An investigator set out to discover the source of one robocall. Turns out, his target made them by the millions. Follow along as we reprint one part of this investigation each day, "Serial"-style.
Today we’re sharing Part 6 - the finale. To catch up on Parts 1 - 5:
Part 1: https://www.paronichlaw.com/news-1/2020/7/28/an-investigator-set-out-to-discover-the-source-of-one-robocall-turns-out-his-target-made-them-by-the-millions-follow-along-as-we-reprint-one-part-of-this-investigation-each-day-serial-style
Part 2: https://www.paronichlaw.com/news-1/2020/7/29/6893buduw5t8oig6zw20tt1r4f4urj
Part 3: https://www.paronichlaw.com/news-1/2020/7/30/an-investigator-set-out-to-discover-the-source-of-one-robocall-turns-out-his-target-made-them-by-the-millions-follow-along-as-we-reprint-one-part-of-this-investigation-each-day-serial-style
Part 4: https://www.paronichlaw.com/news-1/2020/7/31/an-investigator-set-out-to-discover-the-source-of-one-robocall-turns-out-his-target-made-them-by-the-millions-follow-along-as-we-reprint-one-part-of-this-investigation-each-day-serial-style
Part 5: https://www.paronichlaw.com/news-1/2020/8/1/an-investigator-set-out-to-discover-the-source-of-one-robocall-turns-out-his-target-made-them-by-the-millions-follow-along-as-we-reprint-one-part-of-this-investigation-each-day-serial-style
03.25.2019 06:00 AM
On the Trail of the Robocall King
An investigator set out to discover the source of one scammy robocall. Turns out, his target made them by the millions.
PART SIX
EVEN WITH ABRAMOVICH out of the game, the number of robocalls continues to explode. Many calls are from big companies doing what’s allowed (like dunning their customers), and some are from big companies doing what’s not (Dish Network was ordered to pay $280 million in 2017 for making calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Registry). And the netherworld of scammers keeps growing. Shady new kingpins are always popping up, eager to make their fortune. The FCC acknowledges that it is fighting a losing battle. By the end of this year, according to First Orion, a maker of caller ID and call-blocking software, nearly half of all telephone traffic in the US will be spam calls. “Going after a single bad actor is like emptying the ocean with a teaspoon,” one FCC commissioner wrote in her opinion commending the fine against Abramovich. “And right now we’re all wet.”
More than three years on, Garvin is still tracking robocalls. His methods now include fake credit card numbers, burner email addresses, even tricks for inducing a call center operator to text him from a personal number. He still trawls the TripAdvisor forums for complaints. Sometimes the work relates to an ongoing investigation for TripAdvisor; more often, it’s just to scratch his own itch.
One of the jobs that Garvin held before TripAdvisor was editing audio for a SpongeBob SquarePants videogame. Listening to hours of dialog, he developed a knack for recognizing voices. Garvin thinks he has identified five or six voices that pop up again and again on the robocalls he’s listened to—and he’s listened to thousands. He has a new idea: What if he could figure out the identities of those people and uncover the marketplace where robocallers find and hire voice actors? Could he nip a campaign in the bud? Better yet, what if, rather than ignoring robocalls, every American answered every call? If enough people pressed through to the call-center agents and toyed with them for hours, the enterprises would be deprived of sales and the robocallers driven into oblivion!
That’s a crazy idea. Even Garvin knows it. And it directly contradicts one of the FTC’s recommendations to consumers: When you receive a robocall, just hang up; do not engage. But the idea appeals to Garvin’s mischievous side, his fondness for turning the tables on scammers. For the time being, he is content finding angry customers, getting as much information from them as he can, and forwarding it all to the FCC for follow-up and prosecution. Recently, he bought four phones for the exclusive purpose of receiving robocalls. They are still ringing.
https://www.wired.com/story/on-the-trail-of-the-robocall-king/
Thanks for joining us.