Griffo continues fight against unsolicited telemarketing phone calls

ALBANY – New York State Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joseph Griffo, R-I-C-Rome, announced that he supported a bill (S4777) passed by the state Senate today that would help to alleviate the scourge of unwanted telemarketing calls that so many in New York State receive on a daily basis. 

The bill requires that telemarketers making live sales calls inform customers that they may request that their number be added to the seller's entity specific do-not-call list. If the person opts to do so, the call must immediately end and the telemarketer must add the person's number to their do-not-call list. Telemarketers also would be prohibited from sharing a customer’s contact information with any other person, corporation or entity unless the telemarketer has obtained the customer’s consent in writing. 

While the bill has passed the state Senate, it is currently in the state Assembly’s Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee.

Recently, Deputy Minority Leader Griffo also introduced a bill (S06018) that would mandate that telecommunications companies provide free call mitigation technology to their customers for the purpose of preventing fraudulent "spoofing" calls, which is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information that is displayed on caller IDs in an effort to disguise their identity. Telecommunications companies failing to implement this technology will face a $25,000 per day fine as a result of the bill. 

This legislation is currently in the state Senate’s Energy and Telecommunications Committee.

“While the Do Not Call Registry has helped to mitigate the number of unwanted telemarketing calls people receive, there are many who receive nefarious phone calls from places outside of New York or the United States,” Deputy Minority Leader Griffo said. “These calls are nothing but an attempt by scammers and criminals to steal personal information from innocent, unsuspecting victims. Under my bill, telecommunications providers would be responsible for dealing with these illegal calls because they are being routed through their companies to customers. I am hopeful that this additional step will help to prevent members of the public from being taken advantage of, scammed or defrauded.”

Deputy Minority Leader Griffo also has previously sponsored legislation that would increase the fine applied to violators of the Do Not Call Registry to $20,000 - nearly double the current punishment for those found to be in violation.

The U.S. Senate also recently passed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, which would provide federal agencies with additional resources and tools to combat robocalls. 

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