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    • Want to stop robocalls? Group says phone companies need to step up efforts
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    Want to stop robocalls? Group says phone companies need to step up efforts

    Umito Posted on

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    Three years after laws aimed at protecting consumers from robocalls took effect, a public interest group says fewer than half of phone companies are in compliance.

    This means many consumers are still subject to annoying robocalls and text messages, which also makes them more vulnerable to scams, said the AMERICAN PIRG Education Fund.

    While fraudulent robocalls and illegal telemarketing calls have decreased by 17% since the implementation of a federal law in 2021 requiring phone companies to reduce spam calls, 46% of phone companies are complying and have completely installed anti-robocall technology, PIRG said in a statement. recently released report and analysis, “Ringing in our Fears 2024.” The organization annually reviews the progress telephone companies have made since 2021.

    “It is completely inexcusable that less than half of the phone providers in this country are fully using this technology to protect their customers,” Teresa Murray, director of consumer watchdog PIRG and author of the report, told USA TODAY.

    “Yes, there has been some progress, but there is still a lot that needs to be done to protect people, and it’s not just coming from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) or even the phone companies, because we think it There are a lot of needs.” what needs to be done in the financial services community, particularly banks, to protect their customers,” Murray said.

    More protections need to be put in place to protect consumers using peer to peer payment applicationslike Zelle, against the risk of fraud, Murray said.

    Additionally, the volume of fraudulent text messages has nearly tripled since 2021, “as bad guys flocked to unregulated text messages rather than calls,” the report said.

    The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the telecommunications industry, disputed the PIRG report.

    “It is inaccurate to state that most providers do not comply with caller ID authentication requirements,” an FCC spokesperson said.

    Almost all providers are required to implement the protections as much as possible in their networks, the spokesperson said. “In rare exceptions where implementation is not possible, all providers are nonetheless required to take steps to prevent illegal robocalls on their networks and must file robocall mitigation plans with the FCC .”

    For some providers, some of their networks are still copper wire and not Internet Protocol based and cannot technologically implement the requirements, the FCC said.

    “This can often include large providers whose footprint may include a variety of technologies in their networks as well as those serving rural or remote areas.”

    What are the laws regarding robocalls?

    The FCC has gradually required phone companies to combat robocalls, starting with larger businesses in 2021 and expanding to small businesses in 2022 and 2023, PIRG said in its report. Currently, only lower-tech phone companies, such as those that use traditional copper lines for landlines, and a small number of others that benefit from extensions, can operate without updated technology.

    Not all unwanted robocalls and robot texts are illegal, PIRG said, but most are. Here’s what’s legal and what’s not, according to PIRG:

    • Two types of calls are always illegal: telemarketing calls, even if they come from a real person, if you are on the do not call list, and calls intended to deceive or defraud you.
    • Telemarketing calls to your home phone are generally illegal if you have not provided prior written consent.
    • Telemarketing calls to your cell phone are generally illegal without your prior written consent and non-telemarketing calls are generally prohibited without your verbal or written consent.
    • Robotic texts on your cell phone are generally illegal if they are commercial texts composed automatically without your written consent and non-commercial texts composed automatically without your verbal consent.
    • Political robocalls and robo-texts are different: Political robocalls and robo-texts on cell phones require prior consent, but manually sent text messages can be sent without prior consent. Political calls with pre-recorded messages require prior consent, but political robocalls to landlines are permitted without prior consent, although they cannot exceed three calls in a 30-day period.

    Which companies are not compliant?

    According to an analysis of publicly available reports by PIRG, these major U.S. companies are partially compliant with technology rules regarding robocalls:

    • AT&T Corp.
    • AT&T Mobility
    • Cox Communications
    • Liberty Cablevision
    • Optimum by Altice
    • Sparklite (Cable One)
    • VOIP Spectrum

    X2nSat does not comply with any part of the robocall technology law, according to PIRG.

    Businesses react

    USA TODAY attempted to contact each of the companies for comment, as well as two telecommunications industry trade groups.

    A spokesperson for US Telecom, a group representing much of the industry, said its suppliers were complying with the law.

    “With the exception of rogue providers to whom the industry traces illegal calls every day, carriers have done so,” the spokesperson said, adding that FCC rules do not require deployment of the technology anti-robocall on existing networks or those with copper wire.

    The FCC required carriers to develop “call authentication standards” for non-Internet Protocol networks, the US Telecom spokesperson said.

    “Carriers also comply with this rule and this work is ongoing,” the spokesperson said.

    An AT&T spokesperson said the company complies with rules relating to the “Internet Protocol (IP) portion of our network.” We will continue to work closely with the FCC and other industry stakeholders to protect consumers from unwanted robocalls.”

    An Altice USA/Optimum spokesperson said the company was complying with the laws and that part of its network had not yet been upgraded to Internet Protocol. This part received an extension from the FCC, the company said.

    A Cox Communications spokesperson also said the company is in compliance for its IP networks and has expansion for its non-IP networks, which represents less than 1% of its business customers supported by phone systems. existing.

    In a telephone interview, Garrett Hill, CEO of satellite telephony which did not offer consumer telephone services. . Hill believes the rule does not apply to his business.

    Peer to peer payments: Tap to pay, Zelle and Venmo may not be as secure as you think, warns Consumer Reports

    What can consumers do to protect themselves?

    Here are some tips from PIRG:

    1. Register in the Do Not Call Register at www.donotcall.gov. This won’t stop all unwanted calls, but will give you more rights.
    2. If you receive an unexpected call, text, or email, do not respond). If you think the contact may be legitimate, independently search for the number and contact the organization.
    3. Do not pay if you receive an unexpected request for money via an instant payment method or gift cards. Don’t be fooled by an urgent request.

    Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free newsletter The Daily Money, which will include consumer news on Fridays,
    here.

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