Morning, noon, evening… Lines with 0850 calling at all hours of the day made the consumer fed up. While 0850 numbers are given to licensed companies licensed by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), sharing the customer's personal information with call companies by authorized services also violates the Personal Data Protection Law.
Calls from numbers starting with 0850 throughout the day have made us all irritable. The numbers with 0850, which call repeatedly during the day and listen to the tape recordings for advertising purposes, have actually become a huge fraud network. Although many citizens have blocked numbers with 0 850 many times, companies are harassing citizens again with a similar number. Last year, a regulation was made by the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) for the advertising activities of companies that flood people’s mobile phones with notifications during the day with messages and e-mails as well as calls. However, despite the fines, the ongoing harassment calls through the subcontractor call companies is against the Personal Data Protection Law and is a trap for scammers. Consumer Confederation President Aydın Ağaoğlu, who spoke to the Milli Gazete about the victimization caused by the numbers 0850, emphasized that the authorized institutions should seriously consider the issue.
“MILLIONS OF CONSUMERS ARE BOTH SWINDLED AND HARASSED”
Stating that the lines with 0 850 are not allocated to everyone by the BTK, the President of the Consumer Confederation Aydın Ağaoğlu said, “These lines are given under license only to companies that have received a license from the BTK. It is also given to downstream users by companies. However, since the lines with 0850 are given into the hands of unknown people, millions of consumers are harassed because licensed companies will make money. Every day, hundreds of messages and calls with voice messages are sent to consumers from 0850 and 0800 lines. These messages and calls are a scam. These lines call a consumer who already has an internet subscription because your subscription is over. There is great suffering because of it. A consumer with an existing subscription is debited with a withdrawal fee by terminating his subscription against his will.”
“BTK HAS A REGULATION BUT IT NEEDS TO BE KEPT TIGHT”
Aydın Ağaoğlu said, “The lines with 0850 are now fed up to the consumer. They are harassing you by calling morning, noon, evening, any time of the day. Here, as well as the complaint of the consumer, the BTK should also step in and take a definite measure. A guarantee should be requested from the persons or institutions to whom 0 850 lines will be allocated, and if they use it maliciously, the telecommunication company that allocated the number to that person or organization should intervene in the situation. Here, it is necessary to prevent the victimization of the consumer. BTK should obtain guarantees from companies licensed for lines with 0 850 and hold them responsible. There is already a regulation by the BTK regarding this, but the work has to be kept tight.” He emphasized that every institution or person who wants should not use 0 850 lines.
"WHO SHARE THE CONSUMER'S PERSONAL INFORMATION?"
Aydın Ağaoğlu pointed out that it is not only telecommunication companies that make frauds on 0850 lines, and said, “Some fraudsters, who look like authorized services and white goods services, are deceiving the citizens through these lines. These lines are used by individuals or companies to trap citizens during the day only for the purpose of fraud. At this point, all companies licensed by BTK are responsible to the consumer. As can be seen on the BTK website, there are approximately 200 companies licensed for lines with 0850. However, here, the personal data of consumers are shared within the scope of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data. Who is sharing the consumer's personal information with this scam company? Here, the citizen should follow the issue and make a complaint to the authorized institutions.”