The war with robo calls in the USA - who wins and why
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to fine organizations for spam calls. Over the past few years, the total amount of fines has exceeded $ 200 million, but violators have paid only $ 7 thousand. We are discussing why it happened and what the regulators are going to do.
/ Unsplash / Pavan Trikutam
Last year, 48 billion robo calls were registered in the United States. This is 56% more than a year earlier. Telephone spam complaints are becoming the most common cause of consumer appeals to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In 2016, employees of the organization recorded five million hits. A year later, this figure was seven million.
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Since 2003, America has a national database of telephone numbers of owners refusing advertising calls, the Do Not Call Registry . But its efficiency leaves much to be desired, as it does not save collectors, charitable organizations and companies conducting surveys from calls.
Increasingly, auto-dialing services are used to extort money. According to YouMail, of the four billion robo calls in September last year, 40% were made by fraudsters.
Violations related to the Do Not Call Registry are monitored by the Federal Communications Commission. The organization imposes fines and collects them, but the latter task is more difficult than it may seem. In the period from 2015 to 2019, the FCC issued fines amounting to $ 208 million. To date, it was possible to collect a little less than $ 7 thousand.
Representatives of the FCC say that they do not have enough authority to force companies to pay fines. The Ministry of Justice deals with all the cases of defaulters, but they do not have enough resources to handle the millions of violations. An additional complication is the fact that it can be difficult to reach the source of the robo-calls. Modern technologies allow you to configure "dummy" PBX and conduct all operations through them (for example, from other countries).
Last year, a Congressman from the House of Representatives proposed a bill with the saying name Stopping Bad Robocalls, which would give the FCC more authority in matters related to the appointment and collection of fines. A similar project is being prepared in the upper house of the US Congress. It is called Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED).
/ Unsplash / Kelvin Yup
By the way, the FCC itself also seeks to solve the problem. But their initiatives are primarily aimed at combating spam calls. An example would be the requirement to introduce the SHAKEN / STIR protocol on the side of telecom companies, which allows you to verify callers. Subscriber providers verify call information — location, organization, device data — and only then establish a connection. In more detail how the protocol works, we told in one of the previous materials .
But not everyone is convinced that the new protocol will help reduce the number of unwanted robo calls. As a representative of one of the telecoms said in April, in order to have an effect, it is necessary to allow providers to automatically block such calls.
And you can say that his proposal was heard. In early June, the FCC decided to give mobile operators the opportunity. Also, the commission has developed new rules that will regulate this process.
But there is a possibility that the FCC decision will not last long. A similar situation occurred a few years ago - then the commission already allowed operators to block all incoming robo-calls. However, a group of activists from ACA International - the American Collector Association - filed a lawsuit against the FCC and won the case last year , forcing the commission to change the decision.
Will the new regulation of the FCC be a part of the telecom-ecosystem, or will last year’s history repeat itself, will be seen in the near future.
/ Unsplash / Pavan Trikutam
Extent of the problem
Last year, 48 billion robo calls were registered in the United States. This is 56% more than a year earlier. Telephone spam complaints are becoming the most common cause of consumer appeals to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In 2016, employees of the organization recorded five million hits. A year later, this figure was seven million.
')
Since 2003, America has a national database of telephone numbers of owners refusing advertising calls, the Do Not Call Registry . But its efficiency leaves much to be desired, as it does not save collectors, charitable organizations and companies conducting surveys from calls.
Increasingly, auto-dialing services are used to extort money. According to YouMail, of the four billion robo calls in September last year, 40% were made by fraudsters.
Violations related to the Do Not Call Registry are monitored by the Federal Communications Commission. The organization imposes fines and collects them, but the latter task is more difficult than it may seem. In the period from 2015 to 2019, the FCC issued fines amounting to $ 208 million. To date, it was possible to collect a little less than $ 7 thousand.
Why did it happen
Representatives of the FCC say that they do not have enough authority to force companies to pay fines. The Ministry of Justice deals with all the cases of defaulters, but they do not have enough resources to handle the millions of violations. An additional complication is the fact that it can be difficult to reach the source of the robo-calls. Modern technologies allow you to configure "dummy" PBX and conduct all operations through them (for example, from other countries).
Also, violators use fake numbers that are difficult to track. But even if they find those responsible for unauthorized robo calls, they are often small companies or individuals who simply do not have the money to pay the fine in full.
What will do
Last year, a Congressman from the House of Representatives proposed a bill with the saying name Stopping Bad Robocalls, which would give the FCC more authority in matters related to the appointment and collection of fines. A similar project is being prepared in the upper house of the US Congress. It is called Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED).
/ Unsplash / Kelvin Yup
By the way, the FCC itself also seeks to solve the problem. But their initiatives are primarily aimed at combating spam calls. An example would be the requirement to introduce the SHAKEN / STIR protocol on the side of telecom companies, which allows you to verify callers. Subscriber providers verify call information — location, organization, device data — and only then establish a connection. In more detail how the protocol works, we told in one of the previous materials .
SHAKEN / STIR have already implemented the operators T-Mobile and Verizon . Their clients now receive notifications of calls from suspicious numbers. Comcast recently joined this deuce. Other US operators are still testing the technology. They are expected to complete the trials before the end of 2019.
But not everyone is convinced that the new protocol will help reduce the number of unwanted robo calls. As a representative of one of the telecoms said in April, in order to have an effect, it is necessary to allow providers to automatically block such calls.
And you can say that his proposal was heard. In early June, the FCC decided to give mobile operators the opportunity. Also, the commission has developed new rules that will regulate this process.
But there is a possibility that the FCC decision will not last long. A similar situation occurred a few years ago - then the commission already allowed operators to block all incoming robo-calls. However, a group of activists from ACA International - the American Collector Association - filed a lawsuit against the FCC and won the case last year , forcing the commission to change the decision.
Will the new regulation of the FCC be a part of the telecom-ecosystem, or will last year’s history repeat itself, will be seen in the near future.
What else do we write in our blogs:
- Who needs new cisco
- DDOS and 5G: thicker "pipe" - more problems
- The future of carrier services
- Internet to the village - we are building a radio-relay Wi-Fi network
- British telecoms will pay compensation to subscribers for disconnections
- American telecoms will fight phone spam
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/457106/
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