calls, how reliable the polls are?

Victoria
Response rates, i.e. people who answer their phones for political pollsters, have fallen into the single digits. Sophisticated pollsters have learned to adapt. Firms that are new may not have, leading to unreliable results. 2016 has seem an unusually high number of new pollsters. Remember that when you see a politician tout their (favorable) polling results.
delamer
Posts: 17458
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:13 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by delamer »

There are lots of ways to deal with nonresponse in a survey, whether it is for the overall sample or for subpopulations of said sample. Samples and their sizes are selected to account for the fact that a certain percentage of the sample is not expected to respond.
One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not. - Alexandre Dumas, fils
soboggled
Posts: 901
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:26 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by soboggled »

The big problem is that the "do not call registry" to stop telemarketers does not work.
You can report them to the FTC, but they get 150,000 complaints a month, mostly from people already on the registry.
Surprise, politicians are exempt.
At least you didn't respond to the "IRS" threatening to sue you - everybody gets that one. If the feds won't stop that they won't stop anything.
Mudpuppy
Posts: 7409
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:26 am
Location: Sunny California

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Mudpuppy »

soboggled wrote:At least you didn't respond to the "IRS" threatening to sue you - everybody gets that one. If the feds won't stop that they won't stop anything.
Not sure what you're expecting, but the feds don't have the technical power to "stop" the IRS scam calls. They can track down each group as it pops up, but then another one pops up in its place. It's the regulatory version of whack-a-mole.
User avatar
celia
Posts: 16774
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:32 am
Location: SoCal

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by celia »

Why don't you just call your Registrar of Voters and have your phone number removed? It won't help with the upcoming election since campaigns probably already have it, but it will help in future elections.

Check that all registered voters at your house want their phone number removed then remove all of them. We found out the hard way that if voter A removes their phone number, someone ends up copying another household member's (voter B) phone number back over voter A's phone number. Then when voter B removes his/her phone number, A's is copied back to it eventually. This keeps things quiet during election season.

Don't worry. In 2 months no-one will care what you told the pollster.
OnTrack
Posts: 799
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2016 10:16 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by OnTrack »

I guess given that polls are often used to justify policy decisions, l would actually like to have my opinion counted if the poll is legitimate. For example, a legislator may justify his or her vote on a bill by citing a poll that says that a majority of people support the bill. So by participating in a survey, I might help to advance policies that I support. The problem is knowing whether the poll is legitimate. I recently was asked by phone to participate in a poll, but the poll worker said that she was not allowed to tell me who was paying for the poll or who would get the results. Not sure if that is normal, but I refused to participate because she would not provide that information. One problem with some polls where the organization has a biased agenda is that the results of the poll can almost be guaranteed to come out a certain way based on how the questions are phrased and I would not want to participate in such a poll.
soboggled
Posts: 901
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:26 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by soboggled »

Mudpuppy wrote:
soboggled wrote:At least you didn't respond to the "IRS" threatening to sue you - everybody gets that one. If the feds won't stop that they won't stop anything.
Not sure what you're expecting, but the feds don't have the technical power to "stop" the IRS scam calls. They can track down each group as it pops up, but then another one pops up in its place. It's the regulatory version of whack-a-mole.
It's the FTC that is charged with enforcing the do not call registry and stopping the calls, not the IRS. Despite the whack-a-mole the phone companies have the technology to stop many of the robo-calls but are not required to do so even though the FCC has ruled the technology could be made available to the public. But the biggest loophole is that our data is being sold by corporations we do business with to other parties - you need to opt out of all those agreements with the fine print you accept all the time to do business with any big corporation. If the rules were changed to require opt in, not opt-out, much of the problem would disappear. With websites it's even worse - you can hardly ever opt out.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/ ... is_it.html
Mudpuppy
Posts: 7409
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:26 am
Location: Sunny California

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Mudpuppy »

soboggled wrote:
Mudpuppy wrote:
soboggled wrote:At least you didn't respond to the "IRS" threatening to sue you - everybody gets that one. If the feds won't stop that they won't stop anything.
Not sure what you're expecting, but the feds don't have the technical power to "stop" the IRS scam calls. They can track down each group as it pops up, but then another one pops up in its place. It's the regulatory version of whack-a-mole.
It's the FTC that is charged with enforcing the do not call registry and stopping the calls, not the IRS. Despite the whack-a-mole the phone companies have the technology to stop many of the robo-calls but are not required to do so even though the FCC has ruled the technology could be made available to the public. But the biggest loophole is that our data is being sold by corporations we do business with to other parties - you need to opt out of all those agreements with the fine print you accept all the time to do business with any big corporation. If the rules were changed to require opt in, not opt-out, much of the problem would disappear. With websites it's even worse - you can hardly ever opt out.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/ ... is_it.html
I never said it was the IRS's responsibility to stop the scammers. I said the feds can't stop the IRS scam calls (or any scam calls really). There is no way for the phone company to stop scam robo-calls without stopping all legitimate users of dialer software (the software behind robo-calls) because anyone with a voice line (regular, trunk, or VoIP) can hook dialer software up to that line. It's a technical impossibility to stop scam calls with current technology, and the scammers don't care about laws and regulations such as opt-in vs opt-out.

And the technology available to the end user is just as blind as to whether the dialer is associated with a legitimate business or a scammer. Most of those devices just play the tri-tone signal, which causes most automated dialers to hang up (I say "most" very intentionally here, because the dialer can be programmed to ignore the tri-tone signal).

I don't mean to sound rude, but you have to understand the difference between a legitimate telemarketing firm and a scammer operation. A legitimate firm will take care to import the Do-Not-Call database on a regular basis, to update timezone information frequently so they can obey any state/local laws about times people can be called, to honor tri-tone signals (even if it's played by a consumer product to stop telemarketing calls), and to provide the user an option to be added to a local do-not-call database for that firm. When I used to program dialer scripts, I only worked for these sorts of firms.

A scammer cares for none of these things. They will ignore the Do-Not-Call database. They will ignore rules on what times are allowed to contact people (although they usually have the common sense to keep the calls to daylight hours). They will ignore the tri-tone signal. On the rare event they are based in the USA, the feds can track them down, shut them down, and prosecute them for their scams. But many of the scammers are based overseas and are using VoIP services, which means they can easily switch to different number blocks, so even if the feds shut down the number blocks, the scammers would be back up and running within the hour.

That's not to say the feds are doing nothing. They have arrested scammers who are based in the USA (reference: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/201 ... /84874934/). But this problem is very complex and beyond our current levels of technology to control. The feds can't just snap their proverbial fingers and make scammers go away. The FTC doesn't have that sort of power.
soboggled
Posts: 901
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:26 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by soboggled »

Mudpuppy wrote:
soboggled wrote:
Mudpuppy wrote:
soboggled wrote:At least you didn't respond to the "IRS" threatening to sue you - everybody gets that one. If the feds won't stop that they won't stop anything.
Not sure what you're expecting, but the feds don't have the technical power to "stop" the IRS scam calls. They can track down each group as it pops up, but then another one pops up in its place. It's the regulatory version of whack-a-mole.
It's the FTC that is charged with enforcing the do not call registry and stopping the calls, not the IRS. Despite the whack-a-mole the phone companies have the technology to stop many of the robo-calls but are not required to do so even though the FCC has ruled the technology could be made available to the public. But the biggest loophole is that our data is being sold by corporations we do business with to other parties - you need to opt out of all those agreements with the fine print you accept all the time to do business with any big corporation. If the rules were changed to require opt in, not opt-out, much of the problem would disappear. With websites it's even worse - you can hardly ever opt out.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/ ... is_it.html
I never said it was the IRS's responsibility to stop the scammers. I said the feds can't stop the IRS scam calls (or any scam calls really). There is no way for the phone company to stop scam robo-calls without stopping all legitimate users of dialer software (the software behind robo-calls) because anyone with a voice line (regular, trunk, or VoIP) can hook dialer software up to that line. It's a technical impossibility to stop scam calls with current technology, and the scammers don't care about laws and regulations such as opt-in vs opt-out.

And the technology available to the end user is just as blind as to whether the dialer is associated with a legitimate business or a scammer. Most of those devices just play the tri-tone signal, which causes most automated dialers to hang up (I say "most" very intentionally here, because the dialer can be programmed to ignore the tri-tone signal).

I don't mean to sound rude, but you have to understand the difference between a legitimate telemarketing firm and a scammer operation. A legitimate firm will take care to import the Do-Not-Call database on a regular basis, to update timezone information frequently so they can obey any state/local laws about times people can be called, to honor tri-tone signals (even if it's played by a consumer product to stop telemarketing calls), and to provide the user an option to be added to a local do-not-call database for that firm. When I used to program dialer scripts, I only worked for these sorts of firms.

A scammer cares for none of these things. They will ignore the Do-Not-Call database. They will ignore rules on what times are allowed to contact people (although they usually have the common sense to keep the calls to daylight hours). They will ignore the tri-tone signal. On the rare event they are based in the USA, the feds can track them down, shut them down, and prosecute them for their scams. But many of the scammers are based overseas and are using VoIP services, which means they can easily switch to different number blocks, so even if the feds shut down the number blocks, the scammers would be back up and running within the hour.

That's not to say the feds are doing nothing. They have arrested scammers who are based in the USA (reference: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/201 ... /84874934/). But this problem is very complex and beyond our current levels of technology to control. The feds can't just snap their proverbial fingers and make scammers go away. The FTC doesn't have that sort of power.
Privacy seems to have become a quaint notion to be sacrificed at the altar of commerce. I don't care if they are "legitimate" telemarketers or not, I don't want to hear from any of them. I want the option of not having them annoy me with their unwanted intrusions. Nor do I want anyone to "share" any of my information with anybody, affiliated or not, without my personal explicit opt-in consent. But the telemarketers and their sponsors have squadrons of lobbyists paid millions of dollars and contribute even more to political campaigns so I know it's not going to happen.
I understand that the problem is too big for any public or private organization to fully enforce, even against just the scammers, but the rules make it too easy for them. Nor am I fully convinced the technology does not exist in the telecommunications industry, though I understand the issue is complex.
User avatar
GerryL
Posts: 3902
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by GerryL »

There is no law or even any rule of etiquette that says you must answer the phone. I pretty much never pick up my home phone until the person on the other end starts talking to the machine. Most incoming calls are hang ups. Cell phone call with no caller ID? Ditto. Needless to say, I am never polled.

I just wish those robots who want to clean my dryer vent would stop calling. They leave messages at least 1-2 times a week. Been going on for well over a year now.
User avatar
celia
Posts: 16774
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:32 am
Location: SoCal

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by celia »

GerryL wrote:I just wish those robots who want to clean my dryer vent would stop calling. They leave messages at least 1-2 times a week. Been going on for well over a year now.
A year is VERY persistent. Find out how to block calls on the phone. I can block numbers on my landline and my cell.
wilked
Posts: 2441
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:50 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by wilked »

Smash your phone, split the pieces into three piles and discard into three different trash bins (obviously outside of your house). You should then move to 'burner' phones for the next six months, switching every month minimum (two weeks is ideal). Check back in 2017, but I expect this should solve things
Valuethinker
Posts: 49038
Joined: Fri May 11, 2007 11:07 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Valuethinker »

mac_guy wrote:
jjface wrote:Doesn't sound like any sensitive data was given. Either way you have done it now and can't take it back. No use worrying about it!
Well, they addressed me by my name. If they know my name and phone number, then they also know my address. At the end of the poll, they asked for my birth year. Now they know my political affiliation. I've always registered independent and never wanted my partisan affiliations known. I'm kind of kicking myself now that I gave this info out on the telephone. They talked so fast and the survey started so quickly, that I didn't really have time to think things through.
Unfortunately this election there will be a lot of targetting "independent" voters. Both sides are looking for the soft spot on the other side's support base eg Blue Collar Democrats.

There are a lot of push polls out there, but if you didn't feel "pushed" by the nature of the questions, then fine.

Next time you are called, be firm that you do not wish to give your opinions. After a couple of gos, that should filter through the system and stop it.
User avatar
VictoriaF
Posts: 20122
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:27 am
Location: Black Swan Lake

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by VictoriaF »

wilked wrote:Smash your phone, split the pieces into three piles and discard into three different trash bins (obviously outside of your house). You should then move to 'burner' phones for the next six months, switching every month minimum (two weeks is ideal). Check back in 2017, but I expect this should solve things
The best tool is an Occam's Razor.

I contributed to a presidential candidate's campaign and started receiving messages asking for further donations. I clicked "unsubscribe," received one more message, clicked "unsubscribe" again, and stopped receiving further messages. I contributed two more times to the same campaign, received "thank-yous," and no further nudging.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
JW-Retired
Posts: 7189
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:25 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by JW-Retired »

Valuethinker wrote: Next time you are called, be firm that you do not wish to give your opinions. After a couple of gos, that should filter through the system and stop it.
Is that your experience? I fear answering wouldn't do anything but encourage them. it's much better to just never pick up unless you know who it is from caller ID. Anyone important can leave a message. A few robots never give up calling but our experience is that many do. We are not getting nearly as many robo calls as we used to.

So far no increase in the election season either!
JW
Retired at Last
User avatar
sunny_socal
Posts: 2732
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:22 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by sunny_socal »

I don't answer any calls that I don't recognize. I let them leave a message and 95% of the time it's a telemarketer, some insurance scam, some collection agency ("We're calling about your past due debt, this is urgent..."), free trip to the Bahamas, you name it.

Freeze your credit. Then sleep well at night :beer
Parthenon
Posts: 475
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:44 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Parthenon »

The last time I got a call to participate in a survey I said sure, how much are you paying. The guy said they didn't pay, why would they? I suggested that without my input they had nothing and asked him if he was doing this for nothing. He of course said no. I told him he was just a clerk taking down information, without that information they don't have a business. He never called back again.

Ed
"What am I gonna do if I run out of money?"
Valuethinker
Posts: 49038
Joined: Fri May 11, 2007 11:07 am

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Valuethinker »

JW-Retired wrote:
Valuethinker wrote: Next time you are called, be firm that you do not wish to give your opinions. After a couple of gos, that should filter through the system and stop it.
Is that your experience? I fear answering wouldn't do anything but encourage them. it's much better to just never pick up unless you know who it is from caller ID. Anyone important can leave a message. A few robots never give up calling but our experience is that many do. We are not getting nearly as many robo calls as we used to.

So far no increase in the election season either!
JW
It's a fair point that laws are different.

In principle, UK callers are *supposed* to stop calling you if you request it. Many break the law and are never prosecuted, I believe.
finite_difference
Posts: 3633
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:00 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by finite_difference »

"Please put me on your do-not-call list."

Even robo-callers will usually have an option to be placed on the do not call list (option 2). If not, get to a person and then ask.

It's US law that they have to comply and it has always worked for me.
The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. - Thich Nhat Hanh
azurekep
Posts: 1179
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 7:16 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by azurekep »

For those who are plagued by unwanted phone calls, as a last resort, you may want to see if your phone company allows you to change your telephone number. We did that because of an error made by the phone co. and so the number-change was free. But they told us that normally there is a charge. Depending on your situation, the charge may be worth it. From then on, you're starting with a clean slate and can be careful not to do anything obvious that will put you back on a call list. It's a great feeling knowing that when the phone rings, it's actually someone you want to hear from.
orca91
Posts: 1223
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 6:17 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by orca91 »

mac_guy wrote: At the end of the poll, they asked for my birth year.
I like to mess with them when they ask these things. I say like 1900 or 2015, or... :happy
mac_guy wrote: Now they know my political affiliation. I've always registered independent and never wanted my partisan affiliations known.
No they don't. If you're independent, it means you can vote for anyone, right? They don't know any more than the answers you gave them.
mac_guy wrote:I'm kind of kicking myself now that I gave this info out on the telephone. They talked so fast and the survey started so quickly, that I didn't really have time to think things through.
I'd say you're way over thinking this situation. You're one of THOUSANDS of phone calls they make! Your answers are a little tick mark on their stats and that's it. They haven't chosen to single you out and study your daily routines. :happy

If I happen to answer and don't feel like messing with anyone that day, my favorite line to when they start talking fast is........... I don't have the time right now.... click. You're free to use that line next time. :happy
KESP
Posts: 405
Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 8:24 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by KESP »

It is frightening how much of your personal information is online. Companies are taking voter databases and are publishing it online. I googled my old landline number and I got my name, address, date of birth, and what elections I voted in since 2010, what party affiliation I'm registered as, and if it was in person. It is ridiculous. We are making it even easier for people to steal identities.
Mudpuppy
Posts: 7409
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:26 am
Location: Sunny California

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Mudpuppy »

soboggled wrote:Privacy seems to have become a quaint notion to be sacrificed at the altar of commerce. I don't care if they are "legitimate" telemarketers or not, I don't want to hear from any of them. I want the option of not having them annoy me with their unwanted intrusions. Nor do I want anyone to "share" any of my information with anybody, affiliated or not, without my personal explicit opt-in consent. But the telemarketers and their sponsors have squadrons of lobbyists paid millions of dollars and contribute even more to political campaigns so I know it's not going to happen.
I understand that the problem is too big for any public or private organization to fully enforce, even against just the scammers, but the rules make it too easy for them. Nor am I fully convinced the technology does not exist in the telecommunications industry, though I understand the issue is complex.
In this particular case (OP being called for political surveys), you have to give up your contact information to the elections office if you wish to vote in elections. There is no expectation of privacy for your voter registration information.

The rest of your post goes beyond the subject of this thread, but I'll just add that with all the data breaches at places which also must have your private information for government compliance purposes (such as OPM and other HR breaches) or for regulatory purposes (such as Anthem and other health insurance breaches), the scammers have most Americans' information no matter how much they opt-out of data collection with other corporations.
User avatar
tcassette
Posts: 252
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 12:20 pm
Location: Southeast Tennessee

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by tcassette »

azurekep wrote:For those who are plagued by unwanted phone calls, as a last resort, you may want to see if your phone company allows you to change your telephone number. We did that because of an error made by the phone co. and so the number-change was free. But they told us that normally there is a charge. Depending on your situation, the charge may be worth it. From then on, you're starting with a clean slate and can be careful not to do anything obvious that will put you back on a call list. It's a great feeling knowing that when the phone rings, it's actually someone you want to hear from.
Don't be so sure that changing your number solves all problems. When we moved to a new state and got a new phone number at random, we were soon flooded with calls looking for the former owner of that number. Collection agencies, creditors, etc. all called. We eventually changed our telephone number again and so far have had no similar problems.
Mudpuppy
Posts: 7409
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:26 am
Location: Sunny California

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Mudpuppy »

tcassette wrote:
azurekep wrote:For those who are plagued by unwanted phone calls, as a last resort, you may want to see if your phone company allows you to change your telephone number. We did that because of an error made by the phone co. and so the number-change was free. But they told us that normally there is a charge. Depending on your situation, the charge may be worth it. From then on, you're starting with a clean slate and can be careful not to do anything obvious that will put you back on a call list. It's a great feeling knowing that when the phone rings, it's actually someone you want to hear from.
Don't be so sure that changing your number solves all problems. When we moved to a new state and got a new phone number at random, we were soon flooded with calls looking for the former owner of that number. Collection agencies, creditors, etc. all called. We eventually changed our telephone number again and so far have had no similar problems.
Here's my tip for getting new numbers: see if the phone company will give you a list of numbers to choose from, then Google ALL of the numbers. If any of them are recently tied to people, particularly if they're tied to *multiple* people, reject those numbers. There's a reason those numbers keep coming up for reuse. Also reject the numbers associated with businesses run out of residential areas (home businesses can have similar issues with creditors) or a recently closed large business (many people still trying to contact the business because they don't know its closed).

If you're lucky, there's a new prefix in use in your area and you can get a brand new number. Or maybe you can get a really old number that was only used by one or two people previously.

Two landline numbers ago, I let the phone company assign at random and I got all sorts of collection calls for the prior owner. When I moved, I was given about a half numbers to choose from and used this technique. One of the numbers was getting no personally identifiable Google hits (just "this prefix is located in xyz"), so that's the one I chose. I had very few wrong numbers, and the ones I did have were likely due to dialing errors (e.g. swapping digits).
User avatar
GerryL
Posts: 3902
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by GerryL »

tcassette wrote:
azurekep wrote:For those who are plagued by unwanted phone calls, as a last resort, you may want to see if your phone company allows you to change your telephone number. We did that because of an error made by the phone co. and so the number-change was free. But they told us that normally there is a charge. Depending on your situation, the charge may be worth it. From then on, you're starting with a clean slate and can be careful not to do anything obvious that will put you back on a call list. It's a great feeling knowing that when the phone rings, it's actually someone you want to hear from.
Don't be so sure that changing your number solves all problems. When we moved to a new state and got a new phone number at random, we were soon flooded with calls looking for the former owner of that number. Collection agencies, creditors, etc. all called. We eventually changed our telephone number again and so far have had no similar problems.
I went to school in Hawaii for 3 years. The entire time I lived there -- with my "new" phone # -- I got phone calls for Gary Tanaka. A couple of times a week at first and then every few months by the time I was packing up to leave. No answering machine, so I always had to pick up to find out who was calling.
Well into the second year of this I finally asked one of the callers, "Who is this Gary Tanaka, anyway?"
"Oh, just a friend," he said.
"Some friend you are," I responded. "You haven't called him in at least 3 years!"

So, no, a new phone number probably won't save you because it probably wouldn't be new.
User avatar
Tamarind
Posts: 2810
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:38 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Tamarind »

mac_guy wrote:
jjface wrote:Doesn't sound like any sensitive data was given. Either way you have done it now and can't take it back. No use worrying about it!
Well, they addressed me by my name. If they know my name and phone number, then they also know my address. At the end of the poll, they asked for my birth year. Now they know my political affiliation. I've always registered independent and never wanted my partisan affiliations known. I'm kind of kicking myself now that I gave this info out on the telephone. They talked so fast and the survey started so quickly, that I didn't really have time to think things through.
Your registered affiliation was already public for anyone who wanted to know. In my county voting records can be searched by name and county and it gives not only current affiliation, but which partisan ballot you voted during any given primary (my state has open primaries for independents).

I've recieved a similar call that was more evidently "opinion generation" work. Some campaigns or PACs will hire telemarketers to administer fake polls that are worded to try to sway people. Others use fake polls to cull purchased donor lists by figuring out who is unlikely to respond to particular issues.

If you find these practices disturbing, I would recommend not answering any polls by phone. Very few of them are legit.
cherijoh
Posts: 6591
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:49 pm
Location: Charlotte NC

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by cherijoh »

dm200 wrote:Let me also add that, as far as I know, voter registration lists are public information - as are registered party affiliation in those states where you can register by Party. While your vote is "secret", that you voted (or not) in any election is also public information. In my state, it is required that the election officer checking voters in MUST state, out loud, the name and address of the voter as part of the election process. Occasionally, a prospective voter "objects" -- BUT it happens to be required by law and/or regulation here.
I am a registered voter with a party affiliation

Most of the political junk mail I receive are associated with my party affiliation but I get do get mailers to vote for candidates of both parties especially for local elections

Occasionally I get a solicitation to donate money to a candidate of the other party which seems like poor use of their marketing budget
azurekep
Posts: 1179
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 7:16 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by azurekep »

tcassette wrote:
azurekep wrote:For those who are plagued by unwanted phone calls, as a last resort, you may want to see if your phone company allows you to change your telephone number. We did that because of an error made by the phone co. and so the number-change was free. But they told us that normally there is a charge. Depending on your situation, the charge may be worth it. From then on, you're starting with a clean slate and can be careful not to do anything obvious that will put you back on a call list. It's a great feeling knowing that when the phone rings, it's actually someone you want to hear from.
Don't be so sure that changing your number solves all problems. When we moved to a new state and got a new phone number at random, we were soon flooded with calls looking for the former owner of that number. Collection agencies, creditors, etc. all called. We eventually changed our telephone number again and so far have had no similar problems.
In our case, anything would have been an improvement. We went from getting many spam calls a day to getting none. For someone who gets a small number of spam calls a day, it might not be worth the risk to get a number change.
User avatar
lthenderson
Posts: 8528
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:43 am
Location: Iowa

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by lthenderson »

mac_guy wrote:To my recollection, this is the very first time I have ever been part of a presidential poll.
I'm very impressed. I live in a swing state that also is the first in the nation to vote in the primary/caucus season. During the three or four months leading up to our caucus night, I get on average 7 or 8 survey calls A DAY! Afterwards, it does quiet down until the last few months before the elections (like right now) but being a swing state, I still get 4 or 5 survey calls a day.

That is the main reason I keep my landline so I can give out that number whenever necessary and then I never answer it and just let the answering machine (on mute) do the work and check it periodically to see if someone I actually care to talk to has called that number. For friends only, I give out my cell number.
Naismith
Posts: 530
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:58 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Naismith »

Okay, I do surveys for a living, including phone surveys. Not for Matthews Research. Our center is not doing any political polls this year, but did do the polling for a major newspaper in our state about a hotly contested governor's race a few years back.

At our center, all 93 interviewing stations display as the same phone number. And we have gone to great effort and expense to keep that same phone number that we have been using for over 20 years, moving to 3 different locations. If you get a call and do a web search on that phone number, our website pops right up--including a section on "Did We Call You?" and an online contact form. Some folks use that form to ask to be removed from the list. Others appreciate that they can quickly ascertain the legitimacy of our survey, and might even call us back on our toll-free number.

So how do I deal with incoming survey calls in my own house?
1. First, I ask them to call me back in 30 minutes. Most legitimate firms will do this, unless it happens to be at the very end of their work night. Even if we have a maximum number of dials to each household, if you state a time to call back, we are delighted to accommodate you and will call back at the time you choose.
2. Second, ask them who is paying for the survey. I will not do a survey that is not upfront about the sponsor. Only a handful of states mandate this information, but our center always gives this information out.
3. Then I listen carefully for an agenda, and will not continue with polls that are clearly biased. Especially not this time of year. In the early summer, candidates may be doing some "message testing" polls that they will be using to shape their convention appearance and ads. But this time of year, the same questions would be a push poll designed to sway votes.

A few other responses to issues that were raised earlier....

Survey research is exempt from the National Do-Not-Call list. You can ask to be removed from our list and we won't be called again for that particular poll, but if you come up in a list for a health plan patient experience study, or our monthly survey of consumer attitudes, we may call again.

Whether or not you get a payment for participating depends on the study, the amount of time it takes, and whatever restrictions. A health survey does offer a check, a survey of patients in a clinical trial gives a VISA prepaid card, but some other surveys forbid any kind of payment.

We generally leave an answering machine message with our toll-free number. We don't always do this on the last day of a political poll, because we may not have time to call you back before the end of the fielding period. Those polls are typically in the field for only a few days, or even a few hours for a post-debate poll.

We obtain voter registration sample from a non-partisan firm that takes the state voter database, and attempts to add or verify a phone number (which may be a cell phone number). Some states do not collect a phone number as part of the registration process, but these companies run it through a process that provides a phone number for over 70% of voters. I understand it involves credit bureaus as part of the process.

It is a balancing act, trying to be respectful of people's time and privacy as we seek to collect the most accurate data possible. But there's no easy way to find out what real people are thinking without talking to real people. And we know that we may be stepping over the threshold of your soul when we ask questions that seem personal....

Also fundraising should not be combined with data collection in a survey. We call that "frugging"--fund raising under the guise of a survey. And "sugging" is selling under the guise.

When we dial your number, it is not through a massive predictive dialing system. An interviewer is sitting there, listening to the phone ringing, waiting to talk to you when the phone picks up. And we appreciate every participant in our studies.
Gardener
Posts: 698
Joined: Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:03 pm

Re: Just answered telephone political poll. Now concerned.

Post by Gardener »

Parthenon wrote:The last time I got a call to participate in a survey I said sure, how much are you paying. The guy said they didn't pay, why would they? I suggested that without my input they had nothing and asked him if he was doing this for nothing. He of course said no. I told him he was just a clerk taking down information, without that information they don't have a business. He never called back again.

Ed
Something to consider Ed- more often then not I'd venture to guess, the guy/gal calling is just trying to make a living. Obviously, reasonable security precautions should be taken and you don't have to interview, but there's no need to browbeat the guy calling you.
Post Reply