How to Protect Your TCPA Rights

How to Protect Your TCPA Rights

The TCPA is a strong consumer law. Legitimate businesses generally do their best to obey the law. For example, a legitimate business will not text you after it sees your number on the federal Do-Not-Call Registry.

However, scammers and spammers are crooks. They ignore the law and do whatever works to steal your money and your precious personal information.

To be a savvy consumer you best be ever vigilant. You must take advantage of the protection provided by the law and you must protect yourself by building your own protective wall. Always ignore a spammer or a scammer, no matter what story they give you or what deal they offer.

To help you avoid becoming a victim of spammers and scammers, we have created this list of tips:

• Join the National Do-Not-Call Registry
• Save the Unwanted Text Message: It may be valuable evidence should you decide to sue spam texters.
• Download an app that blocks suspected text message spam
• If you are an AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint or Bell subscriber, you can report spam texts to your carrier by copying the original message and forwarding it to the number 7726 (SPAM), free of charge. Your carrier will put the number on its spam list and conduct an investigation.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends you do the following:

• Delete text messages that ask you to confirm or provide personal information: Legitimate companies don’t ask for information like your account numbers or passwords by email or text.
• Don’t reply, and don’t click on links provided in the message: Links can install malware on your computer and take you to spoof sites that look real but whose purpose is to steal your information.
• Treat your personal information like cash: Your Social Security number, credit card numbers, and bank and utility account numbers can be used to steal your money or open new accounts in your name. Don’t give them out in response to a text.
• Review your cell phone bill for unauthorized charges and report them to your carrier.
• Don’t send money or give out personal information in response to an unexpected text request
• Don’t believe your caller ID. Technology makes it easy for scammers to fake caller ID information, so the name and number you see aren’t always real.
• Don’t pay upfront for a promise such as a prize, debt relief, or a job.
• Consider how you pay.Credit cards have significant fraud protection, but some payment methods don’t.  Wiring money through services like Western Union or MoneyGram or using reloadable cards is risky because it’s nearly impossible to get your money back.
• Talk to someone.Before you give up your money or personal information, talk to someone you trust. Con artists want you to make decisions in a hurry. They might even threaten you.
• Be skeptical about free trial offers. Some companies use free trialsto sign you up for products and bill you every month until you cancel.
• Don’t deposit a check and wire money back.By law, banks must make funds from deposited checks available within days, but uncovering a fake check can take weeks. If a check you deposit turns out to be a fake, you’re responsible for repaying the bank.
• Sign up for free scam alerts from the FTC at gov/scams for the latest tips and advice about scams.
• Delete unwanted robotexts without responding.
• Contact a Consumer Attorney: A consumer attorney can help you exercise your rights under (TCPA), typically at no out-of-pocket cost to you. That’s because TCPA attorneys usually take cases on a contingency basis. In other words, they don’t get paid unless you win.

If a company has violated the spam text rules, contact our office using the form to the right, or by calling 475-277-2200. You may be able to recover $500 per text – and triple that amount if the business willfully and knowingly violated the law.