26.3 billion robocalls made in US last year 46 percent more than 2017

A newly released report compiled by Hiya, an app that monitors spam calls found that 26.3 billion robocalls were made to US phone numbers last year. This is a 46 percent rise from the 18 billion made in 2017.

The average person received 10 spam calls a month. The top area codes targeted were from Texas, with 214 Dallas, 817 Forth Worth, and 210 San Antonio at the top of the list.

Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Though the data is alarming, the FTC Commission on the Do-Not-Call registry, reported a decrease in filed complaints in 2018. During the period from October 2017 to September 2018 the registry received about 5.7 million complaints, with 3.8 being robocalls and another 1.9 million live callers. In 2017 there were 7.1 million complaints with 4.5 being robocalls.

Even though the total number of complaints went down the percentage of robocalls increased from about 63 percent of the total to 66 percent. The most common robocalls dealt with debt reduction, medical prescriptions, and impostors.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) claims it had more than 52,000 complaints about caller ID spoofing in 2016 alone. Wikipedia describes called ID spoofing as follows: "Caller ID spoofing is the practice of causing the telephone network to indicate to the receiver of a call that the originator of the call is a station other than the true originating station. For example, a caller ID display might display a phone number different from that of the telephone from which the call was placed. The term is commonly used to describe situations in which the motivation is considered malicious by the originator."

The Do-Not-Call registry has not helped stop robocalls

The Verge reports: "While the Do Not Call Registry was established in 2003, the volume of calls has still grown significantly in recent years. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed to The Verge last year that it’s fielding an average of around 500,000 complaints a month over robocalls. The problem has led to some consumers filing lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) if they receive calls when they’re listed on the Do Not Call Registry."

Attempts to solve problem

There has been some pressure on the US federal government to solve the problem. However both the FTC and the FCC had been affected by the partial government shutdown. However, a Senate bill has been introduced that could hit robocallers with a $10,000 fine for every robocall. In November 2018 Ajit Pai, FCC chair called on carriers to adopt the SHAKEN/STIR protocol which functions as a type of caller identification. T-Mobile has been the first US carrier to implement the protocol. On mobile phones users will see a "caller verified" notice in supported phones.

Previously published in DIgital Journal