Sage Datko  |  October 22, 2020

Category: Consumer Guides

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angry african american man dealing with robocalls

Although most people have received annoying robocalls from companies or telemarketers, many people may not realize that these calls may be illegal, or what to do about them.

What Are Robocalls?

Robocalls are calls made to consumers using a prerecorded voice message, or mass text. These calls are often made in an attempt to persuade consumers to purchase goods or services from the company behind the calls.

Although some robocalls are made by legitimate companies, including car dealerships, some of these calls may be scams made by individuals or entities in an attempt to convince consumers to hand over personal or financial information. Either way, these calls and texts are often against the law, may be considered illegal robocalls, and may even be eligible for TCPA lawsuits.

Are Robocalls Illegal?

Some types of robocalls are legal. In order for robocalls to be permissible under the law, they must meet several requirements. Generally, in order for a robocall to be legal, you must have given the company your prior consent to be contacted via robocalls.

Legal robocalls may include political calls regarding candidates running for office, calls made from charities asking for donations, or calls from emergency service providers. Calls that do not contain any advertising or marketing information and are simply informational are also generally legal.

Today, however, many robocalls and texts are illegal. If you have received advertising or soliciting robocalls that were made by a company that does not have your express consent to contact you, the calls may be illegal. Additionally, more and more scam robocalls occur looking for information to take advantage of unwitting consumers and the elderly.

The number of illegal robocalls has increased almost 50% since 2017, leading Congress to pass the TRACED Act in December 2019 in an attempt to increase the FCC’s power to stem the flow.

Robocalls Report: Which Calls Are Illegal

Most robocalls are illegal. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is responsible for setting and enforcing robocall regulations. According to the FTC, companies that use robocalls to contact consumers must follow several rules in order to be in compliance. Otherwise, these calls may be against the law.

The FTC ensures that legitimate companies comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). There are two main laws governing robocalls and spam calls. These laws are the TCPA, and the TRACED Act.

Illegal robocalls are annoying.What Is the TCPA?

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act was introduced back in 1991 as a method of protecting consumers from unwanted technology-based solicitation. Of course, technology has significantly changed in the nearly 30 years since the TCPA was enacted, but the act itself has shifted as well to encompass new technologies.

Under the TCPA, companies are prohibited from making robocalls to people who have never had a business relationship with the company. Other TCPA violations include not providing consumers with an option to opt-out of receiving calls, calling numbers on the national Do-Not-Call registry, calling residences before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., and failing to identify themselves when making calls.

With the evolution of smartphones, the TCPA also applies to unsolicited, pre-written text messages, text coupons, and spam voicemail.

Consumers who have received illegal robocalls may be able to recover damages of between $500 and $1,500 for each violation of the TCPA.

What is the TRACED Act?

The TRACED Act was signed into law in late 2019 in order to allow additional protections to consumers regarding illegal robocalls, beyond the protections already offered by the TCPA. Under the TRACED Act, the FCC’s statute of limitations for pursuing the entities behind robocalls and fining them has been extended to four years. Previously, the FCC was only given one year to locate and prosecute robocallers. Additionally, the amount that the FCC may fine robocallers has been increased to $10,000.

The TRACED Act also includes language requiring telephone service providers to offer services to consumers to help them avoid robocalls. These services may take the form of software that screens incoming calls and detects potential spam, and must be offered to consumers free of charge.

Cell service providers are also required to use technology that can detect spoofed calls and block them. Spoofed calls are calls that are made from one number, but are made to look as though they are coming from a different number. Often, spoofed calls have the same area code as the recipient’s phone number, in an attempt to deceive them into believing that the call may be from a friend or neighbor.

Although many spoof and spam calls are still coming through, cell phone providers have begun to flag many of these calls as “Scam Likely,” and the technology is expected to continue to improve.

Where Are Robocalls Illegal?

As robocalls are federally regulated, consumers in all 50 U.S. states have legal rights protecting them from these calls. Robocalls may be illegal anywhere in the United States.

How Can I Stop Illegal Robocalls?

Consumers who have received annoying or harassing illegal robocalls may be able to report these calls to the FCC, FTC or register their phone number with the national Do-Not-Call registry.

The Do-Not-Call registry may not prevent all robocalls. The purpose of the registry is to provide a list of consumers who have opted out of receiving these kinds of calls so that law-abiding businesses can consult the list and determine who they should not call.

Most legitimate businesses abide by the registry, but some do not, and scammers are also willing to ignore these laws. While being on the Do-Not-Call registry will not stop these kinds of callers, filing complaints about these robocalls will alert the FTC and other agencies to robocall trends, helping them take action.

Unfortunately, not all unwanted robocalls are subject to the restrictions of the TCPA and the National Do Not Call List. Charities, survey companies, political candidates, and debt collectors can still call people without their consent, even if their number is on the Do Not Call List, explains Norton.

Additionally, if you find yourself getting unwanted robocalls from someone with whom you did business, you may have inadvertently consented to receive telemarketing messages. Many businesses subtly include a clause about accepting telemarketing contacts in their business agreements, or may lead customers to check a box opting into messages during a transaction. This means that many consumers may have inadvertently opted into receiving robocalls without meaning to.

Happily, even if you did accidentally opt into receiving robocalls, you can still opt out. Businesses do have to allow customers to withdraw their consent. If a business contacts a consumer for telemarketing purposes despite the customer having opted out, they may be in violation of the TCPA. 

If you are still having problems getting robocalls even after opting out of these communications, you may have run into a business that is willing to violate the law on the chance that they could make a sale. Some customers are attracted to sales pitches and may decide to make a purchase, even if the advertisement came in the form of an illegal sales call.

Many companies may rely on the reality that most customers will not take legal action if they do receive illegal robocalls, so they may think that there won’t be consequences for violating the law.

The DOJ is working to add protections for the elderly abused by these calls.

In mid-2019, the FTC said it had begun a coordinated crackdown on illegal robocalls with the Justice Department alongside state and local law enforcement agencies. The effort blocked more than one billion illegal robocalls, the FTC said, and resulted in 94 actions against illegal robocallers, seven new FTC lawsuits, and four settlements. However, this was still just a “drop in the bucket,” given the tens of billions of illegal robocalls placed every year, noted Andrew Smith, the FTC’s Consumer Protection Bureau director, according to USA Today.

But FTC complaints aren’t the only way to fight back against robocalls. Some consumers may be eligible to hire an attorney and file a class action robocalls lawsuit to stop companies from contacting them.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

Proof is necessary — saving a record of the numbers that have called you, along with the dates, times, and information about the company or caller may make your robocalls lawsuit more likely to be successful.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.

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41 thoughts onKnow Your Rights: A Guide to Illegal Robocalls

  1. Cammi S Hill says:

    Add me please

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