Robocalls

Have you ever received telephone calls from people you do not know trying to sell you insurance or a health care plan? I have and I find them so annoying. In the case of the Philippines, however, the parties calling are real live people. This mode of selling is called telemarketing. This has taken the place of what was called door-to-door selling where sales agent would knock at literally doors to bag a sale.

In the United States, the developments in technology have enabled telemarketers to move on to what is called robocalls. These calls are computer generated with pre-recorded messages. Thus more people are reached through this system and hence more potential damage can be done.

I can just imagine the chagrin of Americans receiving such calls. Nevertheless, there are documented instances where recipients of robocalls were duped into doing giving away their money or into entering agreements which resulted into their losing a lot of money.

Robocalls are also now part of the US political scene. During the last US presidential election, the preferred mode of disseminating information about a particular candidate was through robocalls. Understandably so since the candidate can reach millions more than what can be reached via the traditional telemarketers. And the cost per call is minimal when compared to the traditional mode.

But robocalls, particularly in politics, have been turned into a weapon of mass destruction. During the last US presidential election, robocalls were employed more for negative campaigning. Together with this development and the fact that people have been duped into entering questionable transactions initiated through robocalls, calls to regulate this mode of communication reached fever pitch.

Sometime last month, the US Congress passed a bill which was approved by the President imposing fines on telemarketers who employ this method of communications on persons who have indicated their preference not to received such calls. And the fine to be imposed is stiff. It is US$ 6,000 per call. This should certainly put a damper in the operations of computer generated telemarketing.