The calls are being made from outside the US however most of the call centers (where you actually talk to someone after pressing 1) are in the US and the companies making the money from the scam are owned by people in the US. Asking to be removed from their calling list only verifies that they have a working phone number. They continue to call because it is a criminal operation and these criminals do not care about the law.
Many of these calls are coming from Costa Rica and India and they are using spoofed (false) numbers, which in itself is illegal. They do cold calling for or sell the leads to numerous companies in this country and they know that what they are doing is illegal. Tomorrow this same number may be selling Cruises, Timeshares or Security Systems but if you follow the money it usually ends up in the hands of an American LLC. Keep complaining to the FTC and FCC, and start bugging our politicians to pass laws to make it punishable in criminal court instead of handing out fines that they don't pay. Another course of action is to contact phone companies to find out why they won't block spoofed numbers. With today's technology that should be an easy thing to do, unless they are somehow profiting from the use of their systems.
For anyone thinking of using Special Information Tones (or as they're called in the industry SIT tones) to fake a non working phone number, they won't work. Since around 2001-2002, the costs of "digital" business lines have dropped dramatically, along with Voice over IP (Internet) telephone service. Neither of these use the SIT tones as the call information is carried separate from the audio. This separate call information tells the calling party digitally if the call was answered, busy, voice mail, forwarded, rejected, etc. This renders SIT tones useless. Also the "TeleZapper" products that used to be on the market used this method as well, and were rendered ineffective for the same reasons. It is also through this separate call information message that the spoofed caller ID information is transmitted.
Robocalls are illegal unless you have given them prior permission in writing (not worded into some small print contract from a 3rd party) and are absolutely illegal to a cell phone. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act permits individuals who have received certain unlawful telemarketing, such as junk faxes or telemarketing calls, to sue the violator in state courts where they may be awarded up to $1500 for each violation. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/robocalls/ http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/07/robocall.shtm http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/TCPA-Rules.pdf
Check here first to see if it is one of their phone numbers: http://telemarketerspam.wordpress.com Pacific Telecom Communications Group Follow JD's recommendations in the blog and stop them at the source.
Many of the disposable numbers come from Pacific Telecom Communications Group and they are currently under investigation and in the midst of various lawsuits. (The principles involved have been part of actions by the FCC under other business names).These businesses have ripped people off for millions of dollars, yet have paid only a couple of thousand dollars in fines. The only way to stop them is to throw them in prison for a few years to make this criminal activity less attractive.
The Oregon Public Utilities Commission has revoked Pacific Telecom's certificate to provide telecom services in Oregon.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office filed lawsuits against: Consumer Credit Group and Proactive Planning Solutions of Arizona for violating Indiana’s Do Not Call Law and Auto-Dialer Act known as the robo-call law. Both companies violated the Credit Service Organization Act and Deceptive Consumer Sales Act by not obtaining $25,000 surety bonds with the state and collecting money upfront without performing any services. Debt Zero of California for collecting money up front, failing to provide services or a refund and operating without a $25,000 surety bond. Clear One Advantage of Maryland and Credit Arbitrators of Texas for violating the Credit Service Organization Act and the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act by not obtaining the required surety bonds.
Write your Congressmen and Senators. We need CRIMINAL penalties against the companies that are profiting from these calls. Follow the money, slap them in prison, no one left to outsource to overseas boiler rooms, problem solved. Since they are operating across borders it should become a federal felony and should be handled by the FBI under the RICO Act.
0
angrygramma
| 1 reply
I absolutely agree with you. I would like to see telemarketing disappear as an industry. It is very poorly regulated, the penalties are meaningless, and it is an invasion of my privacy and my right NOT TO BOTHERED. I have kept a log of spoofed phone numbers for the last three months and it is hard to get the police and the phone company together to catch the spoofers in the act. I am being harassed by a call center but because they have not threatened me with violence or profanity, it does not constitute stalking. Well, what the hell else is it?
These scum suckers have threatened people with violence and consistently use profanity if someone tells them to stop calling. I have even heard of a case where a recent arrival to this country was threatened with rape if they did not give them their credit card information. This is why we need to make these calls a CRIMINAL offense.
0
Anonymouse
Here is a list of spoofed numbers that you can add to your call blocking lists. These are the usual "lower your credit card interest rate" calls and I know that the list is accurate since every one of them has called me: (more than 250 times)
Comments
http://onthespotblog.com/on-the-spot-blog-sti ... older-services/
http://onthespotblog.com/tag/cardholder-services/
People should continually file complaints with their Attorney Generals office and also file with:
http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
If enough people keep complaining then maybe something will get done.
The calls are being made from outside the US however most of the call centers (where you actually talk to someone after pressing 1) are in the US and the companies making the money from the scam are owned by people in the US. Asking to be removed from their calling list only verifies that they have a working phone number. They continue to call because it is a criminal operation and these criminals do not care about the law.
Many of these calls are coming from Costa Rica and India and they are using spoofed (false) numbers, which in itself is illegal. They do cold calling for or sell the leads to numerous companies in this country and they know that what they are doing is illegal. Tomorrow this same number may be selling Cruises, Timeshares or Security Systems but if you follow the money it usually ends up in the hands of an American LLC. Keep complaining to the FTC and FCC, and start bugging our politicians to pass laws to make it punishable in criminal court instead of handing out fines that they don't pay. Another course of action is to contact phone companies to find out why they won't block spoofed numbers. With today's technology that should be an easy thing to do, unless they are somehow profiting from the use of their systems.
For anyone thinking of using Special Information Tones (or as they're called in the industry SIT tones) to fake a non working phone number, they won't work. Since around 2001-2002, the costs of "digital" business lines have dropped dramatically, along with Voice over IP (Internet) telephone service. Neither of these use the SIT tones as the call information is carried separate from the audio.
This separate call information tells the calling party digitally if the call was answered, busy, voice mail, forwarded, rejected, etc. This renders SIT tones useless. Also the "TeleZapper" products that used to be on the market used this method as well, and were rendered ineffective for the same reasons.
It is also through this separate call information message that the spoofed caller ID information is transmitted.
Robocalls are illegal unless you have given them prior permission in writing (not worded into some small print contract from a 3rd party) and are absolutely illegal to a cell phone. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act permits individuals who have received certain unlawful telemarketing, such as junk faxes or telemarketing calls, to sue the violator in state courts where they may be awarded up to $1500 for each violation.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/robocalls/
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/07/robocall.shtm
http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/TCPA-Rules.pdf
Check here first to see if it is one of their phone numbers:
http://telemarketerspam.wordpress.com
Pacific Telecom Communications Group
Follow JD's recommendations in the blog and stop them at the source.
Many of the disposable numbers come from Pacific Telecom Communications Group and they are currently under investigation and in the midst of various lawsuits. (The principles involved have been part of actions by the FCC under other business names).These businesses have ripped people off for millions of dollars, yet have paid only a couple of thousand dollars in fines. The only way to stop them is to throw them in prison for a few years to make this criminal activity less attractive.
The Oregon Public Utilities Commission has revoked Pacific Telecom's certificate to provide telecom services in Oregon.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office filed lawsuits against:
Consumer Credit Group and Proactive Planning Solutions of Arizona for violating Indiana’s Do Not Call Law and Auto-Dialer Act known as the robo-call law. Both companies violated the Credit Service Organization Act and Deceptive Consumer Sales Act by not obtaining $25,000 surety bonds with the state and collecting money upfront without performing any services.
Debt Zero of California for collecting money up front, failing to provide services or a refund and operating without a $25,000 surety bond.
Clear One Advantage of Maryland and Credit Arbitrators of Texas for violating the Credit Service Organization Act and the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act by not obtaining the required surety bonds.
Arkansas sues robocallers:
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/aug/0 ... arketing-firms/
Missouri sues robocallers:
http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/236974-kost ... nies-over-calls
Proof that current laws mean nothing to these scum suckers, these same people under different companies have been sued in the past and have only paid a minimal fine. Here are just a few:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/12/roycox.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/asiapacific.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/03/asiapacific.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923193/111219roycoxcmpt.pdf
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/donotcall/mediacenter.html
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/afl_financial.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/voiceblaze.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/03/voicetouch.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/12/robocall.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/09/twi.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/02/robocall.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls2.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/12/jpm.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/08/voicetouch.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/11/sonkei.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/05/ams.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/01/khalilian.shtm
Write your Congressmen and Senators. We need CRIMINAL penalties against the companies that are profiting from these calls. Follow the money, slap them in prison, no one left to outsource to overseas boiler rooms, problem solved. Since they are operating across borders it should become a federal felony and should be handled by the FBI under the RICO Act.
This is why we need to make these calls a CRIMINAL offense.
202-499-1488
215-213-6446
216-712-1591
281-217-0241
302-327-9010
303-249-9700
305-202-1132
313-204-1037
315-744-5518
317-559-0000
347-218-0531
347-260-1495
360-474-3968
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