Sick of those auto warranty robocalls? The FCC is cracking down on them

>> PRESS ONE NOW IF YOU WISH TO EXTEND OR REINSTATE YOUR CAR’S WARRAN.TY JAMES: FROM A CAR WARRANTY >> WOULD YOU CONSIDER IT AS AN OPTION? JAMES: TO STUDENT LOANS. >> HELLO, THIS IS SOFIA WITH THE PROCESSING CENTER. JA MES: TO MEDICAID AND MEDICARE. >> DO YOU HAVE THE CARD WITH YOU W?NO JAMES: THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE CALLS WE’VE RECEIVED FROM UNKNOWN NUMBERS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS. CALLING AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY AND NIGHT. >> USUALLY, MONEY IS WHAT THEY’RE AFT.ER JAMES: EACH TIME, WE ASKED IF WE COULD RECORD THE CONVERSATION. >> CAN I RECORD THIS, IS THAT OK? >> CAN I RECORD THIS? I WANT TO MAKE SURE I GET EVERYTHING RIGHT. I DON’T WANT TO MESS ANYTHING .UP JAMES: WHILE MOST ENDED LIKE THAT, SOME DID AGR.EE EVEN ADMITNGTI TO USING AUTOMATIC DIALERS AND CALLER ID SPOOFING. >> YOU’RE CALLINGE MFROM A DES MOINES NUMBER. ARE YOU? ARE YOU IN DES MOINES? >> OH, WE ARE USING AUTOMATIC AL.DI REPORTER: DOUG JACOBSON, PROFESSOR OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING AT IOWA STATE SAYS THEY USE CALLER ID SPOOFING TO GET YOU TO ANSWER THE PHONE. >> THEY WANT TO BELIEVE THAT YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU’RE IN THE TYCI YOU’RE IN. REPORTER: CALLER ID SPOOFINISG ILLEGAL, THE FCC PROHIBITS ANYONE FROM USING IT TO TRY TO DEFRAUD, CAUSE HARM, OR GET ANYTHING OF VALUE FROM YOU. THOUGH, THAT PART IS TOUGH TO PRE.OV BEST WAY TO AVOID THEM? >> WHEN IN DOUBT, D’T N’ANSWER IT. REPORTER: IF YOU WISH TO VEHA TH SEMTOP CALLING ALL TOGETHER, THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION SUGGESTS YOU DOWNLOAD ONE OF DOZENS OF APPS DESIGNED TO BLOCK THESE CALLS. SOME CELL PHONE COMPANIES ALSO OFFER THEIR OWN. YOU CAN ALSO JOIN THE NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGIST, RYWHICH STOPS LEGITIMATE TELEMARKETERS FROM CALLING YOU TO SELL YOU THIN.GS >> IT HELPS GET RID OF THE LEGITIMATE ROBO CALLS,F YO I WANT TO CALL SOME SPAM LEGITIMATE. THEY PREY ON PEOPLE THAT ARE OLDER PEOPLE THAT ARE MORE VULNERABLE. REPORTER: CHRIS COLEMAN FROM THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF IOWA, SUGGESTS YOU JOIN THE DO NOT CALLEG RISTRY, AND REPORT CALLS USING YOUR PHONES OPERATING SYSTEM, WHICH YOUR CELL PHONE COMPANY MOTORS.NI >> IF ENOUGH PEOPLE HAVE BLOCKED IT OR MARKED IT AS SPAM, THEY CAN MARK IT AS SPAM ON EVERY CALL THAT THAT NUMBER HAS, AS HAS MADE. REPORTER: COLEMAN SAYS THE BBB GETS FREQUENT REPORTS OF PEOPLE SCAMMED OUT EVERYTHING FROM CREDIT CARD INFORMATION, TO GIFT CARDS, TO MONEY. >> YOU WONDER WHY DO THEY KEEP DOING THESE? IT WORKS. IT IS SAID. REPORTER: AND AGAIN, IF YOU THINK IT COULD BE A SCAM, DO NOT ANSWER, OR HANG UP. >> HANGED UP. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO PUT THESE CRIMINALS IN THEIR PLACE. REPORT:ER IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT NO FEDERAL AGENCY WILL CALL YOU, ESPECIALLY THE IRS, OR MEDICARE OR MEDICAID REPRESENTATIVES. FURTHER, IF YOU ARE SKEPTICAL, YOU CAN ALWAYS HANG UP, AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE A SPLIT SECOND DECISION ON THE

Sick of those auto warranty robocalls? The FCC is cracking down on them

Updated: 8:31 PM EDT Jul 21, 2022

Related video above: Sick of robocalls? Here’s how to avoid them and avoid getting scammedU.S. telecom providers will now be required to block millions of illegal robocalls a day advertising extended vehicle warranties, the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday, taking aim at a group of individuals accused of sending more than 8 billion such messages since 2018.Thursday’s order by the FCC requires voice providers to stop carrying calls the agency has linked to 13 individuals and six companies, mostly based in Texas and California but also in such far-flung places as Hungary.The robocalls produced by the group typically begin with recorded lines such as, “We’ve been trying to reach you concerning your car’s extended warranty,” the FCC order said.Such calls represented the single largest source of consumer complaints to the FCC in each of the past two years, adding up to thousands of complaints a year.As part of its scheme, the group bought access to nearly half a million phone numbers from more than 200 area codes in the fall and winter of 2020, the FCC said, and then used them to make it appear to recipients that the robocalls were coming from local numbers.The group is still blasting out millions of illegal calls every day, the FCC added.Though the FCC had previously notified US telecom companies about the robocalls, Thursday’s order is the first to force carriers to stop transmitting them. By unmasking the specific people and entities behind the calls, the FCC has provided the necessary information to block them, said Acting FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal in a statement.With few exceptions, automated calls made without the recipient’s consent are illegal under U.S. law.In light of Thursday’s order, telecom companies that continue to carry the illegal calls may be held liable themselves, the FCC said.

Related video above: Sick of robocalls? Here’s how to avoid them and avoid getting scammed

U.S. telecom providers will now be required to block millions of illegal robocalls a day advertising extended vehicle warranties, the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday, taking aim at a group of individuals accused of sending more than 8 billion such messages since 2018.

Thursday’s order by the FCC requires voice providers to stop carrying calls the agency has linked to 13 individuals and six companies, mostly based in Texas and California but also in such far-flung places as Hungary.

The robocalls produced by the group typically begin with recorded lines such as, “We’ve been trying to reach you concerning your car’s extended warranty,” the FCC order said.

Such calls represented the single largest source of consumer complaints to the FCC in each of the past two years, adding up to thousands of complaints a year.

As part of its scheme, the group bought access to nearly half a million phone numbers from more than 200 area codes in the fall and winter of 2020, the FCC said, and then used them to make it appear to recipients that the robocalls were coming from local numbers.

The group is still blasting out millions of illegal calls every day, the FCC added.

Though the FCC had previously notified US telecom companies about the robocalls, Thursday’s order is the first to force carriers to stop transmitting them. By unmasking the specific people and entities behind the calls, the FCC has provided the necessary information to block them, said Acting FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal in a statement.

With few exceptions, automated calls made without the recipient’s consent are illegal under U.S. law.

In light of Thursday’s order, telecom companies that continue to carry the illegal calls may be held liable themselves, the FCC said.