Finally Our Congress is Doing Something About Spoofing Calls

This is on Cspan today about spoofing and unwanted calls. Hopefully they can finally do something about it : http://www.c-span.org/video/?326507-1/hearing-unwanted-telephone-calls-scams&live

Hope they do something.. It is a pain over the past years. I just had a friend whose number got spoofed and he was forced to change his number he ha for 30 years!!

This will not stop the robocalls or spoofing. This isn't going to change the overseas call centers.
If passed, it will only prevent law biding citizens such as myself from using spoof tech which I use AGAINST scammers.

Saying it and doing it is another thing entirely, I hope they can (will) do something about it. I find It stupid to have your own number call you, I don't answer mind you, but it is still flat out derpy seeing that or how about the classics "123-456-7890" or "1"  :P

Like how the DNC list might (and that is stretching it) stop legitimate companies, but do they think someone that is already a scammer of the peoples money is going to follow a "please don't call me list"?



But JoeHova's spoofs sounds fun to do to the scammers, So I condone it.

I am not going to get my hopes up.

posted that funny video clip CAN make it happen. If they are so clever, the world is their oyster (dont get me hungry now). he he

www.endrobocalls.org -- Consumer Reports and related groups. Very witty site. Like the scene where our heroine is surrounded by burning and fragmented robots. I am still not certain about whether to join up with the affiliated organizations. However, I have signed up with the petition under this site. (I lived on a modest income, and cannot readily donate to every cause, no matter how worthy.)

~ Central NY ~
  Nice one, JoeHova!  I love using technology against these low-life scammers!  You are right about the Overseas crooks, but there are a LOT of these TeleMarketer Call Centers (TMCC) right here in the states. THEY are the ones we Can have an impact on.  I wonder; What would happen if we forwarded all the TMCC calls WE get to our Congressman and Senators, and our state legislators offices?  Most telephone services offer Call Forwarding to their customers.  Do you think our elected officials might re-think their do-nothing stand on these calls?  Might they remove the loop-holes from the 'laws' they enacted that allow these calls?  How about we include the Communications Companies who haven't done anything constructive to prevent US, their paying customers, from being exposed to this harassment using THEIR  OWN equipment?  Do these big Communications Companies  really expect us to believe that they don't have the smarts to figure out how to prevent this crap on their own equipment?  Maybe there should be a shakeup in their R&D dept.'s . The hackers know more about the equipment and technology than the ones who run these bloated companies.
  On the other hand maybe these TeleCom Co.'s are making so much money $$$$ from these TMCC's that they won't ever kill their Golden Geese.  We are getting shafted from them TWICE!   Once when We pay our bill, and once again when we get harassed by these preventable calls.  Their computers can track any of our calls, from wherever, to wherever.  They can block calls from any place they want.  If THEY are getting these calls directed to them From us, They can find out REALLY quick who to shut down.  When THEY get 2,000 (or more) calls forwarded to them an hour about one #, or group of #'s, They can shut them off in a flash.  All we can do is block them, or let our 'puters handle these unwanted calls, ... IF we might have a 'puter, and happen to have the program and knowlege of how to use it for this.
  The overseas calls from TMCC's  coming into our TeleCom system is another situation all together.  That's something our illustrious Federal gov't. is SUPPOSED to protect us all from.  Protecting our citizens from Foreign threats is something our gov't is responsible for.  When our elderly population, in particular but not exclusively, comes under attack from these off-shore low-lifes, That's a time for our Federal people to take protective action.  Our country is being scammed and no one is doing anything substantially productive to prevent it!  If this was REALLY being taken seriously, the problem would have been eliminated many, many YEARS ago!
  It's getting to be the same old status quo, ... WE have a problem, WE have to take care of it, by ourselves, ... as usual.  Those who Are in power, and CAN actually help are either out on the golf course or on their yacht, or are in a bar getting $hit-faced, or are off screwing their secretary some place, and they're probably doing all this with OUR $$$$.
  Can you say, "B. O. H. I. C. A. ! " ?  ..... (Bend Over, Here It Comes Again! )
Keep up the good fight!

I have my hopes high in this matter. Why? You can always count on people's self interest. Collins has hopes for governorship after Gov LePage retires. She is likely to do something popular so to speak in between. Tried with the 40 hr week .... and now this.

As long as politicians are using "political servery robocalls" the companies who provide automated calling will have an excuse to exist.....MAKE IT KNOWN THAT YOU WILL NOT VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO USES ROBOCALLS! Take it to the politicians who use this tech. (wanna bet if a bill is passed against spoofing there would be a loophole for political surveys? The political robocalls use spoofing because they are not keen on angry constituents calling back with politically incorrect answers to questions never asked!) Publicly shame the robocalling politicians. Blast their email with complaints.Let's hit the nail on the head folks...lets go after the companies who host the robocalls instead of the companies who use them. Let's go after the politicians who allow said companies to exist because they think it will lead to votes. Let's make it a point to prove them wrong!

Thank you for posting the link to the Senate hearing on senior phone scams. Most enlightening meeting on the areas we all are eager to see changes in. I unfortunately learned all about spam call, spoofing and robo calling like many other Americans who are plagued with these call and like those who visit this site.  It is nice to know some of our leaders are addressing this issue and I will personally follow up in writing, with those who spoke on this subject today.  I know it is a big problem to fix but I do hope Senator Claire McCaskill's bill will make it through the senate and onto the floor of congress. Thanks again for the link !

Yep that is a good idea to personally write directly to Claire McCaskill to follow up with your name and email address and I'm sure she will be receptive to your good faith effort to reach out.

Please clarify "it" and "this". The news items concern a committee hearing, not a floor vote.

There was a bill with a working title introduced the same day, S.1540, which is meant to ease the job of law enforcement regarding fraudulent sales calls. Its text hasn't been released yet. I would suppose it will be close to McCaskill's prior bill in December, S.3010. It does want providers of spoof services to control abuse. Explain how this will hamstring legitimate uses for spoofs, if that's your concern.

S.1540 - A bill to improve the enforcement of prohibitions on robocalls, including fraudulent robocalls
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1540

S.3010 - Robocall Enforcement Improvements Act of 2014
https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/3010

Predatory phone calls are the new "Independence Day". There needs to be a public relations campaign to educate people about these very real, very intrusive monsters!

I have an Allow List and block everything else.  If I'm expecting a call from a scheduled contractor, for example, I turn it off.  The Block List will still be active.