See the video in the link below. This is another case of robocalls, specifically automated debt collection calls, gaining significant national attention:
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/robocalls-cell-phone-money-24768246
We all know that these calls are a big issue for consumers on their land lines. The robocallers, whether they are selling a product, harassing their victim, trying a scam, or attempting to get information (vishing), have traditionally targeted landlines because they have lists of numbers and because the targets can be especially vulnerable (elderly consumers).
However, we are all getting some of these calls on our cell phones. This is in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
This document, while old, is a must read. Now it is also illegal to make robocalls to normal land lines, but I predict that robocalls to cell/smart phones will get more attention and make it likely that the victims will complain. As covered in the video, attorneys have started to notice and I predict will work to make their share off of this issue, which is only getting worse and more common. Now attorneys will only be able to go after “legitimate” robocallers. They will have equal challenges as law enforcement going after illicit robocallers or those outside the country, but there are a lot of attorneys, and between them, law enforcement, the FTC/FCC, we may see a growing civil and law enforcement response to the robocalling issue.
This will also be a boon for companies building smart phone applications to block these calls.
While this is going on, the robocallers are also increasing their call volume into businesses and enterprises. Land lines are slowly going away and the target base is getting saturated. It may be too risky to hammer away at consumers precious cell/smart phones (heaven forbid a call comes in in the middle of composing an Instagram or Snapchat message), so the logical next target will be businesses and enterprises.
