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Senator Schumer Wants Phone Carriers To Help Block Robocalls

Schumer
WAMC composite photo by Dave Lucas

New York U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is calling on phone carriers to make robocall blocking technology available to landline and cellphone customers.

Schumer says blocking technology can send an automated telemarketing call to a spam box, much like email spam-blockers do.

He says the technology is needed because despite federal "Do Not Call" rules, hundreds of thousands of people continue to receive unwanted telemarketing calls.

The Consumers Union says there were 305,000 complaints about Do Not Call violations in September 2014.

In addition to annoying calls from mortgage companies and credit card firms, robocalls can subject phone customers to scams. Schumer noted the recent robocall tax scam that told victims they owed money to the IRS.

Time Warner Cable has announced it will provide its phone customers with access to a robocall-blocking service.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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