What Is the Point of Spam Callers & Robocalls? You’re in for a Surprise

Telemarketers and scammers rely on robocalls to send you marketing messages, attempt to get personal info to be used in an attack against you, and to collect your phone number to determine if you’re right for future marketing opportunities. No one likes these spam callers, but they’ve become all too common for phone owners. Now callers may be able to fight back with a TCPA lawsuit.

What Are Robocalls?

The term robocall refers to a phone call that has been made through the manipulation of a computerized autodialer. This autodialer contacts your phone number and then delivers a prerecorded message, which often sounds as if it comes from a robot.

In some cases, these robocalls might be personalized to make it seem as though there is an actual person on the other end of the call.

How Do Robocalls Work?

Robocalls work when a telemarketer collects phone numbers, prerecorded messages and caller ID information, and provides it to an autodialer. The autodialer then transmits this through telephone carriers to your phone. The path of just one robocall can go across the entire world.

Even if you request not to be contacted any further, or register for the Do Not Call list, this is not a guarantee that the phone calls will stop. This is one of the leading frustrations for people who receive many different robocalls.

How Many People Are Affected By Spam Callers?

Spam callers leveraging robocalls reportedly place over 175 million phone calls every single day in the United States. This has led up to 70 percent of Americans never answering the phone if they don’t recognize the incoming number, according to a Consumer Reports survey.

What Is the True Cost of Robocalls?

Robocalls are not only annoying – they can also lead to significant cases of fraud. Robocallers may impersonate reputable businesses or even government officials as a part of their scams. This helps them gain the trust of the people they call – allowing them to steal consumer information and money. This can lend itself to larger cases of fraud such as identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gives several examples of telemarketing scams, such as:

• Imposter scams in which scammers pretend to be someone you trust like a family member, love interest, or even a government agency. A fake name or number on Caller ID may help convince people these scams are real.
• Debt and credit scams involve offers to help lower credit card interest rates, quickly improve credit scores, get student loan forgiveness, or other services. These scams usually require the consumer to pay a fee upfront – after which they are left with no cash and no benefits.
• Business scams may encourage consumers to “start their own business” or invest. This may be a scam designed to steal money without providing business benefits.
• Charity scams pretend to be part of a reputable charity and pressure call recipients into donating to a disaster relief effort or other program.
• Extended car warranty scams may use information about consumer cars to peddle expensive and often worthless warranties.
• Free trial scams offer a free trial for products or programs but go on to bill consumers monthly until they cancel.
• Loan scams target financially vulnerable people and offer guaranteed loans in exchange for a fee. The FTC notes that no legitimate lender will offer a guarantee like this – especially if consumers have bad credit or a history of bankruptcy.
• Lottery scams convince consumers that they’ve won the lottery or another prize, and then use this opportunity to steal information or force consumers to pay “shipping” for a fake prize.
• Travel scams are similar to lottery scams in that they offer “free” trips to “winners.” In reality, there is no vacation and are only hidden costs.>

There are reportedly many people who are cheated out of billions of dollars every single year by getting involved in the scams perpetuated by robocallers. However, no current study has evaluated just how much lost business is associated with the placing of robocalls.

One such example includes doctor appointment reminder phone calls, which some people might ignore because they are concerned about it being a robocall. The cost of missing that appointment and not being able to easily reschedule could really add up. In addition to lost money, small businesses lose out when robocalls have a bigger impact on society.

A small business owner who relies on the telephone to conduct business and make deals might need to answer every call that comes into their phone even though the vast majority of them might be spam calls in the form of a robocall made through an autodialer.

However, it’s hard to contact people when they are not aware of the phone number for a business because the call recipient might assume it’s a spam call. Sadly, as a result of the extra hassle associated with robocalls, the phone has become less of a convenient and direct tool for communication and business.

Charities have found it more difficult to communicate with their followers and companies managing telephone surveys have found it more difficult to get people to pick up the phone and recognize their call as legitimate. Under the law, charities are legally allowed to contact the public and potential donors without incurring fines. Emergency calls are allowed to come through as well.

What Can I Do About Spam Calls?

Unfortunately, getting spam calls, and since the rise of cell phones spam texts, is an unfortunate reality for people who own a phone. Although these calls can be overwhelming, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has some recommendations for consumers when dealing with spam robocalls:

• Don’t answer calls which you suspect to be robocalls, as this could result in additional calls in the future. If you do pick up a suspected robocall, hang up right away.
• Similarly, don’t follow instructions in a spam call which tell you to hit a button. The FTC notes that scammers may use this trick to identify targets.
• Don’t respond to any questions or give out personal information (Social Security numbers, account numbers, password, identifying information, etc.)
• Callers who identify themselves as a company or government agency should be treated with suspicion. The FTC encourages consumers to hang up and call the verified phone number for the company or agency the caller claimed to be.

The FTC also provides several options for consumers looking to block spam calls. Consumers can speak with their telephone service provider to activate their spam call blocking service, although this may be associated with additional charges. Similarly, third party apps can be used to block suspected spam calls.

Finally, under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, consumers can register their phone number with the national Do Not Call registry. This list is a way to stop robocalls from legitimate telemarketers as businesses are legally required to comply with the list. However, spam callers may not comply with this law.

The restrictions that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act places on robocalls do not apply to charities, but they nonetheless may be affected by people who make spam calls, and by call recipients who are too frustrated to pick up the phone for a good cause.

Individuals have filed lawsuits alleging that the mere fact that they received a robocall caused them harm. Robocall lawsuits allege that the inconvenience and annoyance of robocalls amounts to an invasion of privacy, intrusion on seclusion, and emotional distress.

Robocall lawsuits also claim that these calls take up valuable time and energy, use up part of a person’s cell phone plan, and even cause wear and tear on a phone itself. Both businesses and individuals may experience harm, economic loss, and injury as a result of spam callers.

If you have been illegally contacted through the use of an autodialer from spam callers, you could potentially file a lawsuit. Seek assistance from Top Class Actions if you need help finding an attorney.

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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.