Telemarketing Software Featured Article

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is a public organization in Canada which acts as a regulatory agency for broadcasting and telecommunications. It was created in 1976 when it took over responsibility for regulating telecommunication carriers. Essentially it is the counterpart to our Federal Trade Commission (FTC (News - Alert)) dealing with issues such as robocalls.

Recently, the CRTC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the FTC in an effort to work together in fighting spam and unwanted telemarketer calls within both countries.

“Unlawful spam and unsolicited telecommunications can undermine Canadians’ confidence in the communication systems on which they rely,” said Chairman and CEO of the CRTC, Jean-Pierre Blais. “This MOU will strengthen our efforts to protect those systems and their users and to deter spammers and telemarketers who do not respect the relevant laws and rules in place. Working closely with international partners, such as the FTC, increases our effectiveness in reducing spam and unsolicited telemarketing, for the benefit of Canadians.”

Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was on the news calling for all phone companies, both mobile and landline, to put an end to marketing robocalls. The practice has gone past the concept of annoying marketing calls and moved into the realm of scams extorting money from unsuspecting recipients of the calls.

Both countries have had Do Not Call Lists, but the spammers and schemers always seem to find a way around theses registries, usually by using caller ID spoofing, which incorrectly displays the caller as a government agency, credit card company or bank. According to the FTC, there were 3.57 million complaints about Do Not Call violations in 2015. On the other side of the border, the CRTC has already registered over 13 million numbers and has already issued over $6.5 million in monetary penalties related to companies making unsolicited calls.

The overall goal of the MOU is to give both sides of the border the ability work together in an effort to educate the public, as well as find better solutions to end unsolicited telemarketing calls. The MOU strengthens the ability of the CRTC and the FTC to enforce spam and telemarketing laws.

While there are legitimate telemarketing companies, as well as companies that develop telemarketing software, there is a difference between real telemarketing calls to customers and clients, and those made to elderly people to con them out of their money. The Do Not Call laws are designed to curtail the latter.