July 1, 2022

Ars Technica: FCC says it closed a loophole that many robocallers used to evade blocking

Ars Technica: FCC says it closed a loophole that many robocallers used to evade blocking. “Large voice providers were required to implement STIR/SHAKEN a year ago. But there was an exemption for carriers with 100,000 or fewer customers that would have given those smaller companies until June 30, 2023, to comply. The FCC voted in December to move that deadline up to June 30, 2022, because small phone companies were apparently carrying a disproportionately high number of illegal robocalls.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
June 18, 2022

Techdirt: New Report Offers Solutions For Our Never Ending Robocall Hell

Techdirt: New Report Offers Solutions For Our Never Ending Robocall Hell. ” Every single month U.S. residents receive an estimated 4 billion robocalls. About a billion of those are illegal, outright scammers. That’s more than 33 million illegal scam robocalls every day. As a result, 70% of Americans no longer answer the phone if it’s an unrecognized number. We’ve just ceded a major tech platform to scumbags. The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has spent years providing insights and solutions on this problem. They’ve issued a new report that’s worth a read if you’re at all curious why we’ve allowed a major communications platform to be hijacked by garbage merchants and snake oil salesmen.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
May 18, 2022

WIRED: This Hacktivist Site Lets You Prank-Call Russian Officials

WIRED: This Hacktivist Site Lets You Prank-Call Russian Officials. “Visit the site, click a button, and it will cycle through a leaked list of Russian government, military, and intelligence phone numbers to connect two random Russian officials—and allow the site’s visitor to silently listen in as those officials waste their time trying to figure out why they’re speaking to each other and who initiated the call.”

Ukraine 0
April 22, 2022

Chrome Unboxed: Next month, Google will no longer allow third-party call recording apps in the Play Store

Chrome Unboxed: Next month, Google will no longer allow third-party call recording apps in the Play Store. “Starting next month on May 11, 2022, the Google Play Store will begin killing off ‘remote’ call recording apps. Remote refers to the fact that the person on the other end of the call is unaware that you’re recording the conversation. Obviously, the implications of this are far-reaching when you consider each individual state or country’s policy regarding a one or two-person consent for recordings like this as they vary.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
April 15, 2022

Call Russia: UK volunteers phone random Russian numbers to ‘plant seed of doubt’ about Ukraine war (iNews)

iNews: Call Russia: UK volunteers phone random Russian numbers to ‘plant seed of doubt’ about Ukraine war. “These ‘phone calls to end the war’ are part of Call Russia, a volunteer network of more than 30,000 people from around 116 countries dialling into Russian homes to speak directly about war in Ukraine. It’s the brainchild of 45-year-old Paulius Senuta, the Lithuanian CEO of Not Perfect Companies who has experience working across Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
February 20, 2022

Engadget: Skype can now make 911 calls in the United States

Engadget: Skype can now make 911 calls in the United States. “Microsoft has released Skype version 8.80, and it comes with the ability to make 911 calls if you’re in the US. As first noticed by XDA Developers, the app’s release notes list its new emergency calling support in the United States for both PC and mobile. In addition to being able to dial emergency services for you, the app can also automatically detect and share your location with emergency operators.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
January 27, 2022

WWAY: NC Attorney General Josh Stein sues phone company over international scam calls

WWAY: NC Attorney General Josh Stein sues phone company over international scam calls. “Attorney General Josh Stein is suing a telephone service provider for allegedly facilitating illegal and fraudulent telemarketing calls. Stein announced today a lawsuit against Articul8 and its owner Paul K. Talbot of Texas for allegedly violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule. According to a news release, in a period of just a few months in 2020 and 2021, Articul8 routed more than 65 million calls to phone numbers in North Carolina – some North Carolinians received between 50 and 200 calls on a single day.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
January 26, 2022

Techdirt: Why U.S. Robocall Hell Seemingly Never Ends

Techdirt: Why U.S. Robocall Hell Seemingly Never Ends. “According to the YouMail Robocall Index, there were 3.6 billion U.S. robocalls placed last December, or 115 million robocalls placed every single day. That’s 4.8 million calls placed every hour. Despite the periodic grumble, it’s wholly bizarre that we’ve just come to accept the fact that essential communications platforms have been hijacked by conmen, salesmen, and debt collectors, and we’re somehow incapable of doing anything about it.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
January 14, 2022

9to5 Google: Legacy Google Voice, including answerable ‘Carrier Call Forwarding,’ shutting down next month

9to5 Google: Legacy Google Voice, including answerable ‘Carrier Call Forwarding,’ shutting down next month. “A little over three and a half years after Voice was massively redesigned, Google started telling original users that the legacy web version would stop receiving updates and encouraged them to migrate over. Legacy Google Voice is now set to be ‘phased out’ from next month.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
January 7, 2022

CNET: Robocalls fuel jump in complaints to federal regulator

CNET: Robocalls fuel jump in complaints to federal regulator. “In a biennial report to Congress published Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission said it received more than 5 million complaints about violations of rules tied to the Do Not Call Registry in fiscal year 2021, which ended Sept. 30. That’s up from about 4 million complaints received in fiscal 2020. In fiscal 2019, the agency received nearly 5.4 million complaints, according to FTC data.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
December 23, 2021

CNET: Robocalls are still out of control — and aren’t likely to stop in 2022

CNET: Robocalls are still out of control — and aren’t likely to stop in 2022. “Since a peak in March 2021 when Americans got 4.9 billion robocalls, Stir/Shaken has helped curb the number of robocalls, according to YouMail, a company specializing in blocking robocalls. In November that figure was down to 4.1 billion calls for the month, YouMail said. Still, the volume of robocalls is rising again, and Americans are getting more than they did in November 2020, when 3.8 billion robocalls set phones ringing and buzzing.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
September 19, 2021

CNBC: The FCC is trying to stop robocalls, but the scammers won’t disappear

CNBC: The FCC is trying to stop robocalls, but the scammers won’t disappear. “For decades, robocall scammers have graced phones and voicemails across the nation. Between June 2020 and 2021 these scams affected more than 59 million people who lost a combined $29.8 billion, according to phone number identification app Trucaller. Some robocallers look to sell legal products like a car warranty or new roof through illegal means, while others will steal your social security number or credit card.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
August 7, 2021

PR Newswire: Total Robocalls Decrease by 3% in the First Month of STIR/SHAKEN Release (PRESS RELEASE)

PR Newswire: Total Robocalls Decrease by 3% in the First Month of STIR/SHAKEN Release (PRESS RELEASE). “RoboKiller, the app that eliminates 99% of spam calls and text messages, reveals Americans received an estimated 5.74 billion spam calls in July 2021—a 3% decrease from June. Spam text volume also increased to 7.1 billion spam texts for July, a 5% increase from June.”

Tweaks & Updates 0

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