{"id":5956,"date":"2019-07-24T10:45:43","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T17:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.consumercellular.com\/blog\/?p=5956"},"modified":"2023-01-11T13:54:36","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T21:54:36","slug":"new-federal-guidelines-take-aim-at-phone-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumercellular.com\/blog\/new-federal-guidelines-take-aim-at-phone-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Guidelines Take Aim at Telephone Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s already been a busy and productive summer in the ongoing battle against robocalling and telephone scams. On May 23, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (\u201cTRACED\u201d) Act by a 97-1 vote. <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/senate-bill\/151\" target=\"_blank\">The legislation<\/a> grants the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stepped-up enforcement power to levy heavy penalties, including significant fines, against violators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, on June 6 the FCC voted unanimously to grant telecommunications companies the authority to proactively identify and block robocallers. The agency will hold a summit with carriers in July to identify a framework for implementing these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/call-authentication\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">new guidelines<\/a>, and has committed to pursuing \u201caggressive enforcement action\u201d against robocallers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This federal intervention should provide welcome relief to\nconsumers, coming as it does amidst estimates that nuisance calls will grow\nfrom 29 percent of all phone calls in 2018 to as much as 45 percent of all\ncalls this year. And new types of scams continue to pop-up with alarming\nregularity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the new tricks: \u201cneighbor spoofing,\u201d in\nwhich fraudsters alter their phone number to look like a legitimate call from\nnearby, and the \u201cone ring&#8221; scam,&nbsp;which\ninvolves robocallers hanging up after one ring, hoping to trick the victim into\ncalling back. Variations of this scam rely\non phony voice-mail messages urging you to call a number with an unfamiliar\narea code to schedule a delivery, resolve a bogus legal issue, or notify you\nabout a sick relative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the latest government\naction offers powerful remedies to deter bad actors, there are steps you can also\ntake to protect yourself. Here are a few simple tips to help thwart the\nscammers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Familiarize yourself with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/how-block-unwanted-calls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">call blocking options<\/a> for your cellphone. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don&#8217;t answer or return any calls from numbers you don&#8217;t recognize.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>List your phone number on the&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.donotcall.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">National Do Not Call Registry<\/a>. While this will not prevent unscrupulous callers from contacting you, it can help to limit the number you receive. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If your number is on the registry and you receive unwanted calls,&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/complaints.donotcall.gov\/complaint\/complaintcheck.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">report them<\/a>. This can help expose and catch callers who are engaging in fraud.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s already been a busy and productive summer in the ongoing battle against robocalling and telephone scams. On May 23, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (\u201cTRACED\u201d) Act by a 97-1 vote. The legislation grants the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stepped-up enforcement power to levy heavy penalties, including [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>NEW FEDERAL GUIDELINES TAKE AIM AT PHONE SCAMS<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about the new legislation that is meant to target robocalls and other phone scams today! We also offer a few actions you can take to prevent these types of calls.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.consumercellular.com\/blog\/new-federal-guidelines-take-aim-at-phone-scams\/\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susan Thomas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NEW FEDERAL GUIDELINES TAKE AIM AT PHONE SCAMS","description":"Learn about the new legislation that is meant to target robocalls and other phone scams today! 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