Agent Fined $82,000,000 for Wrong Marketing

Yes, you read the headline correctly. This agent is facing a proposed $82 MILLION fine from the FCC for the sole reason that he was using a fake Caller ID on his robocalling ventures. See the video: See the ABC News story on this: Local news hounding the agent, busted for fake Caller ID: The FCC Hearing and the Finding: The robocalls, themselves, will be fined separately. So let's look at this issue, the Caller ID, and how a simple change in his marketing could have potentially avoided this hefty fine. First, the information here is just my opinion. While I worked in the law before, interpreting as to when to enforce it and trying to understand the intent of the law, I do not propose to be giving you legal advice at all and you should verify any and all marketing methods with a competent attorney. That out of the way, reading the report and charges from the FCC, the following is clear to me and shows what drew their wrath. A former employee "whistleblower" attributed to him the absolute worst of intentions, saying that he was intentionally trying to target the ignorant/stupid poor people. He was using unassigned telephone numbers as his Caller ID and had no right to those telephone numbers. It's #2 that I take strong issue with. When it is so darn easy to legally obtain the right to use a telephone number for the purpose of marketing, why not do so? You can use any number of services, some free, some paid, to obtain a new telephone number that is YOURS for the purpose of marketing. You could have 500,000 unique telephone numbers if you want to. As long as you are not using someone else's number, you are not violating this act, in my ever-so-humble opinion. They went into great detail saying that he was using these unassigned telephone numbers to hide his identity and avoid being reported as fraudulent. If the number you are using is yours, it's yours. With some of these services, you can even have the option of having the return/incoming calls go to voicemail with a message about what your missed call was in reference to, leaving them an opportunity to leave a message, if you so desire. Now, I am only addressing the Caller ID spoofing charge, as that is specifically what drew them to this action and is the sole reason for the $82MILLION finding against him. The Robocalling has already, clearly been illegal for years now. So if you are doing legitimate telemarketing, using Filipino callers at $3 per hour, or doing it yourself, you also much choose which Caller ID you are using. My recommendation is to simply have a legitimate right to the number you choose. You can still choose a number in any area code want WHEN you create that new phone number. There is no regulation saying that when you get a new number, it must be in any specific area code, just make sure that number is assigned to you. Some services where you can legitimately obtain and use a new phone number for your business: Google Voice Skype IN NumberBarn TracFone (buy a cheap cell phone and activate) Vumber (Paid per minute) Telos (Free Android App, Add up to 4 Lines Free) (Free Android App, Add up to 4 Lines Free) 2nd Line (Free Android App) Bottom line - do not use a Caller ID number that you have absolutely no right to. Hope this is of benefit to you. Chris Westfall

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