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Tennessee lawmaker wants to drastically increase fines on robocallers who spoof local phone numbers

Posted at 12:20 PM, Feb 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-06 13:23:44-05

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — One Tennessee lawmakers has introduced a bill that would hit robocallers with major fines if caught spoofing local phone numbers.

The bill, introduced by Sen. John Hensley (R), would increase fines to $25,000 for each call made that used caller identification spoofing. Spoofing tricks your caller ID into thinking the call is local, for example using a 615 area code when it's really a robocall from out of state.

The current fine is $10,000 for robocallers caught spoofing numbers,. The new bill would also clarify that each call would be subject to a $25,000 fine, meaning fines could easily reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars or higher.

The number of robocalls have recently broken records nationwide, according to numbers by YouMail.

You can report and reduce the number of unwanted call by signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry.