Did You Get a Robocall from the 315? The Feds Are Stepping In
Has this happened to you? Your phone rings, and the caller ID says the call is coming from the 315 area code - so you answer - and it's a telemarketer. Well, now the Feds are stepping in.
When a telemarketer uses a fake number to call you, it's called "spoofing."
The Federal Communications Commission has unanimously passed legislation making it illegal "foreign callers to spoof a U.S. number, with the hope it will prompt phone companies to block more calls and texts and give law enforcement new tools to go after scammers," according to CBS News.
The next step is for phone companies to block the numbers before the "spoof" calls can be made. The FCC has told phone companies they have until the end of the year to step up.
Central New Yorkers have experienced a spate of prank calls lately, one in which it appeared as though your own number is calling you, and another where middle-of-the-night calls appeared to be coming from Mauritania.
The FCC says robocalls are they number one complaint they get from consumers, and the calls aren't slowing down: in June, there were 1.8 BILLION calls made by scammers.