Texas Dad Makes $75,000 After Suing Harassing Telemarketers

A Texas dad has managed to collect more than $75,000 after filing several small claims and lawsuits against harassing telemarketers who phone him for insurance, student loan forgiveness, or other offers.

Dan Graham said via KXAN that he receives an average of 10 calls from telemarketers daily. Since he travels a lot for work between Dallas and Austin, ignoring calls was not an option because these could be emergency messages from his wife and young kids.

However, there were some instances where he got 24 spam and text messages from "spoofed phone numbers" after he had his number up on the National Do Not Call Registry from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This made it harder for the dad to ignore the incoming calls or text messages completely. According to the agency, spoofed phone numbers are spams from scammers who could manipulate trusted phone numbers of established companies, especially medical services.

Texas Dad Confronts Telemarketing Companies

Finding no relief, Graham decided to push back and accept the calls to find out more about the companies of these telemarketers that have been harassing him. He used the details he gathered to file complaints with Better Business Bureau.

After more than two dozen complaints that never went anywhere, Graham decided it was time to sue these telemarketers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). He said that the calls have become "blatant frauds," encouraging him to download or submit stuff to be able to claim prizes he has "won."

He filed his first lawsuit in April 2021 and has had 50 small claims in Travis County and North Texas courts since then. Not only has he collected $75,000 in settlements, but at least ten companies have acted on his complaints and changed their marketing strategy.

Overwhelming Violations from Telemarketers

The FTC said there were five million complaints against harassing telemarketing companies that used robocalls in 2021. During the pandemic, there were 18,000 complaints relating to COVID-19 spams like reducing debts on medical bills.

To address these calls, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched its latest directive to fine telemarketers $45 million if proven to be spoofing phone numbers. Graham encouraged consumers to take advantage of these enforcement actions and file the reports.

"We could make this kind of endless spam unaffordable for the people who do it," the Texas dad said.

Following his lawsuit, Graham said that the calls have indeed stopped coming in. Sometimes, it's the telemarketers themselves who inform him that his number has been blacklisted.

In February 2022, Texas had the most robocalls among all other states, followed by California and Florida. Dallas was the second U.S. city with most robocalls or live telemarketers next to Atlanta.

The telemarketers usually identify themselves as representatives from the Credit National Assist. However, the FCC said that if people get such calls, they should hang up the phone and instead call the agency to verify. Government agencies usually send direct mails before calling, especially if these are payment-related issues.