How it works:
http://onthespotblog.com/on-the-spot-blog-stirs-up-rachel-at-cardholder-services/ ...
http://onthespotblog.com/tag/cardholder-services/
We need CRIMINAL penalties against the companies that are profiting from these calls. Follow the money, slap them in jail, no one left to outsource to overseas boiler rooms, problem solved.
Since they are operating across borders it should become a federal felony and should be handled by the FBI under the RICO Act.
These calls are coming from call centers in Costa Rica and India and they are using spoofed (false) numbers, which in itself is illegal. They do cold calling for or sell the leads to numerous companies in this country and they know that what they are doing is illegal. Tomorrow this same number may be selling Cruises, Timeshares or Security Systems but if you follow the money it usually ends up in the hands of an American LLC. Keep complaining to the FTC and FCC, and start bugging our politicians to pass laws to make it punishable in criminal court instead of handing out fines that they don't pay. Another course of action is to contact phone companies to find out why they won't block spoofed numbers. With today's technology that should be an easy thing to do, unless they are somehow profiting from the use of their systems.
Robocalls are illegal unless you have given them prior permission in writing (not worded into some small print contract from a 3rd party) and are absolutely illegal to a cell phone. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act permits individuals who have received certain unlawful telemarketing, such as junk faxes or telemarketing calls, to sue the violator in state courts where they may be awarded up to $1500 for each violation.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/robocalls/
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/07/robocall.shtm
http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/policy/TCPA-Rules.pdf
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/donotcall/mediacenter.html
People should continually file complaints with their Attorney Generals office and also file with:
http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
If enough people keep complaining then maybe something will get done.
The FTC has already taken action against some of them however they just pay a small fine and are back at the same scam the next day:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/afl_financial.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/02/voiceblaze.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/12/roycox.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/03/voicetouch.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/12/robocall.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/09/twi.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/02/robocall.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/05/robocalls2.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/12/jpm.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/asiapacific.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/donotcall/mediacenter.html
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/03/asiapacific.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/08/voicetouch.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/11/sonkei.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/05/ams.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/01/khalilian.shtm
I will say it again, we need CRIMINAL penalties against the companies that are profiting from these calls. Follow the money, slap them in jail, no one left to outsource to overseas boiler rooms, problem solved. Since they are operating across borders it should become a federal felony and should be handled by the FBI under the RICO Act.
