(US) Government Takes Legal Action Over Phone Spam

[David2074]

(Yay! Now if they would just do something about those prerecorded telemarketer calls.)

Daily Report: Government Takes Legal Action Over Phone Spam
March 8, 2013, 6:37 am
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday that it had recently filed eight lawsuits in federal courts around the country against companies it accused of ordering or engineering the sending of hundreds of millions of spam text messages to mobile phone users, Edward Wyatt reports on Friday in The New York Times.

The messages, which typically promise gift cards to national chain stores or other prizes, are sent to random phone numbers and usually direct recipients to a Web site where they are asked for personal information like Social Security numbers or credit card numbers, agency officials said.

Rarely, if ever, do consumers receive any actual reward, said C. Steven Baker, the commission’s Midwest region director. Instead, the Web sites often take users through multiple screens that ask them for more detailed information or entice them to sign up for free trials of products, then charge them for shipping and handling.

Roughly 60 percent of mobile phone users have received one or more spam text messages in the last year, he said, and about 15 percent clicked on the link included in the message. The cellphone spam industry has proved lucrative because individuals have grown to trust their mobile devices in a way that they do not trust e-mail.

In the eight federal civil cases filed across the country in recent days, the F.T.C. named 29 defendants, including 18 individuals, most of whom worked for companies that were hired to send the text messages. One complaint was filed against the operators of one of the Web sites to which consumers were directed by the messages.

[Honey of the South]

So... when'll they do something about those stupid phone calls from telemarketers that just end up putting you on hold as soon as you answer?

[David2074]

Honey of the South

So... when'll they do something about those stupid phone calls from telemarketers that just end up putting you on hold as soon as you answer?

That's due to auto dialing which I think is also illegal in WA state.
Speed dialing isn't but this is more than that and is typically used when real people are involved as opposed to a prerecorded message.

To enable each telemarketer human to talk to more people per hour the computer dials numbers and when people answer puts them in the cue to talk to the next real person. Thus you get he please hold message.

I've also heard of some systems that dial two numbers at once and take which ever one answers first. The second person, if they answer in time, will just get rudely hung up on. This bit of technology has often worried folks, especially older ones who grew up before such things were possible. Their perception is someone is calling them and intentionally hanging up which is a form of phone harassment and usually (or at least used to) mean someone was intentionally being mean to you. Sooner or later that same company will get around to dialing your number again, possibly with the same results. And then of course there are other companies doing it as well. The net result is some people get lots of 'hang up' calls and don't know why and get worried. If they dial *69 the number is often blocked, just as it would be if it was a 'bad guy' calling them.

Over time I have received many of both types of calls. I've learned to recognize and ignore them.
I find both types very rude so it makes me wonder how many people actually stay on hold to talk to a telemarketer - especially after the first time.

I like the telemarketing laws we have in WA state but I wish they were able to do more to enforce them.