robocall
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FTC crackdown targets operations responsible for one billion robocalls
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and its law enforcement partners are cracking down on robocallers. Today, the FTC announced that it's filed 94 actions against organizations responsible for more than one billion illegal calls. As part of "Operation Call it Quits," the FTC has opened four new legal cases and three new settlements, bringing the number of cases the FTC has filed against robocallers to 145.
Firewall app promises to keep robocalls from ringing your phone
Ad Hoc Labs, the creators of temporary phone number app Burner, announced a new tool designed stop robocalls from blowing up your phone. Meet call screening app Firewall for iOS. According to its creators, the app is the "first and only" service that filters out unknown callers and likely auto-dialers, allowing only approved calls to even cause your phone to ring.
Bipartisan House bill aims to curb illegal robocalls
The US Senate has shown bipartisan support for a bill to crack down on robocalls, and now it's the House's turn. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone and Ranking Member Greg Walden have introduced a bipartisan Stopping Bad Robocalls Act that would similarly toughen requirements for carriers while more explicitly punishing spam callers. There are some key differences between the two, however.
FTC shuts down four major robocall operations
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that it shut down four separate robocall operations responsible for placing billions of illegal robocalls. The four organizations responsible for the calls agreed to settlements with the agency. Under those agreements, the companies will no longer be able to make robocalls or use automatic dialers to place calls, effectively barring them from the telemarketing business.
FCC fines robocall spammer $120 million for illegal spoofing
The FCC has been trying to squash robocalls for quite some time and even adopted a new set of rules aimed at shutting them down late last year. Now, it has slapped one of the biggest robocall operators with a $120 million fine -- the largest amount it has ever imposed -- showing others like him that the agency is determined to take them down. The FCC has given Adrian Abramovich from Miami a massive penalty for being responsible for 96 million robocalls that used a scheme called "neighbor spoofing." This technique masks the real callers' number with a fake one that uses the area code and the first three digits of the recipients' phone number, making them more likely to pick up.
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Robocall 'strike force' sets out to end unwanted calls
The Federal Communications Commission is just as fed up with robocalls as you are. After opening the door for telecoms to offer robocall blocking services last year, and urging those companies to make them available for free last month, members of the FCC convened a meeting of the Robocall Strike Force this morning to figure out what should happen next. (And yes, that's really what it's called.)
FCC chief asks telcos to offer free robocall blocking services
Tom Wheeler, head honcho at the Federal Communications Commission, has fired off letters asking the country's biggest communications providers to offer robocall blocking services for free. The FCC is still fielding a barrage of complaints from people sick and tired of robocalls a year after it passed a proposal that should have helped the situation. If you'll recall, the commission made it perfectly legal for carriers to block automated calls before they reach subscribers back in 2015. Unfortunately, telcos are still reportedly telling customers that they have no authority to those calls. As a result, they still make the up the biggest number of complaints filed with the agency.
PayPal explains when it will hit you with robocalls
When PayPal updated its user agreement with language suggesting that it had broad powers to make automated calls (aka robocalls) and texts, customers were understandably nervous. Was the company going to spam you until you bought more stuff using its online wallet? Well, you can relax. PayPal is tweaking the agreement once again to make it clear just when it will (and more importantly, won't) send a recorded message your way. The only times the firm will robocall is when it needs to collect debt, warn you about shady activity or tackle fraud cases. You won't deal with marketing spiels unless you give explicit consent, and you can revoke that permission at any point.
FTC offers $50,000 prize for stopping illegal robocalls, we could have used this a few months ago
Robocalling is considered a plague in the modern phone world, especially during an election year -- and while you likely won't get rid of all the pitches from political candidates anytime soon, most of the commercial calls are outright illegal. The Federal Trade Commission has devised a unique contest to help cut back on those law-breakers without having to chase down every shady debt relief offer. It's offering a $50,000 reward for the cleverest solution to blocking the banned variety of robocalls. The only requirement is that you be an adult US resident: if you can invent a surefire remedy in your basement, the FTC wants to hear from you. Entries will be open between October 25th and January 17th, with word of a winner around April 1st. We're hoping that the champion has a truly effective cure in use before long, because we'll undoubtedly have reached our breaking point on robocalls by... oh, around November 6th. [Image credit: SarahNW, Flickr]
TrueCall shall fight telemarketers on the beaches, landing grounds, etc
Telemarketers-turned-inventors from the United Kingdom have started shipping TrueCall (£99.99), a device that acts as an automated secretary on your land line, either forwarding trusted numbers to your phone or answering untrusted numbers with an automated message and shooing them away. When an unrecognized number dials in, TrueCall asks them who they are and then rings you asking whether or not you want to take it. Sure, it's not the most fun way to automatically ditch unscrupulous callers, but we'd like to listen in on the conversation when a robocall reaches this baby -- it'd be like one wall talking to another wall.[Via Slashdot]
