Get free VoIP calling from AdCalls, lose all your friends
Telemarketers are very clever folks. Just because they got slammed with the National Do-Not-Call list doesn't mean they're packing up their phones to go spamming or phishing. Instead, they are finding innovative ways to trick people into joining an opt-in list. Their latest attempt comes in the form of AdCalls, a
Skype-like service that promises free long-distance calls from a PC while you watch ads scroll across the app's interface. Too good to be true, you say. You're damn right it is. Apparently by accepting AdCalls' end-user agreement, you give them permission to compile every number you dial and sell them to advertisers. From AdCalls' Privacy Policy:
If you originate a telephone call or send an email message to a third party, you give us the third party's contact
information, such as email address. We complete the call and retain that person's information to contact them later
to solicit them to join our AdCalls service or for other purposes.
Other purposes, eh? Very nefarious indeed; we wouldn't put it past these guys to break you off all sorts of nasty spyware too. Imagine the fun you'll have when all your buddies start getting barraged with credit card offers and they discover your dirty little secret. Et tu, Brutus?
[Thanks, FSK1138]