Credit Card Agents

This afternoon, I received a phone call from a certain woman working for a research company. She is asking for my time to conduct a 3-minute survey on Citibank credit card agents. I said yes to be polite, and it would just last three minutes, so it would not be a big deal for me.

Here are some of her questions and my replies:

1. Can you remember the name of the agent that called you? “No. I did not bother to remember her name.”
2. Did she say which agency she was from? “No.”
3. Did she explain the features of the credit card she is offering? “No.”
4. Did she mention how much the annual fee is? “No.”
5. Did she leave you any number to contact? “No.”
6. How would you rate her? “Below satisfactory.”

Anyway, I am just curious why many agents have been calling me this past weeks. Are my present credit card companies giving away my contact information to these agents for a fee? Are they supposed to protect me with these unsolicited calls?