Pulling the plug on robocalls

DWINDLING necessity aside, one of the more compelling reasons to ditch the telepone landline—and rely instead on a mobile-phone connection—is the annoying number of robocalls these days. Consumer Reports, a product-testing puiblication based in New York, reckons unsolicited telephone calls made by automatic dialing machines now comprise over a third of all calls to American homes. Worse, the majority are not just annoying telemarketing messages, but scams aimed at tricking the unwary into parting with personal information or cash. According to Consumer Reports, Americans lose $350m a year as a result of telephone fraud. The elderly are particularly vulnerable, and often the scammers’ main target.

Every month, some 200,000 Americans complain bitterly to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that robocalls are ruining their life, especially at meal time. (The FTC regulates telephone landlines, while the FCC oversees wireless communications.) The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 restricts unsolicited telemarketing practices using automated dialing equipment and prerecorded…Continue reading
Source: Economist