WASHINGTON, DC - The Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, chaired by Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), held a hearing today on combating robocalls, caller ID spoofing, and telemarketing scams.
Chairman Latta kicked things off by highlighting steps consumers can take to protect themselves from robocalls and spoofing, stating, “Consumers can download robocall-blocking apps for their mobile phones, or contact their landline and wireless providers for callblocking options. They can register their home or mobile phones with the National Do Not Call Registry, which protects their number from legitimate telemarketing calls they do not want to receive."
He continued, “And there are common sense strategies like not answering calls from unknown numbers and not following any prompts if you do not know who the call is from-for example do not ‘press 1 to take your name off this list.’ Good options are available, but I think all of us, including industry, can and should do a much better job of education, particularly with our seniors, to make sure that new scam ideas are stopped quickly."
Chairman Latta listens as witnesses give their opening remarks
Full Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) spoke to the importance of technology in solving the robocall problem, discussing, “The bad actors clearly keep evolving, and we need to make sure consumers stay one step ahead. There are a wide array of technical and marketplace solutions consumers can use to block, avoid, or otherwise protect themselves from robocalls and caller ID spoofing…There is no singular solution to solve the problem of unwanted calls, but we owe it to our constituents to present all the options available."
Mr. Aaron Foss, Founder, Nomorobo, winner of the FTC Robocall Challenge, discussed the ever-evolving nature of this issue and the latest tactics employed by scammers that Nomorobo is fighting. He commented, “It’s a jungle out there and the robocallers have started to use more advanced tricks and tactics…Last summer, we noticed an explosion in ‘neighbor spoofed’ calls. These calls, where the robocaller uses a fake number that looks very similar to the recipient’s number, used to represent less than 2% of all robocalls. Beginning in July of 2017, neighbor spoofed calls represented almost 20% of all robocalls. That’s a 10x increase. Luckily, technology like Nomorobo can quickly detect and stop new robocalling patterns like neighbor spoofing."
In response to Chairman Walden’s question on the role of innovation and technology in preventing robocalls, Mr. Ethan Garr, Chief Product Officer, RoboKiller, testified, “We passionately believe that disruption of the telemarketers’ business is the key to solving this problem. We believe that our answer bots, which waste scammers time, can solve this problem."
Mr. Scott Hambuchen, Executive Vice President, Technology and Solution Development, First Orion Corp., discussed possible reasons for the rise in robocalls in recent years, commenting, “The cost for any company to be able to create and launch call campaigns off the internet, connected to the carrier networks, has come down so dramatically over the last couple of years. It makes it very easy for scammers to launch millions of calls at very low cost. It’s also helped legitimate businesses also reach their customers with legitimate services. What we’ve got to do is find ways to look at that data, analyze that information, and apply it back in the carrier network."
The Majority Memorandum, witness testimony, and an archived webcast are available online HERE.
