STATE NEWS — You’re at home relaxing after a long day at work when your phone rings. The number looks local and says it’s coming from Fayetteville, so you answer. On the other end drones a chipper voice offering you a free cruise … or maybe they are offering a free knee brace. Either way, you’re likely one of thousands of Tennesseans that receive robocalls every day.
In fact, the state of Tennessee ranks 18th in the country for the highest number of robocalls, according to a recent study. According to YouMail’s Robocall Index, folks in area code 931 received an average of 15.3 robocalls per day in the month of July. That’s one illegal robocall for every 4.6 seconds. In 2018, over 100,000 Tennesseans filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Recently, the state got more serious about stopping unwanted and illegal robocalls when they joined the FTC’s Operation Call it Quits. Operation Call it Quits includes four new cases and three new settlements from the FTC alone. Collectively, the defendants in these cases were responsible for making more than a billion illegal robocalls to consumers nationwide. As of this article, the number of cases brought against robocallers had reached 145.
Additionally, Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III continues to work with companies to develop technology-based solutions that block robocalls and combat ID spoofing.
“In Tennessee we are serious about ending illegal robocalls and spoofing,” said Attorney General Slatery. “While this office continues to work toward a solution, we also want Tennesseans to know how to protect themselves from scams often associated with these types of frequent, unsolicited calls.”
Officials with the FTC say that the best way to combat robocalls is to register your number with the National Do Not Call Registry. You must be on the Registry for 31 days before you can report unwanted calls. Additionally, officials recommend that you do not answer numbers you don’t recognize and immediately hang up on any call that is a pre-recorded message.
Charities, political organizations, debt collectors, and telephone surveyors are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry. To learn more, click here. •
{The Lynchburg Times is Moore County’s only independently owned and operated newspaper. We cover local news as well as regional news from Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, and Lincoln counties. We also cover things of interest to the 300,000 folks who come to visit our small town each year. You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.}