Herakd-Tibune - Buchanan: Time to silence robocallers

Op-Ed

By Vern Buchanan

Too many Floridians continue to be harassed by the nationwide onslaught of robocalls. In fact, the Sunshine State was hit with more than 3.8 billion robocalls in 2018 alone. But these are more than just a minor inconvenience -- phone scams can defraud innocent Americans out of their life savings.

A staggering 30 to 40 percent of these calls are scams intended to prey on unsuspecting victims -- especially vulnerable seniors. Nearly one in five Americans over 65 have been victimized by fraud. This is especially concerning for me as I represent over 220,000 seniors in the nation's eighth-oldest congressional district.

In our own backyard, area code 813 received over 104 million scam robocalls in 2018 alone. Meanwhile, area code 941 received over 44 million scam robocalls.

To understand what a burgeoning problem this is quickly becoming, consider the fact that the majority of consumer complaints received by the Federal Communications Commission relate to unwanted calls, many of which maliciously hide or disguise the caller's identity and location. These illegal calls often originate from phone numbers that appear similar to those they're targeting, a tactic known as "spoofing."

But robocalls are also targeting a well-respected institution in our community: the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center.

Testifying on Capitol Hill last week, a Moffitt official stated that in a recent 90-day period, it received 6,600 external calls spoofed to appear as internal phone numbers. According to Moffitt Chief Information Security Officer Dave Summitt, robocallers have impersonated the Department of Justice and other government agencies to target doctors on the job. In one case, a scammer posed as a federal employee to trick a doctor into giving sensitive information, including his medical license number.

They haven't stopped there.

Robocallers are also using spoofed Moffitt numbers to target the center's patients and their family members for personal information. These heartless criminals are directly hurting Moffitt's mission to save lives and help cancer patients.

For this medical facility dedicated to saving lives, and for all Floridians, the status quo is unacceptable.

That's why I've cosponsored the TRACED Act (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act), bipartisan legislation to crack down on these unwanted and illegal calls. Specifically, the TRACED Act enables regulators to swiftly track down scammers and penalize them with a fine of up to $10,000 per call. It also mandates that phone companies, like Verizon and AT&T, upgrade their caller ID systems to notify customers if a call is coming from a legitimate number.

Of course, Florida is not alone in suffering from the plague of robocalls. Nationwide, robocalls increased 46 percent as nearly 48 billion were placed in the U.S. in 2018. The frustration and anger from Americans across the country is why 54 state and territory attorneys general have endorsed the TRACED Act, which was introduced in the House by Congressman David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) and in the Senate by Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.).

Congress has a real opportunity to deliver relief and silence these scammers by passing the TRACED Act and other anti-scam robocall proposals. Time to block them.

Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, represents Florida's 16th Congressional District, which includes north Sarasota County, Manatee County and part of south Hillsborough County.

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