Why are unwanted phone calls under control while spam isn't?

My inbox gets sent spam between 300 and 400 times each day. If not for using spam blocker software, my email would be unusable. It's a major problem. Email marketers don't pay anything to advertise, so they have no deterrent from sending junk to anyone they think might remotely purchase.

In contrast, my phone only gets about 3 to 4 unwanted calls each week. Usually those calls are from collection agencies looking for someone else with the same name. I find myself on the other end of a sales call only about once a week.

My phone number is on the national do-not-call list. Before adding myself, I did get a few more unsolicited calls. The national do-not-call list definitely does work. Phone marketers seem to generally respect the law.

So what makes phone marketing different from spam?

For one, making unsolicited phone calls is more expensive than sending spam messages. Even if you're using a machine to replay a recorded message illegally, the cost of a phone line is real. A single phone line can only make so many calls per day. At one-per-minute, it can only make about 720 calls during daylight hours. A single computer sending spam could realistically send closer to a million emails during the same period. If a live person is making the phone calls, that adds a further expense.

While the do-not-call list is new, regulation of traditional telecommunication like phone calls and faxes is well established legally. Anti-marketing laws have been on the books for years regarding faxes and phone calls and have a track records of being enforced. Anti-spam law is relatively new. While it has been enforced in a few high-profile cases, most spammers aren't caught.

In recent years Caller-ID technology has matured. Phone numbers have contact information associated with them. Someone is paying for that line. The same is not true of hijacked computers sending junk mail. If someone calls you up in a method that violates the law, there's a good chance you can at least figure out who you're dealing with. Motivated citizens regularly recoup fines from offending organizations.

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