U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is pushing legislation he claims could pull the plug on robo-calls and rescue residents from opting not to answer their phones for fear of scams and phishing.

Kathy Whyte. WNBF News
Kathy Whyte. WNBF News
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The New York Democrat says the latest scam is identified by the Japanese word: wangiri that means one-ring.  He says people who get a call that rings once then calls the number back get charged huge international call fees that the scammers get a pay off from.  Making matters worse, the caller ID often comes up as an identifiable, domestic area code.

Schumer says the proposed Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence or “TRACED” Act allows federal agencies to better trace calls and prosecute criminals, increase fines and lengthens the statute of limitations.  The Democrat is also putting responsibility on phone companies by requiring carriers to a have system to block robocalls.  The proposal has moved out of committee and is progressing to the Senate for a vote.

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