Who Called Us

This is a BS call

Are any other folks in California getting these calls? Please let me know at californiamoms@live.com.

If you get a call from this number it is from Kidsfirst.org or Coalition for Children's Media in Sante Fe New Mexico. This is an organization that says it wants you to do a review of their movies and they are all about promoting good children's media but in fact they are really selling the movies for distributors who don’t want to pay for marketing. So they do it on the cheap and don't care how many folks it bothers. Check out how many movies they sell at this site, it is a lot. They use their non profit status to avoid telemarketing laws for the Federal Do Not Call Registry for telemarketeers. They also use an auto dialer which randomly calls with prerecorded messages from "John" who sounds real and confuses citizens and they do not identify themselves so if the call goes bad you won't know who it was to complain about. They use several numbers here are just a few:
617-245-9601
505-989-8076
505-247-1942
330-752-6187
202-747-7355
303-974-1804
505-225-5322
505-237-1942
505-382-6813
575-382-9984
877-700-6025
Google these numbers and you will see how many people are being harassed by this group on their new cell phones or home phones.
Call your state Attorney General's Office and make a formal complaint as well as the New Mexico Attorney General's Office. Also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov. I would just write up one short complaint and use it for all three. Once they see a pattern they will act. Kidsfirst is hoping that you the consumer and regulatory agencies don't put two and two together since they don't identify themselves. Also you can go to kidsfirst.org website and contact all the sponsors on their site and let them know how kidfirst has treated you and with their deceptive practices. They think they found a loop hole but they need to play fair and especially if they are using a children’s platform to hide behind. If they are legit then why do they need so many reviews? Why not use the reviews from folks who already bought movies? Did Siskel and Ebert sell the movies they reviewed? No, because it was a conflict of interest. Kidsfirst is well aware how this bothers folks and you can tell by what folks who post about their calls to Kidsfirst. They just don't care and why don't they just use the Do Not Call Registry if they are such a caring non profit? When you ask them who is funding this organization Ann Church the so called V.P. of Marketing referred me to their tax form. When I asked who was on their Board of Directors she referred me to their tax form. You may ask your state if they really consider this a non profit organization at all, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck then it is a duck (small business selling movies). Do they owe your state any type of taxes if they are hiding behind non profit veil and really operating like a small business? You should ask your state regulatory agencies. They talk the talk but when you peel the onion here they are just a thinly veiled marketing arm for movie distributors. Whether they support good media or bad media they are telemarketing and selling movies and should be a normal store front like others and have to abide by the same laws as the others and honor the Federal Do Not Call Registry. Is that really asking that much? Check to see if your state prohibits organization from using automatic random dialers with prerecorded messages that don’t identify who they are with no matter if they are a non profit or business entity.

Verizon filed a lawsuit yesterday on this matter.
What area of usa was called, anyone in texas?

I would appreciate any information on this matter.
privacy attorney, joe malley

email me, IN CONFIDENCE:............malleylaw@gmail.com

In response to those who think I work for Kids First (I don't - they're an unethical organization and I don't like what they're doing anymore than you folks): Dumb people (like you) always believe what they see in print. Ok, you went to the link I posted and entered in the following info: Your telephone number (most likely cell) and your name. No address. No email. So how exactly do you think they're going to SEND you the movies? Over the freeking PHONE?! This form is used on the site for two purposes - opting IN and OUT. This was a mistake in the coding of the site on their part, but think about it: if you're opting OUT because they've already called you, then you're no worse for wear by entering your name and telephone number!! (They already have it DUMMY!) Instead of complaining to the FCC, your local government, or whatever other organization you want to yell at to vent your misplaced anger (or just railing on ME), CONTACT THE COMPANY (like I did). Since your uninformed rants, they've fixed this form to reflect proper info. It will now read the following:

Thanks

Thanks for participating in KIDS FIRST! Cares.

If you have selected to Opt Out,
You have been added to our Do Not Call list, apologies for the inconvenience.

If you have selected to Opt In,
You should be receiving your two movies to review within the next 10 days.

We appreciate your participation and look forward to receiving your reviews of the films.

Enjoy.

KIDS FIRST!®
Promoting Quality Children’s Media Since 1991

Questions
Call: (800) 932-1978 or contact us via email.

So again, if you're looking to opt out of their list, the link I posted previously IS correct - I'll even be more specific: go to kidsfirstcares.org to get off of their calling list. Cheers to all of you smart enough to follow through and figure these things out.

2006 pres release
Company selling films will pay $70,000 over No Call complaints in agreement obtained by Nixon

St. Louis, Mo. — Two companies that market and sell films will pay $70,000 to the state of Missouri and develop a detailed plan to ensure future compliance with the state's No Call law according to a settlement secured today by Attorney General Jay Nixon.

The assurance of voluntary compliance, filed today in St.Louis City Circuit Court, was the result of a lawsuit Nixon filed in March against Feature Films For Families Inc. of Murray, Utah, and the Dove Foundation of Grand Rapids, Mich., alleging the companies conspired in a scheme to evade state No Call laws. Telemarketers from the Dove Foundation claimed its status as a charitable organization provided them with an exemption to the Missouri No Call law. In reality, the Dove Foundation was using that status to solicit sales for Feature Films For Families, a for-profit organization that sells DVDs and videos. The Attorney General's No Call unit recovered almost 300 complaints about the calls.

“Companies such as these that look for new ways to circumvent our No Call law are another illustration of how effective our Missouri law is,” Nixon said. “We always have been, and will continue to be, vigilant in protecting Missouri's consumers from unwanted telemarketers and will swiftly take action when there is a violation of the law.”

According to the agreement, the Dove Foundation and Feature Films For Families must pay $70,000 to the state Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund and obey all merchandising practices and No Call laws in the future. The respondents must also provide the Attorney General's Office with a detailed plan of practices and procedures they will implement in their businesses to ensure compliance with the state No Call law. They have also agreed to subscribe to, and remain current with, the Missouri No Call database.

Any future violation of the agreement by the respondents could result in contempt of court proceedings and civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation.

Dont listen to the "Whatever" poster, he works for them and they will get YOUR information if you go to the website and try to get OFF thier list.
Nice scam going to complaint websites and saying its ligite, you work for them or what?
Its a scam, do not give them any info, just hang up with the words" Please dont call me again"

To the person that put their name as "Whatever". I understand what you are saying look into in more get your name off of their list. The thing that makes me upset is how did I even get on their list. So what now I have to sit here and think great is someone selling my information to companies. I have to deal with a lot of scams in my day that I had nothing to do with. Charges on my bank cards that are no even being used. My whole thing is this is scary knowing that someone is giving out some sort of our information weather it only be a cell phone number or something more.

I did not answer, but googled this number to check it out. Seems they do all of their calling to cell phones...doesn't sound right to me. They did not leave a message!

they called me and when i answered no one was on the other line so i called back and got no answer just told by a computer to hold on the line for customer service

I went to the website that "whatever" has posted to opt out..but to test the waters I just made up a number. I wonder if this person who posted such a pompas posting, realizes that you just sign up for the movies if you chose to opt out. I am sorry for the number I put in there, but I am glad that it wasn't mine. The opt out seems to be just another way to get your information

they call at all times, and over an over. Never leave a message.

You can contact all their sponsors at their website at kidsfirst.org and let them know about the way they call folks. But more importantly you should file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office in New Mexico where they are headquartered and with your own State Attorney General's Office. Washington State is already looking into this. Some key points here is that they don't identify who they are with, they call from all parts of the nation with different area codes. They must be using telemarketers and some states have a problem with automatic dialers and telemarketers. John the guy who calls is a pre-recorded message. The VP of Kidsfirst says that someone listens in the conversation and pushes buttons for responses to your questions. Very odd and it may really be voice activated for all we know. They pretend to be getting reviews but actually they are a marketing arm for movie distributors with the intent to sell you the movie you review much like a try it out before you buy. With their non profit status they are avoiding having to go by federal regulations of the Do Not Call registry. Are they paying their fair share of taxes if in fact they are really telemarketers under the non-profit vail?

This is a telemarketing company hiding behind a non-profit vail. They are called kidsfirst.org. Bascially they represent movie distributors. They call you and pretend they are sending you movies for your review but really they want you to try the movies out and buy them. They are smug about calling folks on the Do Not Call list since they know non-profits don't have to abide by the same rules regular telemarketing companies do. John is the guy that calls and he is actually a recording and apparently someone pushes buttons during your call that will activate recorded answers if they don't have a pre recorded answer then they hang up. They don't say they are from Kidsfirst.org either. I would suggest you contact their sponsors on their website to apply pressure to do the right thing and at least avoid calling folks that are on the Federal Do Not Call list. I wonder if they are avoiding taxes as well as the DNC list regulations?

Calls my cell phone before 9am every day. No one is ever there. VERY annoying. But at least today I finally learned how to block numbers on my cell because of this wanker. LOL

Just received a call also from our friend "John". I too told "him" I would not give him my email address nor did I want a text message. I discovered it was a computer voice generated call when I said I wanted to check his claims out, i.e. Veleteen Rabbit movie and Kids First. When I discovered "John" wasn't really talking to me, I hung up.

This guy also called me like 4 times, I decided to answer today. Even tough I answered in spanish he kept talking and talking until hung up. So annoying. And yes, that number is from Mass.

I receive calls from this number 617-245-9601 on a daily basis but never answer. Once at 5:30am on a Sunday morning was enough to ruin my weekend sleep and piss me off. I would like to figure out how to get back at these Idiots. I am now trying to figure out how to block this number.

just got a call from this Velvetine rabbit jerk that wouldn't stop flappin his jaws. i had ignored this phone call 4 times already this week so i finally answered. didn't listen to a damn thin i said and said he was going to send me additional information. ASSHOLE.

Head office is in Utah 1-435-753-0268. Supposedly this is a movie coming to local theaters and will be distributed at Wal-Mart. I talked to the office manager Jamie (woman) and she explained htat they are trying to market the film, which will later be sold at EWal-Mart. She said the film is showing in some movie theaters (when I asked her which, she said the local one down the road in Logan, UT!!) and they were just trying to give people the 411 about the film. But it sounds very unprofessional. I mean, have you ever heard of Universal or MGM calling you to ask you to go to a movie?

I received a call from this number to my unpublished cell phone number. The caller claimed attempted to entice me to go see a new movie being released: The Velveteen Rabbit. The caller wanted permission to send me a text message or email. If anything, this kind of unsolicited telemarketing makes me want to boycott the movie!

Good cause or not, this is very bad practice. I intend to report this incident to the FTC and encourage everyone else who finds this page to do the same thing.

same crap. called my cell a million times. finally told the guy I had looked up the number on here and no one was believing his crap. Hopped online and found everything I could about Kid's first. Found an old tax statement.
address is
112 W. SAN FRANCISCO STREET
SANTA FE, NM 87501-2088

Employer identification number:
85-0398632

Telephone number
505-989-8076

I read through these forums and all I see is "do not call list", "DNC" etc. . .you people are intelligent enough to google your way here - why not follow through and do a little extra research?! Here's the skinny for those of you too lazy or dumb to figure it out: This number is registered to a company called Kids First. (kidsfirst.org) Seems like "John" is the one making all the calls. (may or may not be one person.) They're probably calling you about the movie "The Velveteen Rabbit." (velveteenmovie.com) They are NOT in violation of the Do Not Call registry, because they are a 501-c-3 charity. It may be annoying that they have called your cell phone, but you can always HANG UP. If you want them to stop calling you, remove yourself from their list HERE: kidsfirstcares.org In the future, educate yourselves before venting into the air about rights you don't have.

They are annoying, that is for sure. Unfortunatly, they are a non profit and the DNC list doesn't cover them.

Yesterday my wife, daughter and mother all recieved a call from this number. All the calls were from "John" and were about a movie. I also recieved a call around 5:30 pm from this number but when I answered they hung up. We all have Alltel and all live in NC.

I was trying to figure out whether to call 617-245-9601 back when I missed it.
And now I Googled this. Glad I didn't answer it. Thanks everyone for the heads up!

Something told me not to answer the phone, so I didn't. Judging by the rest of these entries, I am glad I didn't anyway. I would have had to walk out of site just to answer the phone since I am working in a company that doesn't like cellphones with cameras on them being close to to R&D locations. Oh, did I also fail to mention that my # is also on the Do Not Call Registry? I hope they burn this company good.

called my cell phone - I hung up

Unknown - Missed Call on my cell phone!

Called my cell also, came through as unknown. I'm also in Washington state and a Verizon customer. Generally speaking I don't answer out of state or unknown callers. And now I'm glad I didn't.

Yeah, Velveteen Rabbit stuff. Pretty lame, but unfortunately I gave my e-mail address without thinking about it. Fortunately, it was an address I specifically use for spammers and the first e-mail that arrives will get blocked.

Got the call too, just now. I live in WA... I didn't even give him a chance to tell me which movie it was. He also told me that they are calling random numbers in the area. Frustrating!

This number rang my cell also, this morning. Glad too that I didn't answer in error. I try not to answer so that call centers don't call back, there is an auto reply dialing system that dials just to see if you are in so they can connect a person in the next call, very annoying!

called me this morning about some movie...

got a call about 8:30 am today on my cell. I never answer numbers I don't know, especially when out of state. this one said Massachusetts. didn't answer- and after seeing all this- I wont call back. I live in near Seattle Washington.

I just found this web address on another site like this one kidsfirst.org ... I guess some people think it's legit, but I still think it is a poor way of marketing... especially in this day and age when you have to be so careful of who is trying to get your information.

I just found this web address on another site like this one kidsfirst.org ... I guess some people think it's legit, but I still think it is a poor way of marketing... especially in this day and age when you have to be so careful of who is trying to get your information.

I'm in NY and received a missed call from this # around 10:15 am. I usually google phone numbers I don't recognize and I'm glad I did because I found all of you who received the same call. At least now I know I didn't miss an important call.

I'm also from Washington state. They just called at 8:00pm. They did not leave a message. I called the number back on my landline and it said to wait for someone in customer service. Then "John" came on the line and started rambling and then I hung up. I use this site often, and I am surprised they are calling so many cell phone numbers.

ok so I got a call on my cell 617-245-9601. It was also a guy named John 8:37am... I was sleeping still but somehow answered the phone when it rang. He said his name was John and he was marketing The Velveteen Rabbit. I also live in Washington and use Verizon. I'm quite annoyed about this because it creeped me out. he asked about a few other movies like Enchanted and other movies in that genre. He tried to get my email address and I said no...then he was talking to me about how we were going to pick out two free movies to be sent to me. Then he asked if I would be the only one watching the movies or if I had kids or grand kids. If he calls back I'll answer and get rid of him. My story is almost exactly like Megan's posted above this. I most likely not go to this movie anyways... I googled the movie Velveteen Rabbit and it's not being remade either! can anyone say stupid SCAM?

I live in Washington state as well, its not a live person... "John" is a computer generated voice doing the survey. If you try to ask questions you can tell by the replies. They ask for personal info like email, and address to send you "free kids movies" as they work for the producers of the Velveteen Rabbit movie. They claim that they are trying to market the film (and the other films they produce) because they dont have the funds to make commercials ect... seems fishy to me... its a Massachusets phone number calling the west coast, but they dont have money for tv commercials?? who is paying the phone bills??? I will say thought that they didnt ask for credit card, SS# or any financial information.... but why in the hell would you want to offer up your email and address to a computer generated recording not knowing who or what they really are trying to see/do?? I will be reporting the number to Verizon......

I also got a phone call from 9601. I did not answer because I did not recognize the number. I am also from Wa state.

This guy called me and started asking me questions and telling me about this movie Velveteen rabbit... he mentioned a couple times about how they're surveying 'adults' and 'parents' so i stopped him and asked why he called me, a 15 year old. His exact response was "Okay, thank you, have a nice day." I have a feeling he'll be calling back and if he does I will call Verizon and report or block the number.

Oh and i live in Washington state if that makes any difference (someone above also said they were in Washington)

Called my cell 617 245 9601 really early this morning and woke me up. I did not answer but find it very rude and ridiculous if this guy named john has no respect and is calling cell phone users, especially those on the no call list.

some one is on the line and he says his name is John and that he is working for the Producers of the Velveteen Rabbit movie. He starts off by giving his name John. At first I think I am talking to a live person but as the conversation goes on further I see that it is a computer generated voice. He says that the producers of the movie can not afford to pay for advertizing so they are giving away movies for you to watch and then give a survey. He asks for your zip code and then your emailing address. and your street address but it does not ask for any credit card account or checking accounts information. It does ask how many children are in the home and what the age ranges are. It is a waste of my time and cell minutes.

Got this call on my cell phone this morning at 8:30. It was "John" but I think it is an automated phone call. I called back and got the customer service "your call is very important" nonsense and then the phone went dead.

The call is a computer with voice recognition software, though the character "John" will tell you he's a real person. I guess the guy who did the voice was. Anyway, it's part of a marketing survey for Kids First, (kidsfirst.org) a legit non profit in Santa Fe. They admit the computer has its flukes and is pretty weird. They have a phone number 505.989.8076 you can call and leave a msg. to get your number on the do-not-call list. There ya have it.

I do not want my cell phone used to sell, interview, disseminate informtion. It is a means of communication between my friends and family only.

Hung up when I answered. Waste of time.

Missed call. Glad I didn't get it!

I called this number back and it belongs to Kids First and is trying to market the movie The Velveteen Rabbit. When I asked how John got my cell phone number he claimed "we are randomly dialing all combinations of numbers in areas the movie is being released in". Right.... Anyway, I hung up and now will not be seeing the movie.

This # was a missed call on my cell phone. I called back to see who it was. It rang a really long time. Then it sounded like it answered but after about 1 second of silence it hung up.

6172459601 calls cellular divices. contact BBB in UTAH and the attorney generals for UTAH. ask for a complaints packet and fill it out. Request for a joint law suit for non-call list numbers.
you will also need to do two more things. Contact your local attorney generals office and go onto the website for Do not call list. update your information and lodge a complaint give these added details.
Ask all attorney generals to supeona a cease and desist order to these to web servers. It will shut their web sites down for good and render them out of business.
The caller is running under two known sites;

familytv.com
velveteenrabbit.com

company infomation;
Shimpi Technologies
shimpi, Anirudha anu
5286 S. Commerce Drive
suite A116
murray, Utah 84107

Familytv has an additional address
1192 W midas trail drive
south jordan, utah 84095

contact people listed
anirudha anu shimpi
Jon Lytle
james Fair
801-284-7370

check out the bbb for shimpi technologies

These guys run with phone devises that appear to be disconnected. some of you are lucky to get a live caller. get their last name and ask for their company info. send details to a bank scam site yerfdog123@hotmail.com we are tracking many of these sites and there is a world wide system being setup to log them.
thanks for leaving the comments

call came to my CELL PHONE which is on the govt. do not call list. I will report it, of course. I only let the guy - John (as in the other calls reported by other recipients) - get through the first part of his bit before I hung up. He had no right to call and I have no obligation to listen.

It was a missed call to me

Received a call from this number at about 0920 today. I used to always answer my phone, but after I got a couple survey calls from places I had been to (no landline, cell is only phone), I stopped answering numbers I didn't recognize. I always check up on just area codes, until I noticed that others do the whole number. This is a handy tool to report unknown numbers. I never return "missed" calls, if it's important or necessary, they'll leave a message. Sounds like it was good I didn't answer.

okay that number was the second out of state call i got today. the first one was from nevada becasue i looked it up on this site too. i didnt answer either of them because i was in class for one of them and then i tried to answer this one but i was too late because the person already hung up. i have no idea why someone from massachusetts is calling me on my cell but i want it to stop.

I just got a call from this number. I didn't pick up, because I am under the Verizon Inpulse plan, and was going to just text the person back asking who they were, as that is cheaper then calling. I then got a text back saying that the number was a landline. I search to see what state the 617 areacode was used for, and saw it was for Mass, so I thought it was suspicious. Glad I didn't call back ;)

I received a call on my cell from 617-245-9601. He said it was John and he was calling about a "great new movie". I told him that I would not go see his movie and my cell is on the Do Not Call list. He just kept talking. I hung up on him. I agree that I would not go see this movie if it was the only movie there was.

I received a phone call on my CELL 617-245-9601 earlier this morning from someone named John. He said he was calling on behalf of the producers of Velveteen Rabbit and would I answer 3 quick questions. Trying to be nice, I said, sure. Well, his “questions” were really just a marketing technique for this movie. He talked incessantly and didn’t respond to a thing I said. I finally yelled to get his attention and told him to quit talking over me… good-bye.

I got in to work and decided to call that number back. Surprisingly, I got John… who sounded like the same guy. I told him how I felt about the call and that if Velveteen Rabbit was the ONLY movie in theaters I’d not go see it. And I won’t. This marketing technique is invasive and it cost ME money (cell minutes) to be marketed to. I’m not sure who is in charge of your marketing efforts, but calling someone’s cell phone (which is on a do not call list, by the way) is not a good way to get your message across.

This number (617 245 9601) called my daughter's cell phone...she didn't answer since she didn't know who it was. I called it back and it range forever. Automated system finally answered and said thank you for calling customer service your call will be answered shortly and then I got dead air and no one ever answered.