Robo-calls prompt privacy concerns

Unsolicited campaign calls irk phone users

Philipsburg — UTS received a string of complaints from customers today regarding unsolicited calls and messages received on their mobile phones. The calls and messages originated from campaigns vying for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The telecom provider was contacted by customers concerned about whether the operator provided their information for the purposes of these campaign solicitations. The mobile operator informed that it had no involvement, as the calls are the result of an automated system employed by the campaigns and no cooperation from mobile providers is needed.

These so-called ‘robo-calls’ are made by using automated number generators & number dialers to place calls and send messages. The candidates program these ‘bots’ to automatically contact random mobile telephone numbers of St. Maarten to solicit support. Once a call is connected, an automated campaign recording is played.

UTS customer information remains private

“We would like to assure our customers that we did not assist in providing or selling their information to any political campaign.” Says UTS Marketing & Communication Officer, Ivy Lambert. “Our customers can rest assured that we continue to keep your subscriber information safe/private and that we will not provide this info to third parties for solicitation purposes. We have also informed the Bureau of Telecommunications and Post (BTP) of what is transpiring in the event they receive complaints as well.”