McCaskill: We have to crack down on unsolicited robocalls

(From Sen. Claire McCaskill)

If you're tired of intrusive, unsolicited robocalls, I've got a bit of good news for you.

The nation's top telecom regulator, after years of pressure, finally announced it will vote to tell phone companies that they can legally employ robocall-blocking technology - technology I've strongly encouraged companies to adopt.

In the past, telephone providers have consistently claimed they lacked legal authority to implement that technology - those excuses won't work anymore. The Federal Communications Commission will vote June 18 on a proposal to provide clarity that companies can offer these protections to consumers.

Read the Commission's full announcement, HERE.

And while this is good news for consumers, there's still more work to be done.

After leading a 2013 Senate hearing on fraudulent robocalls, I introduced legislation to combat such scams. This week, I renewed my bipartisan bill to ensure you are better protected from these robocalls and phone scams.

The legislation will better curb robocalls by boosting enforcement actions and preventing fraudsters from falsifying caller ID information. The bill would also extend existing prohibitions to fraudsters outside the United States, and adapt to changing technology, such as text messages and the Internet.

After introducing my bill, I also helped lead a hearing in the Senate Committee on Aging this week to examine "call spoofing," the practice of deliberately falsifying the telephone number or caller ID to disguise the identity of the caller for harmful purposes - an issue plaguing our nation's seniors.

We have to crack down on these fraudsters, and continue taking aggressive steps to cut out the loopholes that enable them to continue to prey on consumers. When Missouri consumers opt out of robocalls, the phone should stop ringing.