I would think all of us on this board detests and hates these robocalls. The ones I get on my cell phone using the spoof feature to fool your caller ID comes up on my cell phone with a local cell number with the first three numbers of my cell number. Something has got to be done about this. I guess that "do not call list" is something that failed miserably.

Quote:In just three months, one Miami man apparently bombarded consumers with 96 million spoofed robocalls in an attempt to sell vacation packages, many of which included timeshares.

Adrian Abramovich faces a $120 million fine from federal regulators, who said this was “one of the largest — and most dangerous — illegal robocalling campaigns that the Commission has ever investigated.” The fine is the largest ever issued by the Federal Communications Commission.

Abramovich made up caller identification to match the area code and first three digits of the recipients’ phone numbers. When they answered, however, an automated message prompted them to “Press 1” to hear about “exclusive” vacation deals from well-known travel companies like Marriott, Expedia, Hilton and TripAdvisor, according to the FCC. Consumers who pressed the button were transferred to foreign call centers where live operators attempted to sell the packages, which were not affiliated with the companies mentioned in the recorded message.

Between October 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016, Abramovich used several faux marketing companies he owns and manages to make about one million unwanted calls every day and almost 44,000 per hour.

None of his “companies” listed by the FCC could be reached for comment Friday.

The calls violated a law against deliberately falsifying caller ID, the agency said. Of the alleged 96 million spoof calls, the penalty is based on 80,000 calls the FCC hand-verified.

After receiving complaints from travel companies and recipients alike, the FCC traced the calls back to Abramovich.

“I have daily – sometimes multiple times [a] day – inbound spoofed calls purporting to be from [Marriott],” one consumer told the FCC.

“It’s unbelievably infuriating. . . . All of them are a recording to either to redeem a Marriott vacation or to refinance my credit card debt,” another reported.

“I always hang up when I [hear] the cheesy auto voice, but even when I miss the call I am miffed that my cell phone is getting clogged from “missed call” notifications from these scumbags!” one reported. “They always have the same area code and first three digits as my own cell phone . . . please track down these jerks!”

During the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s review of the calls, they learned that some consumers paid hundreds of dollars for vacations different from the ones presented to them. Abramovich’s scheme also disrupted an emergency medical paging service used by first responders.

By overloading the paging network, Abramovich had a direct effect on those in need, making the crime “particularly abhorrent,” FCC chairman Ajit Pai said.

“Mr. Abramovich could have delayed vital medical care, making the difference between a patient’s life and death,” he said.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau also issued a citation to Abramovich for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s robocall limits and the federal wire fraud statute. If these violations continue, he may be subject to additional fines.

Abramovich could not be reached for comment as of early Friday.

Although Abramovich’s scheme was much larger than most, it’s still just a fraction of the 2.6 billion robocalls reported to the FCC in the month of May.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/co...30674.html

they need to attack the caller not the number. it's like the worst game of whack a mole when they can change the number anytime they get in trouble. if you get caught doing it you can't use a phone in that way again...period.

also why they hell is that software that allows you to change the location even legal? what useful purspose could that possible have that isn't unethical or illegal. I got a robocall that was nearly identical yo my sister's number. the last two digits were the same but flipped. the other five numbers were exact.

(07-08-2017 01:23 PM)john01992 Wrote:  they need to attack the caller not the number. it's like the worst game of whack a mole when they can change the number anytime they get in trouble. if you get caught doing it you can't use a phone in that way again...period.

also why they hell is that software that allows you to change the location even legal? what useful purspose could that possible have that isn't unethical or illegal. I got a robocall that was nearly identical yo my sister's number. the last two digits were the same but flipped. the other five numbers were exact.

DId some googling on this subject and came up with this from the Arkansas AG....

Rutledge asks FCC to stop robocalls with spoof numbers

Here is an interesting part of the article...

Quote:Right now, there are regulatory roadblocks in place preventing telephone companies from blocking many of the illegal robocalls. Rutledge says her main concern with these calls is it's often is how scammers are able to disguise themselves.

Don't understand how there could be roadlocks to prevent these calls.

http://katv.com/news/local/rutledge-asks...of-numbers

Someone used a air-horn to used on these sale pitch scams and robocalls.

My personal rule is if you call and I don't know the #, it goes straight to VM. You don't leave a message, I block the number.

I use an app called Mr. Number, it provides caller ID and identifies suspected spam calls. I get maybe one a day.
Mr. Number-Block calls & spam


Mr. Number 4.0 makes it easy to block unwanted calls as well as identify & stop spam, scam and fraud.

- Block calls and SMS texts* from one person, an area code or the entire world
- Stop telemarketers and debt collectors before they waste your time
- Intercept calls from private/unknown numbers and hang up** or send to voice mail
- Report spam calls and SMS texts to warn other users
- Automatic caller lookup for all numbers in your phone's history so you'll know who to block

* SMS Text blocking not supported by Android 4.4/KitKat or later
** Hang up not supported by Android 5.0 or later

*** PCMag 100 Best Android Apps ***
*** New York Times: “Mr. Number is one of the most popular” ***
*** Appy Award - Best Communications App ***

Block calls from one number or the world, identify and stop spam.

Mr. Number is the most powerful call blocker on the market. Block calls and SMS texts* from a person, a business, hidden numbers, or the world. Pick up and hang up** on callers or send them to voicemail - you decide. Keep the content of blocked texts or trash them. Browse comments from other users when you get a spam call or text. Add ‘Suspected Spam’ to your block list and Mr. Number blocks them all automatically.

Mr. Number now automatically looks up all callers in your recent calls and SMS texts for free!

Any questions? Read our FAQ (http://support.mrnumber.com/home) or send a note to [email protected], and we’ll get back to you quickly.

I have a great solution, and it empowers and encourages the phone company to regulate instead of the stupid command and control regulations done by the government.

Allow the phone companies to have their customers charge for calls. And, have those same customers set up a 'free pass' list, that allows numbers on the list to bypass the charge.

If you are a person selling me **** on the phone, pay me 20 cents for my time. I get money off my crap calls, and the phone company does as well. They already do this with 900 and 888 numbers. Let the telemarketers pay 20 cents each and every time they call my number -- their risk, my money, and phone company gets a cut.

If you are a friend, I put your number on an 'exempt' list that gets to call the number free of charge. Again, the phone company already does this in part.

If I don't know who it is in a call I just don't answer it. I've let my friends know that if it's really important and I didn't answer for them to text me instead and then I'll call back. Then I'll put them on my identification list.

I know that works for me.