There’s hope in the fight to stop annoying robocalls plaguing millions of consumers like you. Two bills have been advancing in Congress and are headed for the House floor. The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (or TRACED) Act and Stopping Bad Robocalls Act are both advancing to the House floor.
- The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (or TRACED) Act would, among other things, require phone companies to adopt technology to stop “spoofed” robocalls (when scammers use your area code or prefix to try to trick you into thinking somebody local is calling). It would impose stiffer fines of as much as $10,000 per call on robocallers who knowingly flout the rules. In May, the TRACED Act passed the U.S. Senate 97-1.
- The Stopping Bad Robocalls Act is similar to the TRACED Act adopts key elements of the TRACED Act, and consumer advocates say it goes even further. Among other things, it would require the Federal Communications Commission to implement effective call-authentication technology among phone carriers to help stop “spoofed” calls and help make sure call-blocking programs are free to customers. According to Consumer Reports, under the legislation, the FCC also would have to create a database that robocallers could check to avoid calling a number that has been reassigned to another consumer. This bill unanimously passed out of a key House committee.
CUB encourages you to take action and tell the U.S. House to pass strong, anti-robocall legislation. In the meantime, you can get your free copy of CUB’s 2019 Guide to Fighting Robocalls here for tips to reduce these calls and avoid phone scams.
