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FTC Targets Massive Car Warranty Robocall Scheme
coondoggie writes "Robocalls are a scourge, and the Federal Trade Commission today took action against one outfit by asking a federal court to shut down companies that have been bombarding consumers with hundreds of millions of allegedly deceptive robocalls in an effort to sell vehicle service contracts. According to the FTC, the robocalls have prompted tens of thousands of complaints from consumers who are either on the Do Not Call Registry or asked not to be called. Five telephone numbers associated with the defendants have generated a total of 30,000 Do Not Call complaints. Consumers received the robocalls at home, work, and on their cell phones, sometimes several times in one day. Businesses, government offices and even 911 dispatchers also have been subjected to the calls, the FTC said."
Reader powerlord points out that another such company, not named in the FTC filing, raised the ire of thousands of internet-goers, who struck back by rickrolling the company's voice mail and digging up personal information on the company's president.
How about making it so all telemarketers have to register a certain caller ID that say would be (C)*insert name of company here*, then it would be trivial to block all corporate calls. Thus making it easy to have a caller ID filter to purchase to block all telemarketer calls. This would be a lot easier than the do not call list, more effective and wouldn't censor anyone.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
OK, that's great about the warranty and stuff, but what I really want to know is... what are you wearing?
Whenever I'm having a bad day I can just wait for their call and keep yelling obscenities and laughing like a twelve-year-old. In fact yesterday morning I got one and greeted with "PENIS PENIS PENIS PENIS PENIS PENIS lol."
QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
If you get one of these types of calls, just go Here: http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm and fill out the form. In a week or two you get the print copy mailed to you of your filing.
Im glad they are acting on these @holes.
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For a few months, I had the vehicle warranty scammers calling me on my PREPAID mobile phone. That's actually abated somewhat. Funny, because I don't live in the US much and I don't own a car.
Now, I think the same group is calling with health insurance. Repeatedly.
Oh, I've had a few calls from random "IT support" tell me that they're calling me about my recent computer problems.
Someone needs to nail these guys to the wall.
A newly-registered corporation with a very similar name comes along and uses the same offices/machines/employees to carry on the work...?
No sig today...
I almost miss getting telemarketing calls. It was kinda fun to have someone that you can mess with and insult in most disgusting ways without feeling the least bit bad about it.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
I've been getting calls on my cell phone and my work phone (many other people in my office have been getting calls too). Funny thing is I have a company car that is only a year old, I doubt the warranty is running out, especially since my company BUILT the car.
I actually called the number back to figure out what the scam was, the guy on the other side asked me for my auto information. I told him that since he called me up, he should already know what my information is. Then the guy hung up on me.
I hope there is a public lynching.
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
So the Do Not Call list became "Cheap list of verified numbers for people who can give you money but whose government can't arrest you."
So as the title says, please, when you find them, make an example out of them. Call them terrorists. We'll agree then look the other way!
UTF-8: There and Back Again
Holy crap, the FTC did NOTHING until more than 30,000 complaints were received. You'd think the threshold would be a hell of a lot lower. Your tax money at work- thanks assholes.
What a strange bird is the pelican, his beak can hold more than his belly can.
I always take the call. Listen politely and tell them that yes, I do want to extend my car's warranty. They ask for my VIN and I say I have to go outside to get it.
Then I put the call on hold and get back to work. They actually often call back and I take the call, telling them that I'm still looking for my registration.
Then I put the call on hold and get back to work.
You don't want to be abusive to the person making the call. I have a friend who had no other job options and worked for firms like that. Often these people are either just trying to make ends meet, or just need a mindless job so they can concentrate on college. (My friend later went on to get his PhD.)
By doing this they person making the call can't even get in trouble, you are doing exactly what they are asking you to do, and clearly that can take a 1 minute or two. But this does cost the company money.
I gave them Todd Davis' social security number a few times.
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When people feel that injustice has been done, then justice must either be provided or else the will make their own.
Saying that vigilantism is always wrong or "against the law" is no use if no other alternative is provided to those with legitimate grievance. Unfortunately our legal systems have evolved, and continue to evolve, into artifices that deny their services to the ordinary person. The courts are a closed club, open only to those with inordinate amounts of money and influence.
Faced with this growing reality, it shouldn't be surprising when people take matters into their own hands. The sad fact is that these web vigilantes didn't another more acceptable legal route because they knew full well how futile it would be. Little people often have to make their own justice nowadays.
And now they have the means to do it.
May the Maths Be with you!
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Don't delay, eternal happiness is just a dollar away.
I used to hate people like you.
I'm pretty sure that's the idea, yes.
Those calls are so much fun! When they call, I tell them that I want to renew the extended warranty on my 1974 Dodge Dart. And I don't take no for an answer. Everytime they say something about why they can't do that I reply as if they said yes. I keep asking them what the renewal fee is, and then "ok, so let's go ahead and renew the warranty on the '74 Dodge," etc. etc. Sometimes the calls go on for five or six minutes. It's exhilarating to actually get a telespammer to hang up on you!
Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
Sucks to you. But hey, you have to expect that sort of thing when you take a job you know is immoral and unethical.
for a 1963 Opel Kadett.
I told them I was planning a trip across Botswana, and I wanted to make sure the vehicle was covered.
Those bastards hung up on me.
This is why I just cancelled my land line.
Verizon has made money for years played the middle man in the arms race against invasive calls. They sell my name/number, then try to sell me *69, then sell them blocking, then try to sell me....
Nuts to them.
i misread this as a "robocop" scheme, anticipating warranties to come with the ultimatum "you have 20 seconds to comply."
Good people go to bed earlier.
But hey, you have to expect that sort of thing when you take a job you know is immoral and unethical.
What exactly makes the job immoral and unethical? I will admit that I myself have been annoyed by some in the industry who could care less about regulations, but the company I worked for did nothing to show either of these things. When I worked in QA, if I saw/heard anything even remotely questionable it was immediately reported to both my manager and the rep's supervisor. The problems rarely surfaced again after that. I really hate that people generalize an industry because of a few bad apples.
...and have to give negative reports because of their inability to do their job because of morons who couldn't simply ask to be removed.
Poor baby. How's this for a negative report: you'll just put my name on a list for the next shell company and call me back. You've earned everyone's ire.
Most of the stuff on
I'm in favor of the death penalty for making even ONE telemarketing call. Kill a few of them and maybe the others will get the message.
Yes, this is a serious proposal. Anybody else with me?
I agree immoral and unethical are not the best choice of words. Words that come to mind are despicable, ugly, vile, slimy, unworthy...
By 'few bad apples' do you mean, 'overwhelming majority'?
I also really hate that people generalize ax murderers and baby rapists because of a few bad apples.
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
The fact that you call and harass me without my consent with no valid business reason. Because you harrass me at work when I am trying to do my job, because you waste my money for calling me and making me use up cell phone minutes waiting for your stupid rep to put me on your do not call list that I'd say a good 50% of your industry ignore or try to circumvent anyway.
I don't NEED you to tell me what I want or need. If I need or want your product I will seek YOU out not the other way around if I have not contacted you before then leave me the frack alone!
In reference to my previous post if you don't understand this and choose to work in that industry then you deserve what you get.
Telemarketer: Hi, would you be interested in switching over to TMI long distance service.
Sienfeld: Gee, I can't talk right now. Why don't you give me your home number and I'll call you later.
Telemarketer: Uh, I'm sorry we're not allowed to do that.
Sienfeld: Oh, I guess you don't want people calling you at home.
Telemarketer: No.
Sienfeld: Well now you know how I feel.
Every aspect of it that involves bothering vast numbers of people on their private time in their private space using services that they pay for and normally use for family conversations, work and emergencies.
Or the general attitude the industry shows towards the worth of time of the people they pester, such as by using machines to call five people and hang up on four of them so that telemarketers don't have to waste their time waiting for people to answer.
Did anyone notice that this didn't become an issue for the FCC until a senator bitched?
Apparently he (?) got quite a few of these calls at home too, and alerted someone at the FCC about it. It wasn't until then that FCC took action.
-David
The phone company should care, but does not. They get paid per usage and they simply do not care what the usage is.
All the circuits are theirs - they know who every single line belongs to. They sure don't miss a beat when it's time to send out the bills, do they? This number made these calls, and here's your bill. They have this information in their database - it's necessary for billing. They're great at that part, aren't they?
But they'll turn a blind eye when someone dials out from 111-222-3333 claiming to be 333-222-1111. No problems there sir, just so long as you pay your bill. Fucking jerks.
The only reason someone would spoof their caller id is if they are up to no good. These fucking robodialers do exactly that because they know they're annoying people. They know it, or they'd be more up front about what they're doing. Listening to that smarmy asshole at Auto One trying to justify his business practices is disgusting. If you're so on the up-and-up, Mr. Tabb, then quit spoofing your outbound number, you jackass.
And the phone company is their direct accomplice.
Not difficult at all to have their system screen out spoofed calls:
if(outbound_number!=customer_number)
{
disconnect_line();
play(busy_tone);
}
There you go, I won't even charge a consulting fee.
Now go do it, phone companies.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
MOD PARENT UP!
First sensible comment. The state and federal governments have been doing NOTHING, for YEARS, about this scam. When I tried to report the scam, someone in the Oregon state government just laughed, happily telling me that the attorney general's office had gotten many, many complaints.
During the years of the Bush administration, the government became extremely disfunctional, in my opinion.
The post you are responding to never accused you of cold calling.
You need to understand that warm calling is so close to indistinguishable from cold calling that nobody really cares about the difference except for people like you who need a way to rationalize their actions and thus think it makes all the difference in the world.
Just look online for all the people bitching about Omaha Steaks - you buy one thing from them and they are all over you. Someone sends you a gift through them and if the sender was stupid enough to give them your phone number, they are all over you too.
Still don't believe me? Just consider how miserable your life would be if every single merchant you've ever done business with started warm-calling you. Repeatedly. You would have no time left for your own life.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
I have often thought that someone needs to make a gizmo that you could install on your phone line that would automatically answer all incoming calls and say "Press *random number* to complete this call." If the random number is not pressed within ten seconds, or the wrong number is pressed, then the recipient's phones would never be allowed to ring.
That should defeat robocalls.
If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
Ive actually rickrolled those guys calling about the warrenty thing (as well as making several complaints to the FCC about them). I would hit 1 to speak to someone when they called, and placed the phone next to a speaker with "never going to give you up" playing. (and those of you who say i should just tell them to remove me, i did, many times and they would just hang up on me and not remove me) Anyway i hope the government throws the book at them, or places them in stocks and let the public throw books at them.
All misspellings and grammatical errors in the above post are intentional and part of my artistic expression.
think of the baby axes?!?
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
I was getting way to many calls on my cell number. Rather than be frustrated, I downloaded the out of service tone and have it cued to quick playlist. When I get unrecognized calls now, I play the standard disconnect message. This has been way more effective than asking to be on the do not call list.
Play with them.
If it is a fully automated call, don't hang up - just put down the phone and let the machine keep talking as long as it wants to. It costs them to call me not the other way around.
If it is a real person, or it is one of those automated calls where you can get to a real person by pressing a button, play interested for a few seconds ("what a coincidence, I've my contract is up for renewal soon and I think I'm paying too much!") then ask if they mind you putting the phone down for a few seconds while you go take a pan off the boil in the kitchen. Then put the phone down and go off to do something else. Come back later and check your phone log to see how long the caller sat waiting for you at their cost. My record for this is 11-and-a-bit minutes.
Or for more interactive fun and games, try play them at their own game: http://www.xs4all.nl/~egbg/counterscript.html
I've actually been getting less nuisance calls since starting to play with them these ways, though that is probably just coincidence rather than causation.
At my former company we got fed ANI *automatic number identification* which is a whole heap load different than what caller id is.
We could not be spoofed, it just doesn't happen.
No all caller id services are created equal. The fact that your local provider is more likely playing with it versus "evil long distance company". I guarantee that AT&T or whomever had it nationally past it on to the local. The local filtered it. What your getting as a spoof is probably some trick which passes through just to hit cid devices.
Put it this way, the service we needed was to ID the exact place an employee called in from; this was to log them in at work on site for rent-a-cop stuff. We had all sorts of attempts to defraud the system. Caller id blocking didn't stop us - in fact that is a local only function and a joke. Think of it as a way to separate a fool from his money, kind of like what caller id you pay for is. We had people use business lines, cell, conference out of state, you name it they tried it
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