If you're on the National Do Not Call Registry, the right to sue includes live telemarketing calls, which refer to spam phone calls involving a live person and not an automated system, according to Margot Saunders, general counsel at the National Consumer Law Center.
If you are being annoyed or harassed by robocalls and you want them to stop, you can take steps to stop them up to and including legal action. You can sue telemarketers for calling you illegally and in some cases, it is possible to bring a class action lawsuit for robocalls.
How do I report harassing telephone calls? If you don't want to file a TCPA lawsuit for civil penalties of $500 to $1,500 per call, you can instead report harassing calls or texts to the Federal Trade Commission. To report robocalls, spam texts, or do-not-call violations, visit the FTC's complaint website.
If you have received the calls and have tried all you can to make them stop, lawyers say you can take legal action. If telemarketers are constantly harassing you, attorneys say you may be entitled to hundreds of dollars. You can actually sue telemarketers if it's proven they are breaking the law by constantly calling.
Thanks to the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, robocallers can be on the hook for between $500 and $1500 for every call. If you log more calls from the same company, a bigger paycheck will come your way.
Report Phone Scams
If you've lost money to a phone scam or have information about the company or scammer who called you, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
A service called Robo Revenge, which is included in an iPhone app called DoNotPay, helps you to file a lawsuit against robocallers and trick them into revealing the source of unwanted calls. The app was created to create automatic appeals to get out of parking tickets.
How often do I have to get these calls to make it harassment? Just one unwelcome call can be harassing; but usually your local phone company will not take action unless the calls are frequent.
Telemarketers threaten to sue
For the most part, they are wrong. There is no law against talking dirty to or cussing at a telemarketer who calls you. And obviously, there is no law against wasting someone's time on the phone, unless it is a government official or emergency worker.
You can register your numbers on the national Do Not Call list at no cost by calling 1-888-382-1222 (voice) or 1-866-290-4236 (TTY). You must call from the phone number you wish to register.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich tweeted this week about the robocalls, saying, "DO NOT call back. Scammers hope you'll call back so they can pocket the cost of the expensive phone call."
Threatening to kill a telemarketer, as much as they deserve it, can be construed as transmitting a threat of violence over state lines, which means the FBI could be called in, and you would be thrown in not just any prison, but a Federal PMITA prison.
The FTC does not and cannot block calls. The Registry can't stop calls from scammers who ignore the Registry. One reason people get a lot of unwanted calls is because it's easy and cheap for scammers to call people anywhere in the world. To get fewer unwanted calls, look into blocking unwanted calls.
While each state is different, most states prohibit making prank calls to annoy or harass someone. All states make it illegal to prank call 911. Recording a prank call can constitute illegal wiretapping in many states, including in California.
Malicious caller identification, activated by Vertical service code Star codes *57, is an upcharge fee subscription service offered by telephone company providers which, when dialed immediately after a malicious call, records meta-data for police follow-up.
It's important to report phone scams to federal agencies. They can't investigate individual cases. But your report can help them collect evidence for lawsuits against scammers.
The main reason people are getting more spam calls is the sales spammers make through these calls are worth their while.
Block calls from your phone
Receive an unwanted call? Press *61 to add the last call received to your call block list. Press *80 to turn call blocking off. Press *60 to turn call blocking back on.
Blowing a whistle or swearing into the phone is not only futile in terms of deterring calls, but it also plays into the hands of scammers and robocallers. Don't say anything. Don't even answer. Just let it go to voicemail.
The law allows people to sue telemarketers for harassment. Telemarketers are subject to legal action and fines if they violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA. The act protects consumers from harassment and allows them to collect cash from telemarketers who break the law.
If you answer the call, your number is considered 'good' by the scammers, even if you don't necessarily fall for the scam. They will try again because they know someone on the other side is a potential victim of fraud. The less you answer, the fewer robocalls you will receive.
And for our Android users, we have something for you. To block calls from a "Scam Likely" number, dial #662# and then tap the phone icon like you're calling a real person and you're done. This will also work for Apple users.
YSK: If a random number calls you, says nothing, and after a few seconds hangs up, it's probably a scam number. Scam companies make sure if you're a bot or not by doing this. They pick up on background noise or a voice to make sure you are a human.