Table of contents:
* 1 - Class-action lawsuit against Publix seeks $5M for robocalls -
Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
* 2 - Listen to IRS imposter scam robocall that threatens a lawsuit
- Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
* 3 - The Internet of Things that Talk About You Behind Your Back -
Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
* 4 - Time Warner Cable Targets Robocalls with New Offering - Neal
McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
* 5 - Rules and Resources for Dealing with Unwanted Calls and Texts
- Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
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Message-ID: <n7cbes$4gt$1@dont-email.me>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 21:58:09 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
Subject: Class-action lawsuit against Publix seeks $5M for robocalls
Class-action lawsuit against Publix seeks $5M for robocalls made to
customers' cellphone
Associate Press
A Class-action lawsuit filed for more than $5 million against Publix
Super Markets Inc. claims the supermarket chain made robocalls to
customers' cellphones without their consent.
The Lakeland Ledger reports that the lawsuit was filed Thursday in
federal court in Tampa.
It alleges Publix's pharmacy made robocalls to customers to tell them
their prescriptions were ready for pickup.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
------------------------------
Message-ID: <n7can3$9rp$1@dont-email.me>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 21:45:27 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
Subject: Listen to IRS imposter scam robocall that threatens a
lawsuit
The Internal Revenue Service imposter scam is making the rounds. Palm
Beach County residents are among those all over the country receiving
robocalls from someone claiming the IRS is about to file a lawsuit
against them.
The caller asks for the victim to call back. The call-back numbers vary.
Don't fall for this scam. Just hang up! The calls are from criminals
wanting to put charges on victims' credit cards and elicit personal
information from them.
http://protectingyourpocket.blog.palmbeachpost.com
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
------------------------------
Message-ID: <n7ca7g$3hd$1@dont-email.me>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 21:37:08 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
Subject: The Internet of Things that Talk About You Behind Your Back
SilverPush is an Indian startup that's trying to figure out all the
different computing devices you own. It embeds inaudible sounds into the
webpages you read and the television commercials you watch. Software
secretly embedded in your computers, tablets, and smartphones picks up
the signals, and then uses cookies to transmit that information back to
SilverPush. The result is that the company can track you across your
different devices. It can correlate the television commercials you watch
with the web searches you make. It can link the things you do on your
tablet with the things you do on your work computer.
Your computerized things are talking about you behind your back, and for
the most part you can't stop them -- or even learn what they're saying.
This isn't new, but it's getting worse.
https://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram/archives/2016/0115.html
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
------------------------------
Message-ID: <b07095d7-55ac-49d1-b512-c11037ee3791@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2016 12:39:19 -0800 (PST)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
Subject: Time Warner Cable Targets Robocalls with New Offering
By Andrew Berg, CED, 01/14/2016
The company Thursday announced a new online sign-up process for Nomorobo, a
third-party call-blocking application. TWC says it has integrated the feature
into its home phone management Website, VoiceZone.
"With robocalls being the largest category of complaints at the Federal
Communications Commission, we want to do everything we can to empower our
customers to take control over the calls that come into their home," said Jeff
Lindsay, GVP and general manager of TWC Home Phone. "Nomorobo, along with
several other privacy features we offer, provides our customers peace of mind
in knowing that illegal telemarketing and robocalls calls won't get through."
http://www.cedmagazine.com
-or-
http://tinyurl.com/hj9m2dj
Neal McLain
***** Moderator's Note *****
The article goes on to say:
Nomorobo automatically blocks phone calls from many telemarketers
and robocallers. The service takes advantage of TWC's "Answer
Anywhere" technology, a feature that allows incoming calls to be
routed to up to five different telephone lines. The call rings in
the home and simultaneously at Nomorobo's servers. If the number is
on a so-called "blacklist," the call will end after one ring.
... which leads me to believe that the service is assuming that calls
are all being made with the same caller id. That won't work:
robocallers have been using "lookalike" CID for years, with calls
marked as coming from lines in the same exchange as the called number.
As with spam prevention, multiple technical fixes have been proposed:
there is, sad to say, no FUSRP - no Final, Ultimate Solution to the
Robocall Problem.
The only way to combat robocalls is to make them unprofitable: follow
the money and penalize the profiteers. The problem with doing that
is simple: there's no legal basis for doing it. The robocall law is
written to sound tough, but to be toothless – requiring aggrieved
parties to seek civil remedies against powerful, deep-pocket
corporations.
Those of us on the receiving end of these calls have a problem: our
elected representatives won't offend any campaign contributor, any
corporate executives, anyone more powerful than the workaday folks who
call on them to act. Their only "action" has been to direct the FTC -
one of the most toothless agencies in the government - to make
inquiries and publish papers and appear to be on the job.
We can disredard any claims that these calls are coming from overseas
or from anonymous sources or are untraceable: that is, and always has
been, a smoke screen. It doens't mater where from or how the calls are
arriving: what matters is where the money is going to, and if
there's one thing that governments are good at, it's keeping tabs on
money changing hands, especially via electronic means like credit
cards.
It's an election year, with ⅓ of our senators and all of our
congressmen working their phone lists and making lots of robocalls to
keep their phony-baloney jobs. If you want to stop robocalls, send
them a handwritten letter — email doesn't count, and typewritten
letters aren't considered either — and tell them that you're fed up
with their shell games. THAT is how to stop robocalls.
Bill Horne
Moderator
------------------------------
Message-ID: <n7c7l9$srn$1@dont-email.me>
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 20:53:18 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
Subject: Rules and Resources for Dealing with Unwanted Calls and
Texts
The Federal Communications Commission plays a crucial role in helping
consumers stop unwanted calls and text messages. Under the Telephone
Consumer Protection Act, the FCC provides clarity on the law, sets
rules, takes enforcement actions, and provides resources for consumers.
Know Your Rights: The Rules on Robocalls and Robotexts
https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
------------------------------
*********************************************
End of telecom Digest Sat, 16 Jan 2016
