Buchanan works to crack down on illegal robocalls

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan recently cosponsored a bill that would protect consumers by implementing stricter penalties for scammers who make illegal robocalls.

“Too many Floridians continue to be harassed by the nationwide onslaught of illegal robocalls,” Sen. Buchanan said on April 19. “These are more than just a minor inconvenience – phone scams can defraud innocent Americans out of their life savings – especially vulnerable seniors.”

Sen. Buchanan has signed on as a cosponsor of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, or the TRACED Act, H.R. 2015, legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) and cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY).

The bill would help regulators identify scammers and penalize them with a fine up to $10,000 per call. It also would require phone companies to adopt call authentication technology that would upgrade caller ID systems to help customers verify if a call is coming from a legitimate phone number.

The Federal Communications Commission has been flooded by consumer complaints of unwanted robocalls, many of which disguise the caller’s identity and location. The calls often are disguised as being from a trusted phone number, an act known as “spoofing.”

Robocalls have increased significantly in recent years, with nearly 48 billion calls placed in the United States in 2018, Rep. Buchanan’s office said. In Florida’s 16th congressional district, which Rep. Buchanan represents, area code 813 received more than 104 million scam robocalls in 2018.

“Nearly one in five Americans over 65 have been victimized by fraud,” Sen. Buchanan said. “Congress has a real opportunity to address this serious issue by passing this bill.”