'I'm Calling About Your Auto Warranty': FCC Says No More, Orders Spam Block

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Bloomberg

The Federal Communications Commission has ordered phone companies to stop carrying traffic related to robocalls about scam auto warranties.US voice service providers must now “take all necessary steps to avoid carrying this robocall traffic,” or provide a report outlining how they’re mitigating the traffic, the FCC’s Robocall Response Team said in a statement on Thursday. The calls are coming from Roy Cox, Jr., Aaron Michael Jones and related companies and associates.“Consumers are out of patience and I’m right there with them,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in the statement.

The group appears to be responsible for making more than 8 billion unlawful prerecorded calls to Americans since at least 2018, per the FCC statement. The operation is also the target of an ongoing investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau and a lawsuit by the Ohio Attorney General. Auto warranty renewal calls were the top robocall complaint filed with the FCC by consumers in 2021. The number of complaints filed with the FCC about auto warranty scams rose from close to 7,600 in 2020 to more than 12,000 in 2021, the agency said.

The calls often include specific information about your particular car and warranty that can make the call seem more legitimate, according to the FCC.Other top categories for robocalls were Social Security number phishing scams, credit and credit card scams, fake insurance and healthcare, and phony lawsuit or criminal charges, the FCC said.Americans received over 4.3 billion robocalls in June, marking an 8.5% increase from May, according to a tally by YouMail Inc., a developer of software that blocks the calls. Because May has one more day than June, robocalls were actually up 13.4% on a daily basis.

The FCC in recent years has told carriers to adopt a system to digitally validate phone calls passing through the complex web of networks that carry phone calls. The agency also has made it clear that providers may block calls. And in May, the agency adopted new rules to stop illegal robocalls that originate outside the US from entering American phone networks.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-21/spam-auto-warranty-robocalls-blocked-by-fcc-in-latest-order

---

This is long overdue. Heard this on the radio this afternoon. I have noticed the past month that the calls have dropped off on my providers. It was to the point where they were leaving voice messages on my cells and land lines.

[blm]

1. That's re-election-worthy action.

[smb]

12. Indeed

Anybody who brought out that gallows from 1/6 and publicly hanged a few junk call scammers from it would be able to get elected to whatever office they liked for the next twenty years.

[MiniMe]

2. I just don't answer the phone unless I know who is calling

I figure if it is a legitimate call, they can leave a message and I will either pick up or call them back. It has happened rarely that it is a legitimate call, but let me emphasize rarely.

[CaptainTruth]

6. +1

[tavernier]

7. Exactly.

My phone is on silence all the time. It’s usually next to me or in my pocket so I can feel it vibrating. I pick up no phone calls unless there is a name that I recognize. And if I don’t recognize it and it’s something important, I assume they’ve left a message.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. I don't answer those either but then I don't want their crappy bullshit messages

filling up my voice mail either.

Thanks to DU, years ago I got a "Digitone" call blocker and got the newer model a few years ago. That thing has been a lifessaver because for some idiotic reason, I get GOP bullshit calls from both their RNSC and RNCC and I just block their area code and exchanges and poof they all go.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

38. We used...

Nomorobo. "no more robo. " The phone would ring once then stop. If anything got thru, you could report the number to them to add to their database.

[BumRushDaShow]

39. With the Digitone

the phone rings once (on any phones sharing the same line except the one it is attached to where it will be silent) and then after 8 seconds, hangs up on the caller. It lets you store thousands of individual numbers and/or block area codes and/or whole exchanges within area codes plus already has built-in blocking of "out of area" and "anonymous" caller IDs.

I know when the initial robocall law came out (that I believe established that national "Do Not Call" list), there were telemarketer call time restrictions implemented (i.e., they couldn't call after 9 pm local time). One of the things before that was implemented that made me livid looking for some kind of blocker was when someone from Verizon had called me at 9:30 at night selling Caller ID (I didn't have it back at the time - I think this was the late '90s) and I not only went on and got it so I could confirm who was calling, but it later prompted me to eventually get an early model call blocker (I think it was called the "Telezapper" ) and then later a Digitone.

During this time, I had considered Nomorobo but I know that is a subscription service (I think some of the cell companies even offered a trial of it when a new or transfer customer signed with that provider) and I figured that the Digitone was a one-time cost where I could have more granular control - at least on my landline.

[2naSalit]

3. It's one of the reasons...

That I never set up my voicemail. Anyone who knows me knows to text if they need to leave a message. If the number isn't in my contacts file or I don't know the number calling, I won't answer.

[CaptainTruth]

8. I'm considering doing exactly that. My VM fills up with spam calls, & I've just let it fill up.

[multigraincracker]

15. Last week I got 3 spoofing text from "Amazon".

Your account has been put on hold until you fix it, click here. I just type in FU and then block them. Getting crap on WhatsApp too.

[2naSalit]

21. I always block them.

But I don't have any extra apps running on my phone, I even turned off the camera. My phone does text and phone calls, no web browsing. I have everything else possible turned off. I have a laptop for that stuff and I don't let my phone and laptop talk to each other either.

It limits the vulnerabilities.

[AllaN01Bear]

4. y not all the nonsense ?

[IronLionZion]

5. They have no idea what car I have, my name, where I live, etc.

They don't know how old my car is. That ship has sailed long ago.

[dalton99a]

9. Kick

[oneshooter]

10. I get calls about my 2013 F150

They hang up when I tell them it has 240,000 miles on it.

[ProfessorGAC]

30. I Routinely Get Calls Stating...

Last edited Thu Jul 21, 2022, 07:41 PM - Edit history (1)

...my extended warranty is expiring.
I never had an extended warranty.

[LyndaG]

55. Crooks!!!

My aunt gets these calls - And,she doesn't even drive!!!

[SheltieLover]

11. Kicking for visibility

[central scrutinizer]

14. When I still had a land line,

I’d answer and say, “please hang on a sec, I’ve got something on the stove” put the receiver down, return to what I was doing, then hang up after a few minutes when the phone made that annoying buzzing noise. Wasting their time was the only way I could hassle them.

[Quanto Magnus]

20. It's worse now....

there's no one on the other end who's time you can waste.

It's just a recording....

Hi, the is Dave (or Mike, or John). Your car's warrantee..... blah blah blah...


I've most l've mostly gotten the 'Dave' calls.

Unfortunately, I cannot typically ignore calls, due to what I do....

[usonian]

16. I never even answer a number I don't recognize, or without caller-id.

In my experience,
Spammers never leave voicemail.
Anyone with real business to discuss will leave a message.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. These "warranty" calls are robo-calls and completely automated with pre-recorded pitches

They will leave messages on the answering machine or as voice mail and THAT is the problem. They have done so on my cell phones until I suppose Sprint/T-Mobile finally got their acts together and started filtering them out (although every once in a while, one would come through). Same with Verizon (to a degree) on my landline where they will put up a caller ID pre-pended with " Spam? " but as soon as the answering machine engages, the recorded pitch starts. And since they are spoofing numbers, I can't even block them all properly with my call blocker unit.

And they are very much "spammers".

[bucolic_frolic]

17. There's 22 variations and I'm so tired of them

ALL of these calls should be stopped. I don't see how they ever got any business.

[Rebl2]

18. Wish they would

do that with the we want to buy your house calls. So annoying 😖. We also get post cards saying same thing-got one today.

[txwhitedove]

24. YES! I got 3 of those calls today, even though I'm on Nat'l Do Not Call list.

[Rebl2]

33. Same here

but they get through anyway.

[Novara]

19. Good. Now do that with the mail

I just threw away an "official notice" sent to my mother's name at my address (I bought this house after Mom died; she never lived here) for the brand new car I just bought (in my name, obviously) and is obviously covered under every amazing new car warranty under the sun. It said my warranty is about to run out OMGBBQ!!!!!111!!! DISASTER. I've had the car three weeks.

Jeebus.

[Lonestarblue]

23. I get plenty of the auto warranty calls. Today I got a text about my locked Citizen's account.

I don’t even have an account at Citizens Bank! Lots of phishing in text messages these days.

[ificandream]

25. Glad someone is doing something about this.

I've gotten soooooo many of these.

[SunSeeker]

26. They always call on different phone numbers, to avoid blocks put on prior numbers they used.

Fucking annoying as hell.

[yardwork]

27. Good.

[Evolve Dammit]

28. It's been 2-3 years. Home phone, work phone

[patphil]

29. My car is a 2007, with 245,000 miles on it...they don't call me.

It's a Honda, still runs great.

[BumRushDaShow]

31. Most of them are robocalls

and play the same or similar recorded messages - whether you have a car or not. They find a block numbers using their scammer computer software, and then start spoof-dialing every number in that block, whether "live" or not.

The telcos can see the call sources but many of them refuse to block them because they know they are spoofed (although that means they need to block anyone spoofing and some are doing it legitimately).

[iluvtennis]

32. Bravo! Although I got the calls, I never answered them cause of you're not on my contact list, I

don't answer. And with voicemail - you just delete the annoying messages.

I sure hope no one was duped by these vultures.

[NullTuples]

34. Just wait for the loopholes...

"Hi, My name is Craig and seeing as this is an election year, I'm calling on behalf of your local Police and Fire agencies. Did you know that your automotive warranty could expire, leaving you on the hook for expensive repairs?"

[Orrex]

35. They'll sue all the way to the SCOTUS

And Trump's extremist activist Christofascist tribunal will come down squarely in favor of the spammers, as the founders intended of course.

[BumRushDaShow]

36. "I'm calling on behalf of your local Police and Fire agencies

The "police and fire fund-raising" is already its own scam. Don't even need to attach the "auto warranty" to it.

[The Jungle 1]

37. What I used to tell them..

I am sorry to inform you but your mother is dead.
I am selling dildos and I do free sizing.
Wanna fuck.
Could I have your home number and address.
You are a crook. Why are you a crook.
America hates you. Go away.
Can I have your SS number.
I have a bunch more.

[twodogsbarking]

40. Let us not forget that your pay-pal account has been hacked.

Call 1-800-DUMBASS right now.

[niyad]

41. wow. such lightning response time. Those calls have been going on for years.

I actually answer once in a while, just to mess with them. "There must be some mistake. My Lamborghini is under factory warranty." or, "But I haven't had a car since my third DUI."

[niyad]

42. My current favourites are the endless text messages I am getting about my

packages and the information they need for delivery. But I have not ordered anything.

[Aussie105]

44. It's a new approach.

Must be working, because it is becoming quite popular.

[ShazzieB]

49. Oh, God, those things!

I haven't gotten one in a while, but I used to get them in clumps.

Still, I'd rather get spam texts than spam calls. At least I don't have to listen to the damned phone ring!

[Aussie105]

43. Robocalls I hang up on.

A real live person gets a different treatment.
I listen to their introductory spiel, then answer in a foreign language. German, Russian, whatever.
You only need to say a few words like 'Do you speak German?' (in German of course), and they hang up.

Sometimes I get calls pretending to be from my internet provider.
My response? 'I'm so glad you rang, my internet has been down for days, please send someone to fix it!'
Works every time, they hang up.

Worried about my Amazon account, and Bank of America account though. I didn't know I had those! /sarcasm

[Hotler]

45. They're not doing this because us little people are tired of it. Not untill it happens to them

does shit get done. YEAH, AND HOW ABOUT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THE GOD DAMN LOUD COMMERCIALS ON TV & CABLE. Fuckers.

[BumRushDaShow]

46. "YEAH, AND HOW ABOUT DOING SOYEAH,AND HOW ABOUT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THE GOD DAMN LOUD COMMERCIALS"

A law went into effect in 2011 -

S.2847 - CALM Act

Public Law No: 111-311 (12/15/2010)


[111th Congress Public Law 311]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]



[[Page 124 STAT. 3294]]

Public Law 111-311
111th Congress

An Act



To regulate the volume of audio on commercials.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Commercial Advertisement Loudness
Mitigation Act'' or the ``CALM Act''.

(snip)

https://www.fcc.gov/media/policy/loud-commercials

Of course they managed to find some loopholes and nowadays you have more streaming for programming vs traditional OTA/cable broadcasts, so a new updated version was just introduced a few months ago -

S.4173 - CALM Modernization Act of 2022

Introduced in Senate (05/10/2022)


117th CONGRESS
2d Session

S. 4173

To amend the CALM Act to include video streaming services, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 10, 2022

Mr. Whitehouse (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To amend the CALM Act to include video streaming services, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the “Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Modernization Act of 2022” or the “CALM Modernization Act of 2022”.

(snip)

[Hotler]

47. Thank you. Still not working here. nt

[BumRushDaShow]

48. They gotta get the updated bill passed

Not sure when/if that will happen but at least a draft was created for some future Committee action.

[DENVERPOPS]

51. Years ago

When Colorado had a Republican, Pro Business Governor and his Republican Pro Business Attorney General the citizens of Colorado were screaming about all the telemarketers calling all hours of the day and evenings. Neither of these assholes allowed bills to come thru that did away with telemarketing. So we had a referendum? as I remember where signatures were if enough signatures were submitted, it had to appear on the fall election ballot. It passed with a Landslide. It had severe penalties. Someone had to tell the company once that they were on the do not call list, the second time that company called, the person called the State, reported the information, the state checked out the phone records and if they found it to be correct, the state fined the company 999.00 bucks and sent that amount to the person that reported them.

The AG was so pissed off that a legitimate business may get penalized, he declared that he citizens of Colorado were hindering business with that law and there was nothing he could do about the law, but he could do a budget that did not include anyone to enforce the law.

Before the law, I would get 20-30 telemarketing calls a day, then the law passed and It dropped to Zero. He announced that he wouldn't budget any money for the enforcement, and within a week, I went back to receiving 20-30 calls a day.

I am getting old, and my memory is not so great anymore, but I do think this is mostly correct.....

The beginning of Corporate Fascism started long ago, dating back to Reagan's admin............We are a millimeter away from a 100% Corporate Fascist Tyranny at this point.

[Hotler]

52. I remember that also.

[whistler162]

50. Dang..... I can't get quotes for my

1926 Rickenbacker Super8 or my 1976 AMC Pacer

[BradAllison]

53. Trump will run giving you the freedom back

...to get those calls....

[TexasBushwhacker]

54. Until I gave it to my niece in 2020, I was still getting calls

about the warranty on my 2006 Scion - LOL.

Just wait until you turn 65. Then the Robocalls are about changing your Medicare plan and "final expenses" life insurance.

[purr-rat beauty]

56. Good - was getting old

Our home number was spoofed for robocalls for a couple weeks and people kept calling us and leaving msgs on our answering machine. Spectrum had ZERO ideas on how to help us...worthless, hopefully they'll get the hint now.