Most robocalls are prohibited by law, but scammers and dishonest people continue to send them. And even some legitimate companies violate peoples’ privacy rights with illegal robocalls. Today the FTC announced several victories in the fight against illegal robocalls.
In the first victory, the FTC announced that it stopped the operator of a series of sham charities called “Veterans of America.” That operator sent millions of robocalls to donors and collected more than half a million dollars illegally. The robocalls’ message claimed that the organization was a charity and donations were tax deductible. None of that was true. The FTC stopped him in his tracks, and now he can’t send or help others send robocalls anymore. (The FTC’s action challenged practices by Utah resident Travis Deloy Peterson and entities he controlled that used names like Veterans of America and Medal of Honor. The FTC has not taken action against other entities called Veterans of America, Medal of Honor, or similar names.)
In the second victory, the FTC announced that three individual defendants in the case against Point Break Media agreed to a robocall ban, and a ban on helping others send robocalls. All of them were part of a scheme that sent false (and alarming) robocalls to small business owners to get their money.
Today’s announcement also includes a double victory in the NetDotSolutions case. Three defendants who provided the autodialers used to place billions of illegal robocalls are now banned from supplying autodialers to telemarketers. In fact, those defendants provided the autodialing technology used by robocallers in at least eight prior FTC cases. They also will pay $1.35 million.
And finally, yet importantly, the FTC got a fourth victory in the Higher Goals Marketing case, where seven defendants agreed to a telemarketing ban. These defendants operated a credit card debt-relief scheme, which they started just weeks after the FTC closed a similar operation in the Life Management Services case, and where several of the defendants had previously worked.
The FTC’s work against illegal robocalls continues, and you can help by letting us know when you get an illegal robocall: www.ftc.gov/complaint. Read this article to learn more, or visit ftc.gov/calls.
Note: This post was updated on November 6, 2020
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In reply to Yay! Keep up the good work. by Emr
In reply to Yay! Keep up the good work. by Emr
In reply to Yay! Keep up the good work. by Emr
In reply to i get them everyday by dabonz
The Do Not Call Registry prohibits sales calls. Most legitimate companies won't call you if your name is on the Registry.
If your number is on the Registry and a company calls, it's probably a scammer.
In reply to The Do Not Call Registry by FTC Staff
In reply to Not true at ALL. I still get by Redliner
The Do Not Call Registry prohibits sales calls. Most legitimate companies won't call you if your number is on the Registry. If they do, tell the FTC at www.FTC.gov/DoNotCall.
Even if your number is listed on the Do Not Call Registry, you still may get political calls, charitable calls, debt collection calls, informational calls, and telephone survey calls.
In addition, companies may still call if you recently did business with them, or if you gave them written permission to call you. However, if you ask a company not to call you again, it must honor your request.
In reply to The Do Not Call Registry by FTC Staff
In reply to The Do Not Call Registry by FTC Staff
In reply to Not true at ALL. I still get by Redliner
In reply to i get them everyday by dabonz
In reply to i get them everyday by dabonz
In reply to i get them everyday by dabonz
In reply to i get them everyday by dabonz
In reply to i get them everyday by dabonz
In reply to It is great to hear that by Arizona Attorney
In reply to It is great to hear that by Arizona Attorney
In reply to It is great to hear that by Arizona Attorney
In reply to It is great to hear that by Arizona Attorney
In reply to It is great to hear that by Arizona Attorney
In reply to It is great to hear that by Arizona Attorney
In reply to I hate to say it, but I don't by rosekitty
If you click on the links in this blog, you can read more about each case and the related financial judgements.
In reply to We include links in the blog by FTC Staff
In reply to We include links in the blog by FTC Staff
In reply to This sounds like "catch and by bwahawhawhaw
If you click on the links in this blog, you can read more about each case and the related financial judgements.
In reply to If you click on the links in by FTC Staff
In reply to If you click on the links in by FTC Staff
Pagination