FTC and Several States Combat Alleged Fraudulent Charities

According to last week's FTC press release, "The Federal Trade Commission, along with law enforcement officials and charity regulators from 70 offices in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico, announced more than 100 actions and a consumer education initiative in 'Operation Donate with Honor,' a crackdown on fraudulent charities that con consumers by falsely promising their donations will help veterans and servicemembers." Make sure you understand telemarketing rules so that you can avoid trouble like this. Learn more about charitable telemarketing laws.

TCPA Litigation Down in June

Litigation under the TCPA, FDCPA, and FCRA was down in the month of June. Overall during 2018, TCPA litigation is down almost 20% from 2017. Read more statistics in WebRecon's most recent report. Watch our short video about responding to a TCPA lawsuit. Contact a TCPA attorney if you're involved in a TCPA case.

FCC Acts to Prevent Fraud in Toll Free Texting

Last month, the FCC issued a Declaratory Ruling and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which the agency proposed new rules to prevent fraud in toll free texting. An example of the potential for fraud was provided by the FCC:

"For example, a toll free number on the back of a credit card could be text-enabled by a third party without the knowledge of the bank that subscribes to the toll free number, and fraudulent texts could then be sent to a consumer asking for sensitive account information."

Read the full press release, which includes the specifics of the proposed rules, here. Related: Is Text Marketing Legal? Learn more about text marketing laws.

Judge Rules that Ringless Voicemail Drops are Covered by the TCPA

In a first of its kind ruling, a Michigan Judge has ruled that ringless voicemail drops are "calls" under the TCPA. The case is Karen Saunders v. Dyck O’Neal, Inc. This is the first instance of a judge making a ruling regarding the legality of ringless voicemail technology, although the FCC and most states have remained silent on the issue. Read the full order here. While this decision creates no binding precedent on any other case, thankfully, other judges might at least look at it when making their own decisions. Learn more about telemarketing compliance.

South Carolina Telephone Privacy Protection Act Signed into Law

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Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Favor of Yahoo

In Dominguez v. Yahoo, the plaintiff sued Yahoo for allegedly sending him over 27,000 unsolicited text messages using an ATDS. The previous owner of Dominguez's phone number had opted in to receive the texts every time he or she received an email, which is why Dominguez continued to receive so many text messages even after the number was reassigned. However, the issue that brought forth the law suit was whether Yahoo was using an ATDS to send the messages. The court held that, "Ultimately, Dominguez cannot point to any evidence that creates a genuine dispute of fact as to whether the Email SMS Service had the present capacity to function as an autodialer by generating random or sequential telephone numbers and dialing those numbers. On the contrary, the record indicates that the Email SMS Service sent messages only to numbers that had been individually and manually inputted into its system by a user. There can be little doubt that Dominguez suffered great annoyance as a result of the unwanted text messages. But those messages were sent precisely because the prior owner of Dominguez’s telephone number had affirmatively opted to receive them, not because of random number generation." Read the full ruling here. Consider hiring a telemarketing lawyer or TCPA lawyer to help you if you find yourself in a similar situation to Yahoo. Ensure full telemarketing compliance and understand the most important telemarketing rules.

13 Senators Write Letter to FCC Urging Strong TCPA Regulation

Thirteen U.S. Senators recently wrote a letter to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai urging him to "ensure that key robocall protections under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) remain in effect." The letter also outlines the Senators' requests regarding the definition of ATDS, reassigned number protections, and revocation of consent. Read the letter here.

Independence Day Call Restrictions

Remember that telemarketing is not allowed in the following states on the 4th of July:

• Alabama 
• Louisiana 
• Mississippi 
• Rhode Island 
• Utah 

Learn more about telemarketing regulations, autodialer laws, robocall laws, and dnc regulations.

Australian Woman Allegedly Harassed by Lead Generators

It's always interesting to hear news about telemarketing regulations and issues in other countries. In Australia, a woman has allegedly been harassed by legal lead generators after she was injured and her son killed in an auto accident. The lead generators allegedly called her and said, "Have you had an accident in the past year? We can get you compensation." The woman claims that she continued to receive these calls even after telling them she already had representation for her injury claim. This practice, known as "Claim Farming," is generally banned in most Australian states. Read the full news story here. Call a telemarketing attorney today.