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Today, a mobile phone or smartphone is in the pocket of almost every person. And his number is constantly spreading on social networks, personal databases are sold on the Internet or stolen by hackers.
One has only to answer the call at least once, as they become more frequent and become an avalanche. Is this breaking the law? There is not one.
Legal Definition of Spam Calls
Everyone intuitively understands what “spam” is. Meanwhile, there is a legal definition of this disaster. On the territory of the Federation, the “Rules for the provision of telematic communication services”¹, adopted in 2007, are in force. So, telematic services are primarily a variety of digital services, telephony, information systems. This document says that spam is a telematic message addressed to an indefinite circle of subscribers and delivered without their consent. And in a way that does not make it possible to calculate the sender due to the indication of a fake or non-existent address.
First of all, this is the law “On Advertising”², according to which such messages can be sent only with the written consent of the subscriber, which can be canceled at any time, even orally. The second law is “On Personal Data”³. If the caller knows the address, place of work, position and other details about the subscriber, this may serve as a reason for contacting law enforcement officers.
Ways to block spam calls
First of all, you must regularly take all possible measures to protect yourself. Do not give out your phone number to anyone, do not check the boxes with consent to the processing of personal data on suspicious sites. However, these measures do not provide XNUMX% protection. It is also important to behave correctly when receiving a spam call:
- Turn on the recording of the conversation and report it.
- Ask the caller for the name of the organization, his position, first and last name.
- Find out where he got your phone number and other data.
- Report that you don’t want to receive ads and request that you be removed from the database.
Surprisingly, these measures are often sufficient. But only if the promotion is carried out by a person, not a robot. It may also help to contact your telephone or Internet provider with a request to protect against such calls.
Built-in Phone Tools
Ordinary mobile phones have in their menu means of protection against unwanted calls, the so-called “black lists”. The easiest way to use them to protect against spam is to block calls from unknown numbers. In this case, the caller receives a message about the unavailability or busyness of the subscriber. The method, of course, protects against spam calls by 100%, but is not applicable to those who constantly use the phone at work, for example, sales managers, call center employees, government agencies. It may also happen that a courier from an online store or a pizzeria, an ambulance doctor or a firefighter will also not be able to get through, because all incoming calls are blocked. So the method is effective, but the most inconvenient and even dangerous.
You can add numbers to the “black list” and pointwise – most modern phones have this capability. But the number of new numbers from spammers is growing exponentially.
Apps for smartphones
A smartphone gives you much more options for spam protection. Similar functions are built into applications of popular resources, for example, 2GIS or Sberbank Online. But there are hundreds of dedicated spam filtering apps that run on Android and iOS, the most common operating systems. All such services collect databases of spammers and check if each incoming call is included in it. The system itself asks the subscriber for information about him, after which he most often turns off.
Examples of such applications:
1. Yandex caller ID
The application checks the incoming call with its database. If this is a certain company, then its name will be displayed on the screen. If the message indicates that it is “Delivery of goods” or “Advertising of communication services”, then this will also be shown. However, the connection in these cases will not occur, only manually. And if the message “Probably scammers” pops up, then this means that the caller’s number has already been entered into the database of spammers or intruders.
2. Кaspersky Who Calls
The capabilities of the free version of the application from the famous virus fighter are the same as those from Yandex. The paid option provides for automatic blocking of the number and cuts off its own advertising.
3. Whoscall
The effectiveness of anti-spam applications directly depends on the size of its database of numbers. This service has a record, 700 million subscribers and 50 million users from all over the world. The base has been assembled since 2010 and does not require a constant Internet connection, it works autonomously even without it. The application is paid.
4. Eyecon
The application cooperates with Facebook and many other social networks and instant messengers. When calling from an unknown contact, it shows the caller’s name and photo. The application is paid.
5. Drupes
In addition to a regular phone, it works with WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram and other instant messengers. Activated on Android and iOS, works on a monthly, annual or perpetual subscription.
How and where to report spam calls
If the calling spammer advertises his services or products without your consent, then he violates the law on advertising. First of all, check the contract with the mobile operator. There may be a small print clause about your consent to receive advertising. This means that spammers are not breaking the law.
Otherwise, turn on the recording of the conversation. This can be done without warning, if you do not ask the caller for his personal data. But it’s better to warn, often after that the calls stop.
You can complain to the Federal Antimonopoly Service⁴. The easiest way to do this is to fill out a special form on the Gosuslug website⁵ or use the special Gosuslugi app for Android and iOS.
In this case, the following data is indicated:
- Own surname, name, patronymic and place of residence;
- Spammers data, if it was possible to establish them;
- What and how is violated;
- A message about the desire to bring violators to justice;
- Supporting documents: records, call detail printouts.
The term for consideration of the complaint is 1 month, it can be extended for another month. If an administrative offense case is initiated, you will receive a notification.
A complaint about a violation of the law on the protection of personal data must be sent to Roskomnadzor⁶. This can be done at any of its branches or by filling out the appropriate form on the website. The review times are the same.
Expert Tips
Spam calls are not as harmless as many mobile phone and social media users think. They are not only annoying, but also threaten to leak personal data and, as a result, financial losses. Block spam by all available means, write complaints and seek administrative decisions from the authorities.
Popular questions and answers
What is the difference between spam calls and phone scams?
Spammers are eager to sell you their services or products. but scammers always try to get any information: CVV code, card number, codes from CMS, pin codes, says Pavel Korostelev, Head of Product Promotion Department, Security Code. Don’t share this information with anyone unless you’re sure it’s safe. Sending spam is an administrative violation, fraud is a criminal offence.
Is it possible to completely get rid of spam calls?
No, today it’s impossible, I’m sure Pavel Korostelev. The means of protection are improving, but the methods of sending spam also do not stand still. Recently adopted amendments to the law on advertising introduced SMS and voice messages into the category of spam. Thus, eliminating a wide gap for spammers.
Senior developer for the development of software products for mobile technologies David Grigoryan reminds you that most smartphones have a feature that allows you to ignore incoming calls from numbers outside your contacts list or from hidden numbers. The disadvantage of this approach is that you will not be able to get through to any contact whose number you do not have recorded.
There is also a less radical way – this is the installation of applications that allow you to determine whether an incoming call is advertising or spam. In this case, it is necessary to grant rights to these applications to block and identify incoming calls. The principle of operation is very simple: when an incoming call arrives, the system checks if there is an incoming number in the database of this application, and if it is, the system asks the application for brief information on the number. This approach makes it impossible for applications to receive any sensitive information about your calls.
What is the liability of a spam caller?
Olga Prokopyeva’s lawyer claims that sending spam is an administrative violation. If a violation of the law is established, then the spammer company faces a fine of 15 to 75 thousand rubles, employees of the company – from 10 to 20 thousand rubles.
But if spammers cross the fine line between the Law on Advertising and the Law on the Protection of Personal Data, they fall into a different legal plane. Under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Federation (“Fraud”), the perpetrators face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million rubles.
Sources of
- http://government.ru/docs/all/61069/
- http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_58968/
- http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_61801/
- https://fas.gov.ru/pages/contacts/requests/poryadok-obrashheniya.html
- https://www.gosuslugi.ru/structure/10000014611
- https://rkn.gov.ru/treatments/