U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced, following his push, the Senate has passed landmark legislation, the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act. The TRACED Act would give federal agencies newfound tools and authority to trace, prosecute and enforce fines against robocall scammers, as well as establish new requirements related to call authentication technology that could filter out robocalls before they reach the phones of unsuspecting New Yorkers. It also enables consumers to have more reliable access to free robocall blocking technology, a benefit that Senator Schumer has long-championed. The legislation now goes to the White House, where the Senator is urging the president to sign it into law.
“From every corner of New York there is one thing everyone can agree upon, and that is the enduring hope that the robocalls stop,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “Americans are desperate for a ‘silent night’ free of robocalls this holiday season and beyond and it looks like, if the president acts, they’ll get their wish. Today, the Senate has taken a major step forward in this fight by passing the TRACED Act. The TRACED Act is just what we need to hang up on these nonstop robocalls, and the president should follow Congress’ lead and sign it ASAP. I thank my good friend Senator Markey for his work on this important legislation.”
Schumer says, despite federal ‘Do Not Call’ rules, robocalls and unwanted spam calls are still getting worse by the day in New York. Earlier this year, YouMail reported that 47.7 billion robocalls were made in the U.S. in 2018, a 57 percent increase over the number of calls made the year prior. Americans received 4.9 billion robocalls just this March alone – a new record total for the number of calls made in one month. Earlier this year, YouMail reported that 47.7 billion robocalls were made in the U.S. in 2018, a 57 percent increase over the number of calls made the year prior. Additional data shows that in April of this year, New Yorkers received 290.3 million robocalls, which averaged over 112 calls per second and 11 calls per New Yorker.
- In the 518 area code, there have been over 49.6 million robocalls in the first 4 months of 2019
- In the 315 area code, there have been over 59.1 million robocalls in the first 4 months of 2019
- In the 680 area code, there have been over 74.4 thousand robocalls in the first 4 months of 2019
- In the 845 area code, there have been over 60.5 million in the first 4 months of 2019
- In the 914 area code, there have been over 56.8 million in the first 4 months of 2019
- In the 585 area code, there have been over 54.8 million in the first 4 months of 2019
- In the 607 area code, there have been over 30.4 million in the first 4 months of 2019
- In the 716 area code, there have been over 152.8 million in the first 4 months of 2019
Schumer said the federal government must do everything possible to make sure robocalls stop increasing year after year. Despite federal ‘Do Not Call’ rules, scammers have developed more creative ways to go around the system, meaning, hundreds of thousands of individuals continue to receive unwanted spam calls. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), unwanted and illegal robocalls are the FTC’s number-one complaint category, with more than 3.7 million complaints filed in 2018.
To hang up on these deceitful robocalls, Schumer is calling on the president to expediently sign the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act into law. The Pallone-Thune TRACED Act would work to combat robocalls by:
- Giving the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to fine robocall scheme perpetrators $10,000 per call made.
- Increasing the timeframe under which the FCC could find and prosecute robocall schemes from one to three years after a call is placed.
- Requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ), FCC, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Commerce (DOC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and other agencies and state officials to issue recommendations to Congress on how to further bolster methods to combat robocalls.
- Requiring telecommunications companies to implement effective call authentication technology, which could help stop robocalls before they reach the phones of unsuspecting victims.
- Requiring opt-in/opt-out robocall blocking to be available in a consistent and transparent way, at no extra charge to consumers.
- Providing greater resources to prevent one-ring scams.
- Bolstering the FCC’s ability to trace phone companies responsible for sending the vast amount of spoofed calls.
- Protecting hospitals from unlawful robocalls.
**Specifically**, this legislation would require companies to implement Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs (SHAKEN) and the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) standards. This means that calls traveling through interconnected phone networks would have their caller ID “signed” as legitimate by originating carriers and validated by other carriers before reaching consumers. SHAKEN/STIR digitally validates the handoff of phone calls passing through the complex web of networks, allowing the phone company of the consumer receiving the call to verify that a call is from the person making it.
Robocalls are phone calls that use automated dialing machines to play a pre-recorded message. According to the Federal Trade Commission, 99 percent of robocalls are illegitimate or fraudulent. Illegal robocalls are made by companies or individuals trying to scam the person on the other end of the phone. Many times, these calls are placed using “caller id spoofing.” Individuals that resort to “caller id spoofing” use advanced technology to mimic the caller id of a legitimate entity such as a government agency, credit card company, a bank, or even a next door neighbor. Under the “Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009,” robocalls are illegal if used for the purpose of defrauding or otherwise causing harm. However, despite the fact that many of these calls clearly violate the law, it is difficult, if not impossible, to catch the perpetrators, many of whom are overseas or hiding behind fake numbers. The Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, which is based on legislation introduced by Senators Thune and Markey and which passed the Senate earlier this year, will give the feds more time to track down these scammers.
The National “Do-Not-Call” Registry, managed by the FTC, was implemented in 2003 after the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act of 2003. The registry is designed to give people a choice about whether they would like to receive telemarketing calls at home. It was created to limit the number of telemarketing calls and robocalls made to U.S. households. In order to register, one may log onto the “Do-Not-Call” website and their phone number will be permanently placed in the registry.
Schumer has long supported efforts to crack down on robocalls. For instance, Schumer has supported federal legislation that would drastically increase punishments for telemarketing companies that continue to make robocalls, as well as pushed for legislation to require landline and mobile carriers to offer free robocall-blocking technology to all consumers.
