U.S. Senators discuss harassing phone calls exposed in 13 Investigates report

By next week, federal regulators may give consumers more options to block annoying and harassing phone calls. The Federal Communications Commission is considering new rules as U.S. senators focus on ways to address concerns with how companies use the federal Do Not Call list.

Wednesday, senators met in Washington, D.C. to explore solutions to a problem 13 Investigates exposed several months ago – senior citizens being targeted by harassing phone calls from companies trying to sell medical devices.

The Senate's Special Committee on Aging focused on a number of issues related to the federal Do Not Call list and the increase in complaints about harassing calls.

Myrtle Harper, 84, says she gets calls day after day from companies trying to get her to order back braces and knee braces she does not need. Even though she decline the equipment, Harper's doctor says he gets order forms from various medical device companies saying Myrtle ordered the devices.

At the hearing on Capitol Hill, Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly (D) sits on the committee and told the group such calls have to stop. 

"We've heard about these calls from seniors organizations, physicians, from folks in Indiana who've been on the receiving end of harassing phone calls from medical equipment companies offering equipment like back braces that they neither want nor need, and the suppliers use aggressive tactics to persuade seniors into ordering unnecessary items at Medicare's expense. We have an obligation to protect the privacy seniors have and to protect taxpayer dollars," Donnelly said.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) related her family's experience. "I watched my mother get victimized when she thought she was being called by Medicare, and it was really a company called Medcare," she said.

Senators heard testimony from consumers and technical experts saying the nation's Do Not Call list has not kept up with technology, allowing scammers to repeatedly call consumers who thought they would no longer receive solicitations.

Columbia University professor Henning Schulzrinne testified, “All are annoying. Some are harassing, threatening or deceptive.”

Linda Blase owns a photography and design business and told the senators, “These calls are unwelcome intrusions into my house.” She kept a log of recent unsolicited calls received at her home – more than 70 of them in a single month.

The Texas businesswoman told lawmakers that being on the Do Not Call list has not stopped the calls. “I sometimes get as many as six of these calls per day; some of them are repeated multiple times. I get far more junk calls on my home phone than legitimate calls from people I actually want to speak to,” Blase said.

The committee is pledging to study new strategies and technology to help consumers fight back, and senators are now proposing legislation that puts more pressure on phone companies to stop scam artists that make harassing phone calls.

“We have to stay on this issue because spammers, spoofers and robocallers will continue to use whatever tools are available to them to defraud American consumers and America's seniors. We must give them the flexibility to fight the fraudsters,” McCaskill told the committee.

The Federal Trade Commission also appeared during the hearing, and urged the approval of new rules that will give consumers more options to block harassing phone calls. The Federal Communications Commission will vote on that proposal as early as next week. And another hearing focusing specifically on the fraudulent marketing of medical devices is expected later this summer.

If you or a loved one has been getting harassing calls from companies or scam artists, here are several resources.