Washington, D.C.— U.S. Representative Tim Walberg (MI-07), along with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, Reps. Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02), Harley Rouda (CA-48), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), and Virginia Foxx (NC-05), have introduced the Ending One-Ring Scams Act of 2019 (H.R. 3264).
When consumers call back a missed call, often unaware it’s a robocall, robocallers can collect large hidden fees from cell phone carriers. These incurred fees trickle down to consumers on their cell phone bills. This bipartisan legislation empowers the Department of Justice to stop robocallers from defrauding consumers through malicious one-ring phone call scams.
“In my travels across Michigan, I constantly hear about the annoyance of unwanted robocalls. But not only are they a big nuisance, they can also scam our most vulnerable by tricking them into paying huge hidden fees on return phone calls,” said Walberg. “As we tackle this widespread problem, our bipartisan legislation takes important action to protect consumers from bad actors who perpetrate this type of robocall scheme.”
Specifically, the Ending One-Ring Scams Act of 2019 would:
- Ensure the FCC initiates a proceeding to protect called consumers from one-ring scams;
- Ensure the FCC considers how it can work with Federal and State law enforcement agencies, governments of foreign countries, voice service providers, and entities that provide call-blocking services to address the issue;
- Require the FCC to publish a report on the status of its work to Congress no later than one year after passage; and;
- Require the FCC to consult the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on education for consumers to avoid one-ring scams and incentives for voice service providers to stop one-ring scam recordings from being made.
*Text in this article courtesy of a press release from the office of US Congressman Tim Walberg*
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