Senators and Representatives agree: federal government must do more
By Eric Valentine
Your phone: (ring ring) Scam likely.
You: Again?
Your phone: (ring ring) Some international phone number you don’t know.
You: Must be a telemarketer. Click.
Your phone: (ring ring) A number with a 208 area code.
You: OK, I should pick up. Hello?
Your phone: Plays robo-message …
You thought it was illegal. You thought you placed your number on that “Do Not Call” list years ago, before Facebook was even a thing. Yet, somehow, some telemarketing company somewhere on the planet still finds a way to get ahold of you. The good news is your state lawmakers feel your pain and they’re asking the federal government to do something about it.
On Feb. 7, both the Idaho Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill requesting the U.S. Congress to allocate both funds and expertise to curb illegal telemarketing capabilities and to prosecute any telemarketing companies that are violating current laws. The lawmakers claim that, whereas some telemarketers are calling from outside the United States or are using “sophisticated hacking methods,” local authorities do not have the money, know-how or jurisdiction to apprehend the violators.
“The Idaho Attorney General can’t prosecute someone in Moldova who’s a hacker,” Rep. John Gannon said. “It takes considerable cybersecurity expertise. It’s the FCC’s (Federal Communications Commission) role to do some enforcement.”
Gannon, who co-sponsored the bill and presented it on the floor, said the recent uptick in the amount of spam calls and the sophistication of those calls triggered the need for outreach to the feds. Gannon said he recently received a call from someone posing as a sheriff’s office in Montana, claiming that he owed money on a citation. When Gannon returned the call, the phone number matched. Gannon said the Montana sheriff’s office received around 200 similar phone calls.
It remains to be seen if the lawmakers’ bill will have any teeth. The bill is merely a request that federal lawmakers and the FCC increase enforcement. Gannon said he has spoken with Senator Mike Crapo and Representative Russ Fulcher and that both are on board with increasing enforcement.
“The ball’s in their court now,” Gannon said.
Already, in 1991, the federal government tried to firewall its citizens from those dinnertime telemarketers and anytime robocalling. That was the year Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, restricting telemarketing calls and the use of automatic telephone dialing systems and prerecorded voice messages. Then, enter cellphones and Internet-based phone numbers. And by 2003 the FCC and Federal Trade Commission jointly created the national Do Not Call registry. Still in effect today, registering your number prevents telemarketers from contacting you without written consent. It does not apply to nonprofits.
In 2012, the FCC had to revisit the legislation to prevent telemarketers from getting around certain loopholes. Specifically, the FCC revised the rules to require telemarketers to obtain written consent, to no longer allow telemarketers to use an “established business relationship” to avoid getting consent, and to require telemarketers to provide an “opt-out” mechanism during each robocall so consumers can immediately tell the telemarketer to stop calling.
According to the FCC, unwanted calls are the top consumer complaint received by the commission. Here are some helpful tips for stopping robocalls and avoiding phone scams:
To block telemarketing calls, register your number on the Do Not Call registry at donotcall.gov. If you use a service, such as Google Voice, in addition to your regular phone number, make sure to register both numbers.
Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately. If you are asked to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
Be aware that Caller ID showing a “local” number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.
Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes.”
Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security number, mother’s maiden name, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
If you have a voicemail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voicemail if you do not set a password.
Talk to your phone company about call-blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls.
If you use robocall-blocking technology already, it often helps to let that company know which numbers are producing unwanted calls so they can help block those calls for you and others.
