FTC Fines Four Operations Responsible For Billions of Illegal Robocalls (cnet.com)

Four companies that made billions of illegal robocalls have been caught and fined. From a report: The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday said the agency reached settlements with four operations responsible for billions of illegal robocalls pitching debt-relief services, home security systems, fake charities, auto warranties and Google search results services. The companies were charged with violating the FTC Act, as well as the agency's Telemarketing Sales Rule and its Do Not Call provisions.

"We have brought dozens of cases targeting illegal robocalls, and fighting unwanted calls remains one of our highest priorities," said Andrew Smith, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC, in a release. "We also have great advice on call-blocking services and how to reduce unwanted calls at [our website.]" The settlements come as the agency focuses on combating illegal robocalls. The four companies, NetDotSolutions, Higher Goals Marketing, Veterans of America and Pointbreak Media, are banned by court orders from robocalling and most telemarketing activities, according to the FTC's release. Further reading: FTC Tells ISPs To Disclose Exactly What Information They Collect On Users and What It's For.

Comments

Re:TC Fines Four Operations Responsible...

[EndlessNameless]

According to the article, it varied from $500k-$3m.

Depending on the size of the company, that could range from a slap on the wrist to bankruptcy.

Maybe we need to report fines in relation to gross revenue or net operating income...

Telcos

[edi_guy]

It's been said before, but worth reiterating. The operations that were 'fined', likely run out of a condo suite, will fold without paying the fine, and then re-emerge down the block under a different name and do the same thing over again.

The growing telemarketing problem can be solved by simply holding the telcos responsible. Anything else is theatrics meant to distract the public from the fact that the telcos make money through this arrangement, and have successfully bought their way into Washington and the regulators there.

Re:Fines

[DickBreath]

That is why burning robo callers alive, and slowly should be left to a government outside the US.

My favorite is Small Penalties by Alastair Mayer.

The helicopter cruised over the tundra at five hundred feet. In the passenger compartment, Agent Steve Grant gazed out the window. His prisoner, Samuel "Spam Lord" Walford, sat manacled to the aluminum seat frame across from him. The pilot's warning sounded in his headset.

"Ten more minutes!" Grant relayed to Walford, shouting over the noise of the chopper.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment!"

"Come on, Walford, your lawyers tried that. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence. You're getting off easy. Five days in exile and you're a free man." Grant shouted to be heard; it took the sarcastic edge off his voice.

"Yeah, if I survive. It's not fair. I didn't hurt anyone, just sent a few emails."

"You were convicted of almost thirty million separate counts of sending unsolicited commercial email. That was for just one day. That's not 'a few'."

"James Atkins sent a hundred million a day. So did Koralev. I didn't do so much."

"Koralev got fined thirty seven million dollars . . . under the old laws. Thirty million is just what your prosecutors went with." Grant looked out the window. The ground below was green with new spring growth, scattered with shallow pools of snowmelt. He turned back to the Spam Lord. "If I had a nickel for every thousand spams you sent during your 'career', I'd be a millionaire. Oh wait, you do and you are. Or were. That's billions of emails."

"Email never hurt anybody. Don't want it? Just delete it. Two seconds."

"You stole their time. You stole everyone's time. Two seconds per spam email? That's a lifetime per billion emails. How many lifetimes did you destroy? It's like murder."

"So you're going to leave me to die."

"No single thing out there will kill you. You can hike out in three or four days at a good pace. Plenty of daylight this time of year."

"What about polar bears?"

"The coast is two hundred miles away. They don't come this far inland."

"There's wolves."

"There's a paintball gun in your pack"

"Paintball! What the hell? How about a real gun?"

"Not for a criminal. The pellets are skunk juice. Hit a wolf and, between the sting and the smell, it'll back off."

"Huh. What about bug repellent?"

"A few bugs never hurt anybody. Just brush them off. Two seconds." Grant grinned, showing teeth to make it a snarl. Walford glared at him.

For a few minutes they just watched the terrain out the window, feeling the vibration of the helicopter. Grant broke the silence. "What makes it worse is that spam is so stupid. Like my wife needs twenty emails a day for penis enlargement."

Walford sneered. "Married to you? Maybe she does."

Grant forced down a surge of anger. He'd been transferring prisoners for too long to let insults get to him. There were more subtle responses than physical violence. "You're kind of lucky. The peak of mosquito season has about passed. Their bite is like a hypodermic stick."

Walford's sneer faded. "But that's passed?"

"Only the peak, there are still plenty around. Plenty of black flies too. They bite a chunk out of your skin, but they inject you with an anesthetic first so you don't notice it." Walford seemed to relax a bit. "You're shitting me, right?"

"Nope. Ask anyone who's been up here." Grant paused, then grinned his feral grin. "There's more. That anesthetic is a nerve poison. It wears off, but if you get a few hundred bites in an hour, you'll feel it. You'll get confused, disoriented. Maybe want to puke. If you keep getting bitten, well. . . ."

"But that's a lot of bites, right? I mean, how many black flies can there be up here?"

Grant leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Le