Sep 26, 2019 3 min read

Updates to do-not-call law welcome

Easton Express Times

Sept. 25

Consensus isn’t exactly what Pennsylvania state government is known for. But clearly the public’s annoyance with solicitation and scam phone calls, including those dreaded “robocalls,” prompted an exception.

The state Senate voted 49-0 on Monday to update Pennsylvania’s do-not-call law to provide additional consumer protections. When the state House took up that legislation in February, the vote was 174-0. The bill now goes to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature.

Changes in the legislation include:

. Allowing people to list their numbers on the state’s Do Not Call Registry permanently. Previously, residents had to reregister their numbers every five years.

. Banning telemarketing calls on legal holidays.

. Requiring auto-dialers, the source of robocalls, to give recipients an “opt-out” option at the beginning of the call.

. Allow businesses to register on the do-not-call list the same as residents.

The annoyance that comes with unwanted interruptions is the overriding complaint about phone solicitation and robocalls. But those calls are also widely used in the service of scams and deception aimed at bilking the unsuspecting.

The statistics involved indicate clearly how big the nuisance is. And how difficult it is to regulate it effectively.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network, citing the YouMail Robocall Index, found that more than 1.6 billion robocalls were placed in Pennsylvania in 2018, more than double the number from 2016. The AARP reports that more than half of Pennsylvania adults it surveyed said they receive seven or more robocalls a week.

Federal data shows that Pennsylvanians filed 239,133 complaints about robocalls in 2018. Only five other states had more.

Those complaints reflect that a lot of the people behind the calls are up to no good. A SocialCatfish.com study, using federal data, found that more than 43 percent of robocalls nationally involved scams.

The AARP warned this summer that robocallers are increasingly using “spoofing” technology to make it falsely appear that a call was generated locally. The point is to fool wary recipients into picking up.

The changes approved by the state Legislature are welcome. Certainly a one-and-done signup for the Do Not Call Registry makes sense. People can always remove their numbers from the list later if they wish.

The state reforms will only go so far though, officials cautioned. Many robocalls come from foreign countries and are largely beyond the reach of our laws, and scammers don’t follow the rules.

The best recourse for residents remains common sense. Never give out financial or other personal information over the phone. And remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

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