I thought it might be a great idea to share the name of a new organization established to specifically fight robocalls and protect scam victims’ rights. It is called Fraud Victim Rights Organization.
I am NOT affiliated with this organization in any way, but it seems to be a promising concept. It is led by Eric Priezkalns who is a world-known expert on robocalls and telecom compliance. Eric is the Editor of Commsrisk - another reputable resource that I would recommend.
Here is the organization’s website: Home - FVRO (fraudvictimrights.org)
While it is newly established, there is quite a bit of helpful and interesting information there! They are currently seeking volunteers for a variety of exciting projects. There is more info on their page in that regard.
@Tillianne @OfclyGoodenough @MajorLeeAwesome @Jhawk @Hviezdoslav @drwat @MehNamesJeff - perhaps, it may be of interest to you.
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I’ve sent a message to them and hopefully will receive a response back!
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I’m glad more people are joining this fight! It’s about time!
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Thanks! So did I. Eric Priezkalns previously mentioned in one of his Commsrisk’s articles seeing a certain trend with some US VOIP wholesalers leading the charts on robocalls. Among other names, Telnyx, InfoBip (owner of Peerless) and Sinch (Onvoy) were specifically mentioned. I cannot agree more with it. There is most definitely a trend with those lovely VOIP carriers.
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Agreed! The nice part about this website is that it has a ton of valuable information. I’ve learned a few things about robotexts from it, for example. Hopefully, as it grows and attracts some attention, they can share some findings with government officials and investigators. It appears to me that there is a major disconnect between what scambaiters like us are seeing and what the authorities are seeing. While some of it may likely be attributed to government corruption, I truly believe that most of it stems from lack of knowledge and poor diligence of several key regulatory bodies. It’s like some of them are stuck in the 90s in terms of their knowledge of technology.
For example, the entire problem of fraudulent robocalls can be at least partially mitigated by the following:
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Criminal liability for VOIP leadership that turns a blind eye to illegal robocalls made by its “clientele”. Silly billion-dollar fines are mostly uneforced, as most egregious violators are little VOIP people from some Dirkadirkistan who end up claiming “poverty” and won’t even pay $10K in fines. Even local US VOIP carriers are frequently not paying any fines due to said “poverty”.
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Prohibit any foreign entity from operating VOIP carriers or using US telephone numbers. I asked every single known VOIP violator: “What business do these people have calling me or any other American person from India, Pakistan or the Philippines? Why is that even made possible when there is no logical need for it?” NO response has been provided to this question, so far.
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Forbid ALL spoofing and force VOIP carriers to make it impossible technologically for people placing calls. Currently, FCC rules prohibit anyone from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongly obtain anything of value. This is a loophole, as robocallers frequently state that they are a “legitimate business placing sales/solicitation calls” and some of them indeed are used by legitimate, yet unethical US companies.
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Modify privacy laws that will allow carriers to disclose the names of their business clients without the subpoena in the event of fraud or illegal telemarketing. It would make it easier to sue them privately, as many of their clients have offices in the US. Currently, we end up being “stuck” often due to attorneys refusing to work with a private client, unless the latter knows exactly what US company robocalled him or her and has all info related to them. At the same time, VOIP carriers won’t disclose the names of their clients robocalling citing existing privacy laws and demand subpoena for such disclosure. But one can’t get the subpoena, unless they already have a lawsuit and attorney. Catch 22!
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Make it possible for private citizens to sue VOIP carriers directly, if maliciously negligence could be proven in the court of law. Currently, it is nearly impossible.
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Can we report info to them now?
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Yes, I think it will be a good idea, as we are seeing a very negative trend with select few VOIP carriers. The more of us reach out to this organization, the higher the chances that they may publish something about the issue. We can’t be the only people seeing a major issue here!
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I know The Beekeeper wasn’t really accurate as far as scams go, but I honestly hope it brings more awareness! Hopefully helping victims, and companies like this do good.
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Agreed! Raising awareness is very important. I also like that Eric states in one of the articles published that the origin of most scams and illegal telemarketing is widely known. It is primarily India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Mexico. That data alone is extremely valuable! The more regular American people are aware of it, the more likely they’re to put pressure on politicians and regulators to hold these nations accountable. With the right political will, some of these nations could have been pushed to the utmost extreme diplomatically and economically. They themselves would then hold scammers accountable, but the US, EU, UK and ANZAC just need to put the right amount of pressure on them. Can’t be shy with India or the Philippines; it’s a zero-sum game with them!
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