Sen. Claire McCaskill introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at penalizing unwanted phone calls, an effort to target telemarketers who attempt to scam seniors.
The bill, the Robocall Enforcement Improvement Act, would beef up the Federal Communication Commission’s ability to regulate and penalize fraudulent telemarketers. Fraudulent telemarketers aim to scam residents, mostly seniors, by posing as fake federal agencies to seek their personal information. Caller ID spoofing enables the callers to appear as agencies such as the IRS or the FBI on a phone’s caller ID.
The legislation from the Missouri Democrat would increase fines on illegal telemarketers, raising the maximum fine from $16,000 to $25,000. It also would allow the FCC to enforce anti-spoofing laws on illegal overseas calls aimed at U.S. citizens and would increase the statute of limitations on all illegal spoofing calls from one to three years.
“These calls can be annoying or frustrating to many of us, but they can be much more devastating to those, especially seniors, who fall victim to them,” McCaskill said. “We must give [the FCC] the flexibility to fight these fraudsters.”
McCaskill said her own mother fell prey to a fraudulent telemarketer, who posed as someone from a Medicare agency.
She introduced the bill during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Aging, which examined unwanted phone calls. McCaskill is ranking member of the committee. The committee’s chairman, Susan Collins, R-Maine, co-sponsored the bill.
In her opening remarks, Collins said that while the Federal Trade Commission established the National No Call Registry in 2003, its regulatory framework is now outdated.
“A large part of the problem traces to the fact that the regulatory framework behind the Do Not Call list has been rendered ineffective by advances in technology,” Collins said.
Collins said it’s never been easier or cheaper to use spoofing technology. To illustrate her point, she had a staffer call her on her cell phone during her opening marks, posing as the IRS. The staffer was able do that simply by using an iPhone app, Collins said.
Collins said that anyone that sees the IRS, or any other federal agency on his caller ID will pick up the phone.
“You’re going to answer that call,” she said.
Missouri Deputy Attorney General Joe Dandurand testified that seniors in his state are often spoofed by a robocall that identifies as S-S-I, posing as the Social Security Administration.
Dandurand said fraudulent robocalls tell seniors they are eligible for medical devices such as a back brace or medical alert bracelet.
“However, upon answering the call, the consumer is immediately asked survey questions to elicit personal information,” he said.
He said his office was recently called by an 80-year-old woman who was scammed by a robocall that said she was eligible for a medical alert device and was able to obtain the woman’s Social Security number and date of birth.
The Missouri attorney general’s office, which operates the state’s no call list, received more than 52,000 complaints in 2014 regarding fraudulent, unwanted phone calls. While Dandurand said the office filed 20 cases against fraudulent telemarketers last year, he said many are overseas callers.
“Many have resorted to setting up shop and making calls from overseas locations, effectively nullifying our ability to obtain enforcement jurisdiction over them,” he said. “We need the help of private industry, including the telephone service providers, to create solutions to permanently stop unwanted telemarketing calls,” Dandurand said.
In an effort to tighten regulation of fraudulent calls, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler last year calling for the agency to allow phone companies to block fraudulent calls. The letter was co-signed by 37 state and territorial attorney generals.
“If a solution to the nation’s illegal telemarketing problem is possible, it will require the private sector — including telephone carriers — to get involved,” the letter read.
Wheeler drafted a proposal to allow phone companies to limit unwanted calls.
“First, we are giving the green light for robocall-blocking technology, declaring that these market-based solutions can be offered without violating our call-completion rules,” Wheeler wrote in a press release in May. “The FCC wants to make it clear: telephone companies can — and in fact should — offer consumers robocall-blocking tools.”
The commission is slated to vote on Wheeler’s proposal June 18. McCaskill said she is encouraged by Wheeler’s proposal.
McCaskill said she has been critical of phone companies regarding unwanted phone calls because they are in the best position to do something about it, but haven’t acted on it. She said she doesn’t understand why the companies haven’t been proactive in helping stop fraudulent calls, saying it could be a boon to their business.
“I don’t think they could handle the business they would get,” she said. “I don’t know why their marketers have been so dumb on this.”
McCaskill introduced similar legislation in December, but it did not reach committee before the congressional session ended. The House passed a bill similar to McCaskill’s last session.
