Robocalls: The Scourge That Won't Go Away

Every month an estimated 2.4 billion automated calls encroach wireless and land line phones of Americans. These unwanted summons often feature a recorded message promoting an assortment of fraudulent schemes and consumer scams.  A few legitimate calls offer products and services.

But every single call has one thing in common.  They are annoying millions of Americans.  These so-called robocalls are annually the top consumer complaint filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the nation's telecommunications firms and services.

For the uninitiated, robocalls take advantage of technology that allows these calls to be autodialed and loaded with a prerecorded message. Some robo outfits also use text messages to wireless numbers. Others dispatch faxes to home and business machines.

FCC rules limit the type of robocalls, although some are permissible if the business receives prior consent from consumers.  In addition, the agency allows schools, colleges and similar institutions to use robocalls to communicate information about closings and emergencies.  

Frustrated consumers often place their cell or land line number on the National Do No Call Registry maintained by the FCC.  However, the scammers ignore the list and randomly dial numbers. If you respond to the call and request not to be called, your number is transferred to another telemarketer.

Robocalls are more than just a nuisance.  The Consumers Union estimates that crooks use robocalls to rip-off consumers to the tune of an estimated $350 million annually.  Despite government and telecom industry efforts, the problem has not abated since the scourge began.

The robocall con artists have used virtually every subterfuge to separate consumers from their money. One of the stalwarts has been the bogus recorded call from the IRS threatening legal action if the consumer does not pay a fine immediately by providing a credit card number.

Another favorite ploy is to fool consumers into thinking their credit card company is calling. Unsuspecting consumers provide security and other credit data to allegedly prevent someone from illegally using their card. Instead the consumer's account is compromised by the robocall crook.

Robocall swindlers have managed to stay a step ahead of wary consumers.  The latest trick is to employ something known as "spoofing." The rogues falsify caller identifications to appear legitimate in order to circumvent the do not call list and fool anti-robocall tools used by consumers.

More recently, these criminals are using local area codes and the first-three digits of the consumer's land line or wireless phone number to masquerade as a neighborhood call.  The bandits often steal unassigned numbers from the nation's telecom operators.

The FCC and the big telecommunications firms, led by AT&T, are working feverishly on solutions. So far the outlaws have managed to stay one step ahead. The best weapon in the government arsenal may be levying massive fines against robocall violators.

Under new chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC has launched a campaign to hold the robocall industry accountable.  Fines are being approved under the Truth in Caller ID Act, bi-partisan legislation signed into law in 2010, which makes it a illegal to pervert caller ID numbers to scam consumers.

In the latest suit, a Wilmington man is facing an $82 million fine for allegedly making more than 21 million illegal robocalls through a health insurance telemarketing company.  The FCC contended the owner use bogus caller ID information to target consumers, including the elderly and infirm.

The commission recently levied the largest fine ever for $122 million against a Florida man who was accused of making nearly 100 million robocalls in a three-month period.  The fines are a warning shot to the bad guys.  But more needs to be done to keep consumers from being bilked.

To crack down on the scoundrels, the wireless and and land line operators are being encouraged to develop a call authentication framework that would blunt the malicious robocallers who attempt to hide their originating phone number.

But in the end, the industry and government can only do so much.  The best protection against fraud is informed consumers.