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Robo-caller fined for 96 million phone calls

Nuisance Calls - Level 0

A man in America was fined $120 million for making 96 million robocalls. The police say the man was a danger to people. His calls were illegal because many went to emergency phones. Many other calls went to people who did not want to be called. They were nuisance calls, just like spam e-mail.

The man carried out "one of the largest and most dangerous illegal robocalling campaigns...ever". It was a "telemarketing scheme". He tricked people into thinking the calls were from local numbers or from famous companies. Callers were passed on to people who tried to sell them property. The man said he did nothing wrong.

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Nuisance Calls - Level 1

A man in America was fined $120 million for making nearly 100 million robocalls. A robocall is made by a computer programme. The police say the man was a threat to public safety. His calls were illegal because many were made to emergency phones. Many other calls went to home telephones without the person being called wanting that call. They were nuisance calls. This is like spam e-mail, which is also unwanted and a nuisance.

The man carried out "one of the largest and most dangerous illegal robocalling campaigns...ever". He made 96 million robocalls in three months. It was a "telemarketing scheme". He used a technique to trick people into thinking the calls were from a local telephone number. He also tricked people into believing the calls were from famous companies. Callers were passed on to call centres. These tried to sell them property. The man said he did nothing wrong.

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Nuisance Calls - Level 2

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America's communications commission has fined a man who made nearly 100 million robocalls. A robocall is made by a computer programme. The commission fined the man $120 million. They say he was a threat to public safety. The man's calls were illegal because many of them were made to "critical emergency phone lines". Many other calls went to mobile phones and home telephones without the person being called wanting that call. This means the call was a nuisance call. This is like spam e-mail, which is also unwanted and annoying.

The man committed a crime. He carried out "one of the largest and most dangerous illegal robocalling campaigns...ever investigated". He made 96 million robocalls in three months in 2016. It was part of a "telemarketing scheme". He used a technique called "neighbor spoofing" to trick people to answer the calls. The people thought the calls were from a local telephone number. He tricked people into believing that the calls were from well-known companies. Callers were passed on to call centres that tried to sell them property. The man said he did nothing wrong.

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Nuisance Calls - Level 3

America's Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, has fined a man who they say placed nearly 100 million robocalls. A robocall is a telephone call that is made by a computer programme. The software can make thousands of calls at a time. The FCC fined the man a record $120 million because they say he posed a threat to public safety. The FCC says the man's calls were illegal because many of them were made to "critical emergency phone lines". The FCC said many other calls went to mobile phones and residential telephones without the person being called wanting that call. This means the call was a nuisance call - a bit like spam e-mail, which is also unwanted and annoying.

The FCC said the man committed a serious crime and carried out, "one of the largest and most dangerous illegal robocalling campaigns that the Commission has ever investigated". The man made 96 million robocalls during a three-month period in 2016 as a part of a "telemarketing scheme". He used a technique called "neighbor spoofing" to get people to answer the calls. This technique tricks people into thinking the calls are from a local telephone number. The man also tricked people into believing that the calls were from well-known airlines, hotels and travel companies. Callers were instead passed on to call centres that tried to sell them property. The man said he has done nothing wrong.

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