FTC shuts down four major robocall operations

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that it shut down four separate robocall operations responsible for placing billions of illegal robocalls. The four organizations responsible for the calls agreed to settlements with the agency. Under those agreements, the companies will no longer be able to make robocalls or use automatic dialers to place calls, effectively barring them from the telemarketing business.

The four organizations involved in the FTC crackdown include:

NetDotSolutions, a massive robocalling operation that pitched unsuspecting consumers everything from auto warranties to home security systems and supposed debt-relief services. The company was accused of leaving unlawful prerecorded messages, calling numbers on the Do Not Call registry and using spoofed caller ID to trick consumers into picking up. The company faces a $1.35 million fine.

Higher Goals Marketing, a company that used robocalls to promise consumers it could lower their credit card interest rates. The operators of Higher Goals Marketing were previously part of another robocall operation, Life Management Services, that was shut down by court order. The organization received a $3.15 million fine as part of the recent settlement.

Veterans of America, perhaps the scummiest of the operations involved in the FTC's sting. The company was part of an alleged charity scam run by Travis Deloy Peterson that convinced people to donate cars, boats, and other things of value. Peterson is accused of selling those items and keeping the profit. He now faces a fine of just under $550,000.

Pointbreak Media, a company that is accused of falsely claiming to represent Google in an attempt to get small businesses to purchase services that would improve their page rank and position in search results. The company had no real affiliation with Google. The company was hit with a $3.62 million fine.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/ftc-shuts-down-four-major-robocall-operations/ar-BBVj1Ue?li=BBnb7Kz

[Sherman A1]

1. Good

hopefully they will be fined out of existence.

[DFW]

2. I think they all got off easy.

A five year jail sentence for each of their CEOs would have lent the message a lot more emphasis.

As it is, all they have to do is write a check, and say "oops, sorry."

[scarletwoman]

5. I'm with you. $1.35 million fine? Does that even scratch the surface of their profits?

Substantial jail time for the guys at the top - that might be a reasonable deterrent.

[Volaris]

24. It's called a fine, because you pay it, and it's fine.

This is all well and good if it's a speeding ticket to your local city...it's not ok if its a federal felony that resulted from you ripping people off.
White collar crime guilty decisions should have AT MINIMUM (yes, I went there) a five year prison term .

The rest of us work too damn hard for you to rip us off and get a slap on the wrist.

I WANT PAIN for these snake-oil salesman.

[pazzyanne]

3. "Telemarketers" like this are the reason that I let my answering machine/ voice mail

pick up numbers that I do not recognize. Not picking up has saved me a lot of rise in blood pressure over the past few years. So glad to hear they are cracking down on these types of operators.

[TexasBushwhacker]

41. Me too

Although ocassionally I'll pick up and just fuck with the caller for as long as possible before I tell them "I'M ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST MOTHERFUCKER".

[pazzyanne]

44. My youngest brother does the messing with telemarketer brain thing.

I just get mad when they call, so it is bad for my blood pressure. I support those who can mess with their brain however.

[uponit7771]

4. I get 6 calls a day ... MINIMUM ... from these people !! Dems should commit to shutting down Robo ..

... callers !!!

[BigmanPigman]

16. Me too. I have screened all my calls since 1985 due to it.

[spooky3]

21. Nomorobo (free for home lines) helps. It doesn't stop

The spoofers who mimic your area code and first 3 digits. But it has cut down on what were about 8-12 calls per day at one point.

I’ve just started using RoboKiller for the cell phone. It costs $2 or so per month. Too early to tell how good it is.

[snort]

6. Thank John Oliver.

[Hotler]

7. Now maybe then can do something about...

the insanely LOUD TV commercials.

[Shrike47]

12. They said they fixed that. They lied.

[homegirl]

8. "This is the IRS...

a warrant will be issued for your arrest..."

Would love to see this gang behind federal prison bars!

[obnoxiousdrunk]

9. Yes !

[Takket]

18. I got one once that made me legit laugh out loud

The recording said a warrant would be issued with my name to the “local cops”. Yeah because if the IRS wanted me arrested they would definitely call the “local cops” and send them to my apartment lol

[ooky]

36. I got a voice mail that said that they had

"4 serious allegations on my name" and if I didn't call them back in "24 working hours" I would be "taken into federal custody". Even gave me call back numbers.

[homegirl]

45. Yes,

they always leave a phone #. One day I will call back claiming to be the CIA! Just for fun!

[Marie Marie]

10. How long before they resume under a different corporate name?

These calls are so annoying - even though I let the answering machine screen all my calls.

[Shrike47]

11. Well, it's a start. We get several calls every day on the land line. We have to screen.

Jail time of the people at the top would be good, too.

[Volaris]

26. I don't screen a damn thing ...

I use a cell exclusively (for work, mostly ...no landline)

If you call me from a number that's not in my contacts list, I'm NOT picking up .

If you dont leave a message, that's YOUR problem cause I don't CARE who your bot-dialer is calling on behalf of, I'm not picking up unknown calls and I'm not calling back.

Deal.

[TexasBushwhacker]

42. The ONLY reason I'm taking all calls right now

is because I'm job hunting. I'll be glad when I can go back to screening.

[SeattleVet]

13. Those fines are extremely low.

They should all be at least 10x the stated amounts.

Since these scammer operations open, close, and change names and locations so frequently to avoid the law, they need to have a very strong deterrent, and these fines are just a small fraction of that they scammed from people while they were operating. The principals of these organizations also need to get some time in the greybar hotel.

(Also note that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) allows individual consumers to file suit to claim $1500 per call, which can be tripled if they are intentionally calling numbers on the federal Do Not Call registry. It takes some work on your part, but there are a few people around the country that were making quite a nice living by filing suits in their local Small Claims Courts and getting default judgements against the scamming companies, then filing liens on their businesses when they invariably failed to pay the settlements.)

Fortunately, I have gotten to the point where we only get 2 or 3 of these calls a month. We use a multi-pronged strategy. We have a VOIP phone service (Ooma) that has some very good call blocking options, and which also ties in with NoMoRobo to block known robocallers. For the few that do get through, if I see a number I don't recognize I turn on the scanner radio by my desk and answer, "North precinct, fraud division. State your name and company name for the record." with police calls going on in the background. They usually can't hang up fast enough, and I almost never hear from that one again.

[GETPLANING]

14. Telemarketing should be banned, period.

If there is one thing all parties can agree on, it's that telemarketing calls are a burden to the economy and have a negative effect on productivity and GDP. This is the real reason telemarketing should be banned.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

15. A reminder for anyone wanting to register or complain....

FTC Complaint Assistant:
Click on: Unwanted Telemarketing, Text, or SPAM

Link: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/?utm_source=takeaction#crnt&panel1-1

Get on the FTC Do Not Call List:

Link: https://www.donotcall.gov/?utm_source=takeaction

It does seem like we've been getting fewer annoyance calls lately.........

[JDC]

19. They will reorganize and pop right back up under a different name.

[Grammy23]

20. We got a call today and the caller ID said the name of the caller

Was Fraud Likely. Gave me a big laugh! It was the call where they tell you that you are qualified to get “braces” for the painful medical condition you allegedly have and Medicare will pay for it. If we don’t call back, Medicare will classify us as “ineligible”. Uhm, no. Nice try.

We never answer these calls under any circumstances but the caller ID name was a hint why we shouldn’t pick up. Now if we could just convince my nearly 88 year old mother-in-law to let the answering machine handle calls like this. Sigh......

[treestar]

23. +1

My 80s parents still think they should pick up the phone! I remember when you didn't know who was calling and there were no answering machines, so you always thought it would be someone you know. They can't get rid of that old habit! They are too old to get to it quickly and I always say let the blasted answering machine take it!

[moonscape]

32. It always was someone you knew unless

it was a wrongly dialed number, and then a real person apologized.

[hvn_nbr_2]

22. Maybe that's why I didn't get any robocalls today. nt

[Generic Brad]

25. I think they switched to email

I had more than 150 garbage ads in my junk folder today. I have never seen it that high.

[Initech]

31. I clean out over 1,000 junk ads in my inbox a week.

It's infuriating! Especially the credit card offers.

[Dr Vegas]

27. Waiting for Family to Call..,

Last week I was on Deathwatch in my Mom's room and waiting for Family to call in. I rushed to answer any phone call because we did not know how much time she had. I picked up the phone when it rang only to find it to be a Robocall. Even though that # was listed On The "Do Not Call" list and that the Phone company promised my brother that it was a "Clean" Phone number. WE still got these calls..., FUCK EM'

[Initech]

28. Excellent. One thing I think both sides can agree on:

Fuck robodialers and the companies who own them.

[Kali]

29. these fuckers deserve torture

I can't screen my calls. I have public roads through the ranch and I have to answer for emergencies among other reasons. when these assholes disrupt work for bullshit sales calls I feel absolutely violent. I am learning if it is from my area code and has the same first three digits as my verizon account that it is more than likely a spoofed number. my neighbor and family are the only other people I know with those numbers. but I get legit out of state numbers all the time, so I can't ignore them. I hate these assholes.

[marybourg]

30. I got a new one today:

full of static, so you think it might be saying something important that you can’t quite make out, except for the # they want you to call back on. That was pretty clear.

I reported it to the FCC, as I always do, with a note that I thought this one was a real threat to the elderly ( my area code is heavily elderly). I’m glad to hear they’re cracking down on some. Makes me want to continue reporting them.

[lpbk2713]

33. Rachel from Credit Card Services will have to get a real job?

I'll believe it when I see it.

[Archae]

35. Or Heather?

[Laffy Kat]

37. Rachel? I get "Sara" from Credit Card Services.

"Can you hear me OK?"

[Archae]

34. Friend of mine in Georgia has a method that works for him...

He makes sure he gets a human on the line, and then he talks dirty.

"How much do you charge for a (oral sex term)?"

The numbers of telemarketers calling him has dropped to nearly none per week.

[demosincebirth]

38. What is their purpose? Phone rings, you answer, no one there

[HAB911]

39. This week I began getting calls from

ME! My name and number being spoofed as if I would answer a call from myself. Normally, the calls are from my area code and exchange with rotating names and numbers. NoMoRobo is a good deterrent if your phone supports simultaneous ring.

https://www.nomorobo.com/

[dumbcat]

40. Had that happen to me, too

I got a call on my cell phone and it said it was from ME! It even showed my picture as the caller. I was driving or I would have answered and played with them a while.

[HAB911]

43. I read an article recently where you can subscribe

to an AI service that will screw with them for you!

https://gizmodo.com/todays-hero-made-an-ai-that-annoys-telemarketers-for-as-1756344562


actual site: https://jollyrogertelephone.com/