Robocalls are illegal, abusive and dangerous and are infringing on the everyday lives of people across West Tennessee. To shut down these scammers for good, I introduced the TRACED Act.
Robocalls are automated telephone calls that deliver a recorded message, typically on behalf of a political party or telemarketing company. Last year alone, 48 billion robocalls were placed in the U.S. In 2017, 3.7% of total calls were robocalls, in 2018 robocalls made up 29.2% – and that number is projected to reach 44.6% this year in 2019. It is no wonder the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said robocalls are among the top consumer complaints they receive.
Not only are they frustrating, but it is becoming financially dangerous for many people, especially elderly people, to even answer their telephone. Last year alone, consumers reported losing $55 million to these despicable scams. That is unacceptable.
Recently, I heard from an elderly woman who was tricked by one of these scammers into believing that her granddaughter was kidnapped. After paying the scammer a sum of money in order to get her granddaughter back, she learned her granddaughter was never actually kidnapped, but was safe at home.
Robocalls are far more than an annoying inconvenience. They are targeted threats to the general public designed to manipulate our most vulnerable individuals.
To fix this universal issue, I introduced The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act.
The TRACED Act is bipartisan legislation that would broaden the authority of the FCC to charge these scammers up to $10,000 per call and initiate a rulemaking to protect the public from receiving unwanted calls or texts.
My bill would also bring together agencies at the local, state, and federal level to identify and report to Congress on improving deterrence and criminal prosecution at the federal and state level.
These agencies would include the Department of Justice, FCC, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Commerce, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Currently, only the FCC has jurisdiction over this vast issue.
These robocalls are infringing on our everyday lives, and it was long past due that Congress step up on behalf of the American people and put an end to these annoying and dangerous scams.
On behalf of West Tennessee, I am eager to take the lead in the Congress on this important issue and shut these scammers down for good.
DAVID FRANK KUSTOFF is the member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee’s 8th congressional district. Contact him via his website.
