TELECOMMUNICATIONS LET’S ROBOCALL IT OFF Technology and new state laws are helping consumers end unwanted phone calls.

BY HEATHER MORTON According to Hiya, an app that helps block unwanted robocalls, the five area Your phone rings. The caller ID says it’s codes targeted the most by spammers are the IRS. With butterflies in your stomach, 214 (Dallas), 210 (San Antonio), 817 (Forth you answer the call and are told there is Worth, Texas), 512 (Austin, Texas) and 832 a problem with your tax return. To ver- (Houston). Hiya estimates that 25.3 bil- ify some information and avoid penal- lion calls have been made to U.S. mobile ties, you must give your Social Security or phones in the first half of this year. credit card number. Benninghoff Chenette YouMail reports just over 46% of the Another caller mimics a family member robocalls placed in September were and asks you to send a prepaid debit card scams, 12% were telemarketing calls, 23% for bail or some other emergency. That’s from receiving un- percent were alerts and reminders, and followed by still another call from a num- wanted telephone the remaining 19% were payment remind- ber that looks familiar but turns out to be a solicitations, often ers. Although nearly half the robocalls recorded pitch for a product or service. as robocalls using were made with the recipient’s permis- Then, just before you go to bed, the misleading caller sion, the majority were unsolicited and phone rings again. This time you’re glad ID. (While writ- unwanted. you answered. It’s another recording, but ing this article, I received four un- it’s from the school announcing a snow Halloran FCC Regulations Issued day tomorrow. There are good robocalls wanted calls in four The FCC has issued several declara- and there are bad ones! hours.) According tory rulings to address illegal robocall- According to the Federal Communi- to the YouMail Robocall Index, 4.5 billion ing. The most recent was in June to clarify cations Commission, the IRS hoax has robocalls were placed in September. That’s that voice service providers may offer scammed 14,700 victims out of more than more than 150 million calls a day and consumers features that block unwanted $72 million since October 2013, despite an average of 13.8 calls per U.S. resident. calls through analytics (call-blocking pro- ongoing efforts to educate consumers Texas, California, Florida, Georgia and grams) and from numbers not in a con- about the fraud. New York were the top five states receiving sumer’s contact list (whitelist programs). No one, not even NCSL staff, is immune robocalls in September. The call-blocking clarification was

24 | STATE LEGISLATURES | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 “ILLEGAL ROBOCALLS ARE MORE THAN ANNOYING, THEY ARE A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT BY CRIMINALS TO FLOOD VOICE NETWORKS WITH UNWANTED CALLS THAT SCAM, SPOOF AND PREY UPON VULNERABLE CONSUMERS.”

Tim McKone, of AT&T, in a joint industry statement

meant to ensure that the programs’ Robocalls by Category, States Not Waiting on Feds “reasonable analytics” could discern for September 2019 In the midst of the FCC regulatory ac- unwanted robocalls from wanted calls, tions, state legislators have introduced like school notifications and payment numerous bills and resolutions to address reminders. “Call-blocking and labeling 12% commercial communications, including services can benefit consumers by reduc- robocalls, caller ID spoofing, no-call lists ing the number of illegal calls received and registries and other telemarketing by consumers, but they can also errone- 19% 46% issues. ously prevent legal and wanted commu- So far just this year, 35 states have in- nications,” says Michele Shuster, general troduced more than 150 bills and resolu- counsel for the Professional Association tions and enacted or adopted 25 of them. for Customer Engagement. 23% Arkansas enacted legislation that holds In the ruling, the FCC cautioned voice telecommunication service providers and service providers to avoid blocking calls third-party spoofing providers account- Scams from law enforcement, emergency op- Alerts and reminders able for certain activities, imposing crim- erations and other public safety enti- Payment reminders inal penalties for some. Kentucky prohib- ties. Call-blocking programs should also Telemarketing ited phone solicitations that misrepresent include a point of contact for legiti- Source:YouMail the name or phone number in caller ID mate callers to report erroneous block- services, with specified exemptions. ing and a mechanism to resolve such In addition, the FCC has urged the Maine Senator Justin Chenette (D) complaints. telecommunications industry to de- sponsored legislation that makes it an The FCC’s whitelist clarification says velop caller ID authentication, known unfair trade practice for a telemarketer that voice service providers may offer as SHAKEN/STIR (see “Know Your Ro- to misrepresent his or her phone num- an opt-in program letting consumers bo-Terms,” page 26), to combat caller ID ber when making a solicitation or to use specify the phone numbers they wish to spoofing. Many providers are using the a recorded or artificial voice. “The state receive calls from. If used, a whitelist pro- SHAKEN/STIR framework to ensure that can’t sit idly by and wait for the federal gram makes call blocking the default for the information about the source of calls government to act when small businesses consumers. on the network is accurate. are losing productivity, seniors are being

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 | STATE LEGISLATURES | 25 scammed and people are afraid to answer “PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO Know Your Robo-Terms their phones,” Chenette said when the bill Robocall: a telephone call from an au- was signed. ANSWER THEIR PHONES.” tomated source that delivers a recorded Nebraska created the Neighbor Spoof- message to a large number of people. ing Protection Act, which bans selling, Senator Justin Chenette, Maine Caller ID spoofing: deliberately falsifying renting or conveying telephone numbers the information transmitted to a caller ID and prohibits connecting with a telecom- display to disguise the caller’s identity. munications service or IP-enacted voice SHAKEN/STIR: a technology that pre- service to gain access to a caller ID to de- McKone, AT&T’s executive vice president vents the completion of spoofed phone fraud, cause harm or wrongfully obtain of federal relations, was encouraging. “We calls and ensures calls are authentic and anything of value. Senator Steve Halloran have long called for a holistic approach to secure by using cryptographic certif- (NP), who sponsored the bill, worked to icates. It stands for Signature-based addressing unwanted and illegal robo- balance the economic role of the telemar- Handling of Asserted Information Using calls, encouraged the deployment of new keting industry with consumer protec- toKENs (SHAKEN) and the Secure Tele- technologies, and advocated for increased tions. “As a citizen and businessman, I phone Identity Revisited (STIR). law enforcement,” he said. “The Stopping clearly recognize that this is an important Bad Robocalls Act represents another tool industry to the economy,” he says. “I don’t in our collective industry and enforcement The IRS Scam intend to harm the industry, but rather toolbox.” The Internal Revenue Service will not: help [them] and protect the good people The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan of Nebraska.” • Call you to demand immediate pay- TRACED Act (short for Telephone Rob- Tennessee and Virginia increased the ment. The IRS will not call you if you ocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and owe taxes without first sending you a bill penalties for using false caller ID informa- in the mail. tion. Alabama, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Deterrence) in May. It will, among other New Jersey, North Dakota and Pennsyl- things, raise the fines the FCC can levy on • Demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the vania adopted resolutions. Pennsylvania robocallers and increase the statute of lim- amount you owe. Representative Kerry Benninghoff (R), who itations for bringing those cases. supports more federal action, sponsored • Require that you pay your taxes a a resolution urging Congress to grant the Consumer Beware certain way—with a prepaid debit card, for example. FCC additional authority to stop unwanted What can frustrated, wary consumers and illegal robocalls and spoofing. do as they wait for action at the state and • Ask for your credit or debit card num- “Clearly, more needs to be done,” Ben- federal levels? Stay alert. bers over the phone. ninghoff says. “Our phones are ringing off To combat unwanted robocalls and • Threaten to bring in police or other the hook. Every day, and several times a phone scams, the FCC recommends that agencies to arrest you for not paying. you not answer calls from unknown num- day, our seniors and neighbors are being If you don’t owe taxes or have no rea- bombarded by people who are attempting bers. If you do answer and realize it’s an son to think that you do: to steal their hard-earned money and per- unwanted call, hang up immediately. If the caller or recording asks you to hit a • Do not give out any information. Hang sonal information.” up immediately. button to stop getting calls, just hang up. Industry Responds It’s a trick often used by scammers to iden- • Contact TIGTA (the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) to report In a joint statement, USTelecom, CTIA– tify potential targets. And do not respond the call. Use its “IRS Impersonation Scam to any questions, especially those that can The Wireless Association and NCTA–The Reporting” webpage. You can also call Internet & Television Association affirmed be answered with “Yes.” 800-366-4484. their commitment to battling illegal and So, fair warning to the robocaller target- • Report the call to the Federal Trade unwanted calls. “Illegal robocalls are more ing this NCSL staffer, in Japanese, on my Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint than annoying, they are a deliberate at- office phone. I’m not going to push any Assistant” on FTC.gov. Add “IRS Tele- tempt by criminals to flood voice networks more buttons or try to get you to speak En- phone Scam” in the notes. with unwanted calls that scam, spoof and glish. I’m simply not answering any more If you know you owe tax or think you unknown callers. I’m robocalling it off. I’ve prey upon vulnerable consumers who are may owe: justifiably fed up.” had enough. • Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS When the U.S. House passed the Stop- workers can help you. ping Bad Robocalls Act and sent it to the Heather Morton is a program principal in Senate in July, the response from Tim NCSL’s Fiscal Affairs Program. Source: IRS.gov

26 | STATE LEGISLATURES | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019