FTC changes its telemarketing rules to cover growing ‘tech support scam’ calls

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Final amendment Compliance with Telemarketing Sales Regulations (TSR) helps protect consumers who are tricked into paying fees by fraudulent tech support companies. The FTC can already go after these scammer companies if they start calling people. Now you can do the same thing when people call scammers.

Fake tech support scams have been on the rise for years. “Companies” trick people into thinking they have a virus or other problem by sending fraudulent emails, pop-ups, and other messages. This prompts a call to the help desk and convinces you to pay the fee.

The FTC has been trying to recover money from these scammers for a long time. But as it explains, Published proposalA 2021 Supreme Court ruling called. AMG Capital Management LLC vs. FTC limited their ability to do so. Without rewriting the rules, the FTC will only be able to go after companies when they make outbound calls, leaving many consumers who fall for the messages out of luck.

The TSR has now been modified to remove “technical support services” from the list of services exempted from the regulation. The FTC is also cracking down on fraudulent “tech support” pop-ups on sites.

According to the FTC, older consumers, ages 60 and older, are five times more likely to fall victim to these scams and report combined losses of more than $175 million. Earlier this year, the FTC reported that fake “Geek Squad” phones topped the scam list, causing losses of up to $15 million.