PHOTO: In detailing his Repeated Objectionable Bothering of Consumers on Phones (ROBOCOP) Act, Sen. Schumer said that nearly 50 million robocalls were directed to two NYC area codes—in April alone. Courtesy of IHateTelemarketers.com
By Forum Staff
A New York senator this week announced that he will introduce legislation that would give consumers a free tool to help them deal with what he called the robocall “epidemic.”
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said that the Repeated Objectionable Bothering of Consumers on Phones Act would “finally” require landline and mobile carriers to offer free robocall-blocking technology.
First introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) in the House of Representatives, the ROBOCOP Act would also direct the Federal Communications Commission to require telephone companies to label and block calls with fraudulent caller ID, as a result of widespread spoofing.
Despite federal ‘Do Not Call’ rules, hundreds of thousands of individuals continue to receive unwanted spam calls via automated dialing machines.
“Robocalls are one of the things that annoy Americans the most and the ROBOCOP Act will finally help put a rest to these dreaded calls that are interrupting family dinners—or worse—scamming people out their hard-earned money,” Schumer said. “Despite the existing ‘Do Not Call’ registry, the robocall problem has returned in a serious way. It’s an epidemic that we’ve got to stop—whether it’s the landline OR the mobile phone. It’s taking far too long for telecom companies to act, so that’s why I’m introducing the ROBOCOP bill which will finally require all major landline and mobile carriers to work towards making robocall blocking technology available to all consumers. Now is the time for phone carriers to answer the call and free consumers of these dreaded robocalls.”
Robocalls, Schumer noted, are phone calls that use automated dialing machines to play a pre-recorded message. In many cases, these types of calls are made by fraudulent companies trying to steal money from the person on the other end of the phone. Many times, these calls are placed using “caller ID spoofing.” Companies that resort to caller ID spoofing can make the caller id display the phone number of a government agency, credit card company or bank. Under the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, Schumer said, this practice is illegal if used for the purpose of defrauding or otherwise causing harm. However, despite the fact that many of these calls clearly violate the law, it is difficult if not impossible to catch the perpetrators, many of whom are overseas and/or hiding behind fake numbers.
In addition to being an annoyance, Schumer said that robocalls can also hurt consumers financially when they involve scammers. According to the Consumers Union, the policy and action division of Consumer Reports which works with elected officials to help get consumer protection laws approved in states and in Congress, robocall scammers cost consumers $350 million a year. Schumer pointed to the recent robocall tax scam that has threatened individuals, some in the Empire State, by telling victims that they owe money to the IRS. Schumer noted that the Federal Trade Commission has identified and developed robocall-blocking technology and, as a result, Time Warner Cable Inc. announced that it would provide its customers with access to Nomorobo, a third-party robocall- blocking service for those with Internet-based service or Voice over Internet Protocol. Schumer said that because technology like Nomorobo already exists, other landline and mobile carriers should similarly offer robocall-blocking services to consumers in order to eliminate future nuisances and scams.
The National “Do-Not-Call” Registry, managed by the FTC, was implemented in 2003 after the Do-Not-CallImplementation Act of 2003. The registry is designed to give people a choice about whether they would like to receive telemarketing calls at home. It was created to limit the number of telemarketing calls and robocallsmade to U.S. households. In order to register, one may log onto the “Do-Not-Call” website and their phone number will be permanently placed in the registry.
There are roughly 223 million phone numbers in the DNC registry. If a person who is listed on the registry receives a telemarketing call, they can file a complaint at complaints.donotcall.gov. According to YouMail, a robocall blocking service and data aggregator, there were 2.3 billion robocalls in April 2016 (the most recent month available for data). Atlanta is the number one area affected by robocalls. New York City’s “917” area code ranked number five in April 2016 on the list of top robocall affected area codes. And the Big Apple’s “347” area code came in at number 10 on the same list. In total, these two NYC area codes were targeted by an estimated 50 million robocalls in April, Schumer said.
“Most Americans have signed up for the Do Not Call list, but the unwanted calls from telemarketers and scam artists have just gotten worse,” said Chuck Bell, programs director for Consumers Union. “Senator Schumer’s bill will ensure that the phone companies take action and provide their customers with the tools they need to block robocalls. We urge Congress to pass this bill and provide their frustrated constituents with the relief they deserve.”
