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‘Nuts! Out of Control. Do Something': American Robocall Outrage

Many of the people who complained to the FCC on May 1 outlined a nationwide scam involving Social Security numbers

Both the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission receive a mind-boggling number of complaints monthly from Americans who can't stand the growing scourge of scam calls. Last year, the FCC received 232,000 complaints regarding unwanted calls like robocalls and telemarketing offers, while the FTC received more than 3.7 million robocall complaints alone, NBC News reports

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request from NBC News, the FCC provided roughly 200 lightly redacted complaints — all from May 1 and with the names of the filers redacted — that highlight just how fed up Americans are with the scam calls.

One individual from Denver described receiving daily calls from an organization identifying itself as the "Health Enrollment Center," calling from a different number each time."DEMAND the FCC do something about this," the person wrote. "It is harassment we are compelled to endure in order to own a phone. DO SOMETHING!"

Technological improvements have allowed for robocallers to target thousands of phones an hour with minimal effort. According to Hiya, a Seattle-based software company, Americans received a total of 26.3 billion robocalls in 2018, a 46% increase from 18 billion in 2017.

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