FCC moves to crack down on scam robocalls

[Porthos]

I should have posted this in the "humor" thread because I will believe it when I see it actually work.

The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to approve a proposed rule that would make it easier for phone companies to crack down on robocalls.

The rule, once finalized, will let the phone companies block robocallers who use fake Caller ID numbers to conceal their actual area codes and identities.

This trick, known as spoofing, helps robocallers get around the Do Not Call registry, which allows people block calls from telemarketers. Scammers have also used spoofing to trick people into thinking a call is coming from the IRS, according to the FCC.

Related: Trump's FCC may try to roll back net neutrality. Here's what that matters

Ajit Pai, the FCC chairman appointed by President Trump, called robocalls a "scourge" in a blog post earlier this month. He noted that an estimated 2.4 billion robocalls are placed to Americans each month.

"There is no reason why any legitimate caller should be spoofing an unassigned or invalid phone number," Pai wrote. "It's just a way for scammers to evade the law."

The FCC currently prevents phone companies from proactively blocking calls. The new rule would let phone companies block any robocaller that uses a number that has not been assigned to any customer or that has a nonexistent area code.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/23/technology/fcc-robocall-scams/index.html

 

[carmen617]

I use NoMoRoBo at my own home, and will set it up for clients who have the capability (currently anybody getting phone service though Xfinity or Verizon FIOS in my area). It works great, robo calls ring once and then are gone. Every client i've set it up for (as part of a house call service) has been very happy with it.

 

[phaZed]

Lol, as if spoofing is too much for the gov't to track down. Laughable.

The real play here is to allow phone companies to block certain numbers, just like they want to kill net neutrality to block stuff there.

 

[NviGate Systems]

Here in Canada our DNC list only last for 3 years and then you have to re register.

Certian companies are exempt, and if a company already has a business relationship with you they can spam you.

I just use the DTMF tones as my answering message.

 

[JoeTech]

I find this funny because this sounds like they want to protect customers from getting scammed, yet the Trump administration is more concerned with rolling back all the privacy laws so that ISP's can do whatever they want. It would be great if they actually get this to work, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon.