May 18, 2013
More Americans can now use their telephones to ward off pesky telemarketers.
Beginning Monday, people who live East of the Mississippi River can put their telephone number on the national do-not-call registry by dialing a toll-free number.
The registry has been available to residents West of the Mississippi since June 27. The toll-free number was rolled out in stages to ensure the system could handle the volume of calls.
Callers to the number must use the phone they want registered.
Registry by Internet has been available to everyone since the beginning and remains open. The Federal Trade Commission says nearly 17 million phone numbers had been registered by last Thursday.
