Following Recent Flood of Robocalls That Woke Up Thousands of Upstate NY'ers in the Dead of Night, Schumer Urges House to Pass Robocall Legislation to Protect Southern Tier Identities Wallets and Curb Robocalls

Statement

Standing at the Corning Senior Citizens Center, and in the wake of costly telephone-based scams rearing their ugly heads across Upstate New York for the past months, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the House of Representatives to pass comprehensive robocall legislation as soon as possible. This push comes on the heels of recent Senate action on the TRACED Act, which was introduced by U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and John Thune (R-SD) and cosponsored by Schumer. The TRACED Act, which passed the Senate by a 97 -1 vote, would give federal agencies newfound tools and authority to trace, prosecute and enforce fines against robocall scammers, as well as establish new requirements related to call authentication technology that could filter out robocalls before they reach the phones of unsuspecting New Yorkers. According to Schumer, despite federal "Do Not Call' rules, robocalls and unwanted spam calls are getting worse by the day in New York, with a staggering 284.4 million reported in May of this year alone. Schumer explained that the Senate passed robocall legislation in May and called on the House of Representatives to follow suit.

"Robocalls--at all hours of the day and night--and "spoofing' scams annoy and rip-off countless Southern Tier residents. The TRACED Act, passed by the Senate in May, would finally arm federal agencies with new tools and authority to trace, prosecute, and enforce fines against robocall scammers. It would also set new call authentication requirements designed to filter out robocalls--especially the ones abroad--before they reach the phones of unsuspecting victims in the region. These are the sort of policies we need to stop robocalls dead in their tracks," said Senator Schumer. "It's a plague that we've got to cure--whether it's the landline or cell phone, no one should be woken up in the dead of night by multiple robocalls. Fortunately, the TRACED Act is just the sort of antidote we need, which is why I am calling on the House to follow the Senate's lead, and use this landmark legislation as a blueprint to pass their own comprehensive robocall legislation."

Schumer says, despite federal "Do Not Call' rules, robocalls and unwanted spam calls are getting worse by the day in Steuben County, with a staggering 7.1 million reported in June of this year alone in the 607 area code.

Americans received 4.9 billion robocalls this March -- a new record total for the number of calls made in one month. Earlier this year, YouMail reported that 47.7 billion robocalls were made in the U.S. in 2018, a 57 percent increase over the number of calls made the year prior. Additional data shows that in April of this year, New Yorkers received 290.3 million robocalls, which averaged over 112 calls per second and 11 calls per New Yorker. Locally, Southern Tier residents have been inundated with robocalls this year, receiving more than 44.9 million in the first six months of this year. In May, residents received over 7.3 million calls; in April, residents received over 7.93 million calls; in March, residents received over 7.95 million calls; in February, residents received over 7 million calls; and in January, residents received over 7.56 million calls.

Schumer said the federal government must do everything possible to make sure robocalls stop increasing year after year. Despite federal "Do Not Call' rules, scammers have developed more creative ways to go around the system, meaning, hundreds of thousands of individuals continue to receive unwanted spam calls. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), unwanted and illegal robocalls are the FTC's number-one complaint category, with more than 3.7 million complaints filed in 2018.

To hang up on these deceitful robocalls, Schumer will be calling on his colleagues in the House of Representatives to expediently vote on and pass comprehensive robocall stanching legislation similar to the TRACED Act. As a blueprint for the House, the TRACED Act would work to combat robocalls by:

Giving the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to fine robocall scheme perpetrators $10,000 per call made.
Increasing the timeframe under which the FCC could find and prosecute robocall schemes from one to three years after a call is placed.
Requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ), FCC, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Commerce (DOC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and other agencies and state officials to issue recommendations to Congress on how to further bolster methods to combat robocalls.
Requiring telecommunications companies to implement effective call authentication technology, which could help stop robocalls before they reach the phones of unsuspecting victims.

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