ORLANDO, Fla. – The Federal Trade Commission is taking on illegal telemarketing calls and so-called consent farms with a joint task force involving more than 100 federal and state law enforcement partners, including the attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Operation Stop Scam Calls was announced Tuesday in Chicago as part of the FTC’s ”ongoing efforts to combat the scourge of illegal telemarketing, including robocalls.”
Todd Kossow, director of the FTC’s Midwest region office in Chicago, told News 6 major companies are using a combination of gift cards or job offers to fool people into signing consent forms to receive telemarketing calls.
“What they’re really doing is collecting information for a lead,” Kossow said. “There’s fine print where you’re entering your phone number for example that says they’re going to sell this consenting to robocalls.”
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE)]
In one example, a career offer from UPS JOBS asks for confirmation of your date of birth and phone number.
Under that information there is a statement that reads “By checking ‘I Agree’ and clicking submit I understand that I expressly consent to be called or receive text messages by our marketing partners at the landline or mobile phone number I provided.”
The FTC has already taken “180 actions targeting operations responsible for billions of calls to U.S. consumers.”
Kossow said anyone who receives a robocall should simply hang up.
The FTC offers a one-stop shop for consumers looking for information about robocalls, how to stop unwanted calls, and how to avoid phone scams – all at ftc.gov/calls and in Spanish at ftc.gov/llamadas. The FTC also has a new educational webpage at ftc.gov/RobocallScams with examples of real illegal robocalls using familiar names, as well as steps people can take to avoid robocall scams.
If you have a consumer or investment issue, email makeendsmeet@wkmg.com or text the words Make Ends Meet, along with your issue, to 407-676-7428.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: