TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — 7.6 billion robocalls made to telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, is a direct violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, The Telemarketing Sales Rule, as well as other Federal and State Telemarking and Consumer Laws.
That’s the alleged complaint, Indiana Attorney General, Todd Rokita, filed in a lawsuit against an Arizona company that is said to be responsible for facilitating the calls.
Robocalls, calls that enable telemarketers, even scammers, to dial numbers and deliver pre-recorded messages are once again being cracked down on in Indiana. Rokita has made it his mission to shut down robocall operations.
Time Linton, a Brazil resident said they get a lot of the dreaded calls.
“I’d say on the ridiculous ones that are overseas, I’d say that we average at least six to ten a month. Something like that. But they’ll run in clusters. You might go two months and not get one and then you might get eight the next week,” Linton said.
In a press release, Rokita said, “Hoosiers are sick and tired of these annoying robocalls that not only interrupt their lives but also violates state and federal laws.”
“It’s just moments of like that’s wasted. The biggest thing is you might be answering the phone when you’re really focused on something else,” Linton added.
Rokita added, “Rest assured that we will keep going after these illegal robocallers with the same dogged aggressiveness that we’ve shown since day one.”
Do you answer calls marked as spam or from numbers you don’t know?
“If it says spam then I generally don’t but if it’s a number that looks, that’s where they’re getting smart now, you answer something with our area code or a nearby area code,” Linton said.
“I don’t answer them,” Loges said.
“It’s kind of the mood I’m in at the time. I’d guess you’d say. But I try not to answer them,” Linton added.
According to a press release, the company allegedly sent or transmitted scam calls representing Social Security Administration scams, Medicare scams, auto warranty scams, Amazon scams, DirecTV scams, credit card interest rate reduction scams, and employment scams.
“I do have a friend that she, you know, had somebody call her and she paid a Duke (Energy) bill, but it wasn’t, you know. She lost money,” Loges said.
The legal action arises from the nationwide anti-robocall multi-state litigation task force of 51 bipartisan Attorney Generals. That task force led by Indiana, Ohio, and North Carolina which is investigating and taking legal action against those responsible for routing significant volumes of illegal robocall traffic.
Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General provided investigation assistance in this matter.
It’s still important to make sure you are on the Indiana Do Not Call Registry. To report illegal robocallers or other scams log onto indianaconsumer.com to file a complaint.
You can also verify your phone number, register your phone number and report unwanted calls on the National Do Not Call Registry with the Federal Trade Commission.
