Now, like you said, these are not your typical robocalls anymore. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes, the old trick where you would just not pick up the phone if it said unknown or that doesn't work if you're seeing an actual number. So those things have sort of conspired together to mean we get a lot more robocalls and we get a lot more robocalls that aren't just annoying that may defraud consumers. It's more likely to lure the consumer into picking the phone call up. And it's easier also to what we call spoof the caller ID, meaning fake the caller ID that pops up on the consumer's screen. And so we see a proliferation of the calls. Over time, the technology has evolved such that folks can make robocalls a lot more quickly, a lot more cheaply using IP networks, using software. Back then, it was a little bit more expensive to make robocalls, and so they weren't quite what they are today. It was more the kind of dinner hour telemarketer bothering you and your family. In fact, the key law we administer, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, was passed in 1991. STONE: Yes, robocalls have been a problem for decades as you've mentioned. But how did we get to this inflection point where people are tearing their hair out? I mean, certainly back in the landline days, I'm sure people got them. So robocalls have been a problem for decades, but it seems like recently, or in recent years and even weeks and months, we've gotten to a whole new level with these robocalls. SWARZTRAUBER: Yes, I would say it's probably the number one thing that people are interested in our line of work at this point for sure. It's definitely one that has lots of consumer interest. So I've been working on robocalls maybe the last decade or so. STONE: Well, I started here in the mid-90s as an auditor and then later as an attorney working on a lot of different consumer protection issues. SWARZTRAUBER: So to start off, how did you end up being the RoboCop at the FCC? Joining me to discuss this is Mark Stone, Deputy Bureau Chief of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. How did we get to this point and what's being done about it, including action by this agency, the FCC? And I'm sure FCC employees heading home for Thanksgiving will probably get an ear full from their relatives, what is going on and what can be done to stop it.Īccording to new data from First Orion, a call protection company, 50 percent of all calls will be spam by the end of 2019. They've been happening more and more frequently, whether it's your landline or your cell phone. On today's show, we'll be discussing the scourge of modern civilization. SWARZTRAUBER: Welcome to More than 7 Dirty Words, the official FCC podcast.
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