June 10, 2015
Deputy Attorney General Joe Dandurand testifies before U.S. Senate on efforts to stop unwanted telemarketing calls to Missourians
Jefferson City, Mo. – Deputy Attorney General Joe Dandurand testified today in Washington, D.C., before the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Senator Claire McCaskill is the ranking member of the bipartisan Senate panel. Dandurand discussed Missouri’s role leading national efforts to fight unwanted phone calls, many of which are scams targeting the elderly. Out of 57,000 complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Office in 2014, more than 52,000 were about unwanted phone calls.
Dandurand used his testimony to call on the major phone carriers to give access to call-blocking technologies to their customers. He noted that the carriers have resisted making call-blocking technology available, claiming the current law does not allow phone companies to decide which calls can be blocked.
Last September, Attorney General Koster and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller led 37 other Attorneys General in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to explicitly allow the phone companies to utilize call-blocking technologies that would protect their customers from unwanted calls. The FCC Chairman submitted such a proposal late last month to the commission, and a vote of the Commission is scheduled for June 18.
“We must continue to research and employ newer technologies to help in our efforts to keep up with the illegal robocallers,” Dandurand told the Senate. “Once the major telephone carriers are on board, we can truly make a difference in the lives of consumers by giving them the power to stop illegal telemarketing phone calls at their inception. We urge the Commission to pass the proposal.”
Dandurand said the Attorney General’s Office continues to take action in the courts to force telemarketers to comply with Missouri’s No Call law. In 2014, the office obtained more than $600,000 in judgments penalizing telemarketers for illegal conduct. The office also obtained court orders permanently prohibiting 28 telemarketers from every placing another call in the state of Missouri.
“This is a battle, however, which must be fought on many fronts,” Dandurand said. “We need the help of private industry, including the telephone service providers, to create solutions to permanently stop unwanted telemarketing calls.”
