FCC fines two Texas telemarketers $225 million for making 1 billion robocalls

[thackney]

FCC fines two Texas telemarketers $225 million for making 1 billion robocallshttps://www.engadget.com/fcc-225-million-fine-194419208.html
March 17th, 2021

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued the largest fine in its history. Two Texas-based telemarketers are on the hook for $225 million after making approximately 1 billion robocalls to people across the US. They ran at least two businesses that illegally spoofed other companies to try and sell people on short-term insurance plans, claiming they were from well-known providers like Cigna.

One of the people involved in the scheme admitted to making "millions" of robocalls per day, even going so far as to go out of his way to call numbers on the Do Not Call list because he believed it would be more profitable to do so. According to the FCC, "a large portion" of the more than 23.6 million health insurance robocalls that crossed US wireless networks in 2018 came from Rising Eagle, one of the companies the two telemarketers ran.

A fine, even the biggest in the agency's history, is unlikely to rein in robocalls. In fact, there's evidence to suggest they haven't been effective at all. Two years ago, a report from The Wall Street Journal found that between 2015 and 2019, the FCC had ordered violators of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to pay $208.4 million in penalties. By the end of that period, the agency had only collected $6,790. That number may have changed in the years since the WSJ's report came out. All the same, it's not encouraging....

- - - - - - - - -

I was thinking more along the line of a punishment that involved a fire ant bite for every call made.

[GtHawk]

I'm cool with staking them out on a fire ant hill, but this fine crap is useless they should get life in prison. I have never in all the years I have had my own phone, landline or cell, ever received as many robocalls as I have since January 1 of this year. It makes me want to just shut that damn phone off, and I would too if my elderly mother wasn't dependent on me.

[Sighlass]

These jerks spoof locales regional, and my phone needs a bigger block caller reservoir (only holds like 25 numbers). I truly despise the son of guns that work for them too because they just laugh when I demand to be put on their dnc lists.

[GrouchoTex]

Let me guess.
It was the "your car warrantee has expired" callers.

[Slide Rule]

The fine is insufficient. Change the million to billion for a few rounds.

Bring them to court and advertise the date and time. Include their attorneys.

[Texas Yellow Rose]

These jerks spoof locales regional, and my phone needs a bigger block caller reservoir (only holds like 25 numbers). I truly despise the son of guns that work for them too because they just laugh when I demand to be put on their dnc lists.

I bought one for my dad's house phone that blocks 1000 callers. It works great! However the new callers keep coming!

[bigheadfred]

No robocalls here. I don't have a phone.

[mountaineer]

Pretty sure we received about half of those 1 billion robocalls. We don't answer if we don't recognize the caller, but it's still annoying.

[goatprairie]

My wife finally had to shut down the answering machine to a tiny beep. Before the November election it was endless.
But even now we're still plagued by these jerks wanting money for something or other.
I remember many decades ago giving some money to some charity org. All of a sudden I started getting as many as ten calls an evening asking for money. You got on a list, and they never stopped calling. I asked one of them if I just hadn't donated some money to them a few months ago. He replied that it was a new quarter.
I stopped contributing money and answering the phone. That's before I got an answering machine.
My wife is nastier than me and threatens the non robo callers with reporting and fining them for nuisance calls.

[GtHawk]

No robocalls here. I don't have a phone.

Cool, but how often is your telegraph clicking away with unwanted messages

[catfish1957]

Good, I've almost worn off the block button on my phone.

[GtHawk]

Pretty sure we received about half of those 1 billion robocalls. We don't answer if we don't recognize the caller, but it's still annoying.

I do the same but what is really irritating is my insurance company and doctors office calling with no identification so I just ignore everything until I have time to look them up and even then sometimes it won't tell. And the do not call list is an obscene joke, political and charity calls are excluded and the spoofers use fake numbers so most all of them just keep robocalling with no real action against them. Heck just look at the story concerning past fines, 200 plus millions in fines and a few piddly thousand collected, why would they stop? Serious jail time needs to be the penalty.

[Sled Dog]

If they had sent letters through the mail claiming to be some other company, they'd be in prison for a billion counts of mail fraud.

Sounds like the laws need to be updated.

The owners of the companies should be facing prison time.   

[Sled Dog]

My wife finally had to shut down the answering machine to a tiny beep. Before the November election it was endless.
But even now we're still plagued by these jerks wanting money for something or other.
I remember many decades ago giving some money to some charity org. All of a sudden I started getting as many as ten calls an evening asking for money. You got on a list, and they never stopped calling. I asked one of them if I just hadn't donated some money to them a few months ago. He replied that it was a new quarter.
I stopped contributing money and answering the phone. That's before I got an answering machine.
My wife is nastier than me and threatens the non robo callers with reporting and fining them for nuisance calls.

Try donating blood some time.   The Red Cross never stopped pestering me for more of my O- blood.  They only stopped when I changed my phone number.

[cato potatoe]

I'd be fine with executions. 

[catfish1957]

I'd be fine with executions.

Considering how many of the elderly have been fleeced?  I agree wholeheartedly.

[Slide Rule]

I'd be fine with executions.

Finally a workable solution.

[Gefn]

If Dante knew about  telemarketers, they’d be in “The Inferno”. I’m sure of this.

[Gefn]

Try donating blood some time.   The Red Cross never stopped pestering me for more of my O- blood.  They only stopped when I changed my phone number.

@Sled Dog that happened to me as well. I also have negative blood, (A-), and I get weekly emails and texts.

[mountaineer]

Try donating blood some time.   The Red Cross never stopped pestering me for more of my O- blood.  They only stopped when I changed my phone number.

I donated through Central Blood Bank a few times and finally had to scream at them to stop calling - after telling them at least a half dozen times that I'd reschedule to donate whenever I felt like it, don't call me.

[andy58-in-nh]