Insurance telemarketers fined $225M for a billion robocalls

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By TALI ARBEL

The U.S. communications regulator on Tuesday proposed a $225 million fine, its largest ever, against two health insurance telemarketers for spamming people with 1 billion robocalls using fake phone numbers.

The Federal Communications Commission said John Spiller and Jakob Mears made the calls through two businesses. State attorneys general of Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas also sued the two men and their companies, Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom, in federal court in Texas, where both men live, for violating the federal law governing telemarketing, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The FCC said the robocalls offered plans from major insurers like Aetna and UnitedHealth with an automated message. If consumers pressed a button for more information, however, they were transferred to a call center that sold plans not connected to those companies. The FCC said the Missouri attorney general sued Rising Eagle’s largest client, Health Advisors of America, for telemarketing violations last year.

Over more than four months in early 2019, the FCC said, these telemarketers faked the number their calls displayed in caller ID with intent to deceive consumers; purposefully called people who are on the Do Not Call list; and called people’s mobile phones without getting permission first.



FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2019, file photo, a man uses a cell phone in New Orleans. The U.S. communications regulator on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, proposed a $225 million fine, its largest ever, against two health insurance telemarketers for spamming people with 1 billion robocalls using fake phone numbers. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/8b736ad440d2627eb84566d20f69df7a

[marybourg]

1. Good! I just reported a faux Amazon scam and

two would-be house flippers this week.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

2. Spammers and scammers

Need to be shut the fuck down. I'm on the do not call list and those fuckers call me several times a day. I noticed they got worse when trump got elected too.

[Initech]

3. Good! Fuck 'em!

[JudyM]

4. K&R for the good news.

[sarisataka]

5. Now can we do that

to the people who call our office about Google ads?

[Ron Obvious]

6. It's not enough

I get 10 or more of them some days. I don't even answer the landline anymore especially since recognising utterly phoney caller ID's isn't difficult.

[47of74]

7. Yeah if it's not something I recognize nor expect I don't answer

They can talk to the answering machine cause I sure as fuck ain't interested.

My asshole tolerance is dead low now.

[Ron Obvious]

8. So is mine

On the landline we have level 2 Caller ID, and if the "name" is merely a repetition of the phone number, "V<MMDDYY><hhmmss>####"-formatted strings or if on my cell, the number is 123-456-xxxx, where 123-456 are my own area code and exchange I know it's BS.

[louis-t]

9. I wish they would make the extended car warranty people stop.

5-10 recorded calls per week.

[QED]

10. I was about to post this...

We've been trying to reach you....

[whistler162]

21. For cars you haven't owned in 5 to 10 years

[smb]

11. I Get A Lot Of "Reduce Your Credit Card Interest" Scam Calls

I have an old non-refillable VISA debit card with twenty-five cents left on it that I use to troll the scammers, rambling and digressing after each group of digits until they finally get all sixteen digits. When they say it's a debit card and they need a credit card, I futz around "getting my other card out" and then slowly read the same number again. That's usually when they realize I'm jerking them around and start suggesting anatomically implausible things I should do with the card.

[Tommymac]

12. I'm still getting the Health Insurance Spam Calls Every week.

Got one today - unusual because it was a CA area code.

These use many different area codes but usually use local area codes - multiple numbers regardless. Never use the same number twice so call blocker does not work. Same guys voice and same spiel however.

The auto warranty ones are just as bad...both started in the last 2 years.

Spammers know that there is no funding for enforcement of the law...under a "Law & Order" 'president'.

[smb]

13. I Got One Of Those Car Warranty Scam Calls Once

The guy hung up on me when I told him my car was a 1975 Trabant. How rude!

[Tommymac]

14. Another one to watch out for is Utility Scams.

Had one the other day pretending to be my Electric provider...except they were the wrong company for this area.

Blind Robo calling for sales or getting contributions should be made illegal. Hire a human or use a human volunteer. There are enough folks out of work these days.

[HDCowboy]

20. Told them I had a 57 Chevy and they still wanted to sell me a warranty!

Hell I told them I had a 57 Chevy with a million miles and they were still trying to sell me a warranty!!

[cstanleytech]

15. They need to consider adding prison time for these type of people imo.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

16. Good! I feel like I got a half-billion of those during....

Medicare open enrollment last year.......

Many companies are using that fake number technique and on any day I'm feeling a little spunky, I answer one or two and play with them a bit:

* Where in town are you located? (calls having my area code), then after I get them to admit they're not in my area, I promptly tell them I would never do business with any company the deceives me by phone, or that does not put the name of their company on caller ID, and that I'm on the national and state do not call lists.

And take me off your damn list.

Just to let off steam......

[Aussie105]

17. Robocalls are cheap and easy to do with the right software.

And damn annoying!

We get these:
(All of them end with 'press 1 to talk to a consultant.')

We are going to cut off your internet.
Your Amazon/Netflix subscription payment did not go through. (Have neither)
Your bank of America details need verifying. (Not my bank)
etc
etc

Now, any recorded intro messages get sworn at and hung up on.

Overseas call centers though, not much local authorities can do about them.

[BGBD]

18. Lame!

What kind of penalty is that? $.22 a call? They'd happily pay that because I can guarantee that they profit more than that from them. They wouldn't do them if they didn't. Make this a penalty that actually makes robocalling not worth it. Make it $100 a call.

We don't need a $225 million fine, we need a $100 billion fine.

[flibbitygiblets]

19. Ever have your phone number spoofed and then indignant people call you?

Them: "You called my number?"
Me: "No, I have no idea who you are"
Them: "My caller ID says your number called me"
Me: "Welcome to the year 2020. This happens to everyone now. FYI you are adding to the problem by harassing a fellow victim of telemarketing fraud"
Them: "But your number..."
Me: "Look, if I HAD called you, would I then pick up the phone when you called back? Please Google 'caller ID spoofing' because I am working right now and don't have time to educate you."