By the time you finish reading this sentence, roughly 2,000 more robocalls will have pinged phones across the country.
Most are the same: a buzz emits from an incoming 303, 720 or other familiar area code. Maybe it is a locked-out neighbor? A child’s classmate? But on the other end of the line is a robotic voice rattling off a list of ominous hazards. Something about the IRS, a credit score or mortgage rates. In Colorado alone, 2.4 million robocalls happen each day, according to YouMail, a software company that tracks robocalls and makes blocking software.
“I hear about it all the time, from family, friends and constituents,” Cynthia Coffman , Colorado’s attorney general, said. “People are very frustrated.”
One of the many causes of frustration is the national and state do-not-call registries only block companies that follow the law from calling listed numbers. For scammers looking to lift a credit card number or other personal info, the list isn’t a deterrent because they’re enterprises that operate outside of the law anyway.
In October, 35 state attorneys general co-signed a letter to the Federal Communications Commission requesting the commission increase its efforts to quell scam calls. Some federal legislation has been introduced and the commission has pledged to toughen its rules, but little is expected to change.
“Until the FCC takes strong action to require the phone companies to implement technology that will protect consumers from unwanted robocalls, the problem will only get worse,” said Maureen Mahoney, a policy analyst for Consumer Union, the advocacy division of Consumer Reports.
The most common scam is known as “neighbor spoofing,” according to the FCC. Scammers utilize readily available technology to spoof a number that resembles a neighbor’s. Often their goal is to glean personal information from those who pick up. By using pre-recordings and auto-dialing software they can drag a global net with only a few clicks.
The journey from scammer to scammed can wrap around the globe, according to an explainer graphic made by the Federal Trade Commission. It starts with a long list of phone numbers, either bought or guessed. From there, auto-dialing software blasts the numbers with pre-recorded messages with only a few clicks from the scammer.
One man in Miami made 93 million calls in three months in a “vacation package” scam at the end of 2016. In 2017, the FCC proposed a whopping fine of $120 million against Adrian Abramovich.
To spoof an incoming caller ID to look like a neighbor, the scammers have a variety of options. One common way is through what is called a Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP. Essentially, this allows phone calls to be made through the internet rather than a phone line or cell tower. Some VoIP providers allow a caller to configure what the incoming number will display as, according to Spoofcard, one such VoIP app that allows for call spoofing. Scammers can use this function at scale to target many different numbers in locations across the country.
The ease in which these scams can be launched from anywhere ties the hands of state officials. The Colorado Attorney General’s office partners with the FCC and other federal agencies to try and track down scammers, but there is little they can do, Coffman said.
“I do not think honestly anyone has a magic solution to stopping the calls,” she said.
Just answering the phone can expose important information, AT&T spokeswoman Suzanne Trantow said. Picking up proves there is a heartbeat at the end of the 10-digit phone number, giving it a larger and more lucrative target.
“If you answer a call and there is a delay in a response to your greeting, it is most likely generated by a robocalling system,” Trantow said.
AT&T and other telecom companies have their own call blocking software. But Mahoney wants to see requirements for all companies.
“Several phone companies have vowed to adopt this technology in 2019, but it’s important that all phone companies are required to participate for it to be effective in protecting consumers from these calls,” she said.
Not all robocalls violate the law. Political advertisements and businesses with permission from customers run automated calls to phones regularly. But calls that disguise their identity to dupe receivers are illegal.
Telemarking companies and those that engage customers over the phone legally have been significantly impacted by the explosion of illegal robocalls, Stuart Discount , CEO of the Professional Association for Customer Engagement, said. PACE is a nonprofit trade association that represents call centers, telemarketers and companies that engage customers legally through the phone.
“People do not answer the phone because they do not trust it anymore,” Discount said.
The types of calls PACE’s member organizations make could be notifications customers have consented to about prescriptions ready at a pharmacy or customer service. Without the trust that an incoming call is not a scam, legitimate businesses are hurting, Discount said.
Discount himself has received illegal robocalls trying to scam him. Technology often outpaces the law, which means the regulatory agencies seem to be one step behind.
“It is a bit like chasing the wind,” Coffman said.