Please stop calling me I'm not interested - Robocallers may receive record high fine.

[williamcll]

Robocalls have been a global issue that has been so far been mitigated with call blockers and the occasional legal action, however, a recent FCC proposal for a penalty might be the biggest yet in America. 

Quote

A U.S. communications regulator has proposed a $225 million fine, its largest ever, against two health insurance telemarketers for spamming people with 1 billion robocalls flashing fake phone numbers. The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that John Spiller and Jakob Mears made the massive load of mass calls through two businesses they controlled. State attorneys general of Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas also sued the two men and their companies, Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, in federal court in Texas, where both men live, for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

 

These telemarketers faked the number their calls displayed in caller ID with intent to deceive consumers in early 2019, the FCC said. They also purposefully called people who are on do-not-call lists and called people's mobile phones without getting permission first. The fine is not a final decision, and Spiller and Mears will have a chance to respond. Spiller declined to comment to the Associated Press. He declined to provide contact information for Mears and said neither would speak before talking to an attorney.

 

A new law beefs up enforcement and mandates that the phone industry not charge for call-blocking tools and put in place a system designed to weed out "spoofed" calls made using fake numbers. President Donald Trump signed the Traced Act last year, which gives regulators more time to track down robocall companies and doles out stiffer fines for violating the law.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fcc-225-million-fine-texas-robocall-one-billion-consumers/

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-proposes-record-225-million-fine-1-billion-spoofed-robocalls

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-proposes-record-225-million-fine-1-billion-spoofed-robocalls-0

https://www.fcc.gov/document/chairman-pai-applauds-state-ags-action-against-telemarketer

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/admin/2020/Press/Spiller filestamped complaint 6.9.20.pdf

Thoughts: I'm lucky enough to live in a place where's there's enough spam calls to motivate people into making free call blacklists. Can't say the same for some that live in less developed cities. Worse are the companies that sell your phone number to telemarketers because that's what their privacy policy allows them to do. Furthermore, there is also the issue if FCC can actually get the robocallers to cough up the money as many past prosecution fines has yet to be fully paid for years.

 

[Fasauceome]

Fine them, and fine them again. There are nearly 0 circumstances where robocalls are useful or beneficial, nearly every single one ranges from a nuisance to a downright scam to get your info.

[mr moose]

I have been very lucky, I have had less than a handful of marketing calls in the last 10 years.

[NineEyeRon]

I get about one a month at the moment, its not annoying, just mild inconvenience.

 

I know people who get a lot more. 

[SpikeSpiegel]

9 minutes ago, NineEyeRon said:

I get about one a month at the moment, its not annoying, just mild inconvenience.

 

I know people who get a lot more. 

Some Car Warranty Telemarketer kept harassing me.  Every day they would change their VOIP numbers with different area codes.  Then I got sick of them calling me.  I installed a call block app on my Android phone called "Calls Blacklist".  And I blacklisted all unknown, VOIP, and out of state area codes.  Then the calls kept getting blocked.  You can also try these tips from Clark Howard.

 

https://clark.com/technology/phones-mobile-devices/how-to-stop-robocalls/

[Nicnac]

1 hour ago, NineEyeRon said:

not annoying, just mild inconvenience.

 

Sounds like my last tinder date. 

[Kilrah]

1 hour ago, CalintzJerevinan said:

Some Car Warranty Telemarketer kept harassing me.  Every day they would change their VOIP numbers with different area codes.  Then I got sick of them calling me.  I installed a call block app on my Android phone called "Calls Blacklist".  And I blacklisted all unknown, VOIP, and out of state area codes.  Then the calls kept getting blocked. 

Report them to the FCC. Even if you don't know exactly who they are report they were working for so and so company they were offering services of. 

[SpikeSpiegel]

6 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

Report them to the FCC. Even if you don't know exactly who they are report they were working for so and so company they were offering services of. 

I already did that and added my cell phone number to the "Do Not Call List".