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technology Saturday 23 May 2020
Coronavirus pandemic claims another victim: Robocalls

By TALI ARBEL many fewer complaints
AP Technology Writer overall but says those also
Have you been missing fell 50% in March, to 10,000,
something amid the lock- and 60% in April, to 7,500.
downs and stay-at-home None of which is to say that
orders? No, not human nuisance calls and phone
contact. Not even toilet scams and texts have dis-
paper. appeared.
Robocalls. "While reports of robocalls
Industry experts say ro- are way down overall,
bocalls are way down — we're now hearing about
scam calls as well as nag- callers invoking the CO-
ging from your credit-card VID-19 pandemic to pre-
company to pay your bill. tend to be from the gov-
The coronavirus pandemic ernment, or making illegal
has inflicted millions of job medical or health care
losses, and scammers have pitches," an FTC blog post
not been immune. declared in mid-April. q
YouMail, which offers a
robocall-blocking service,
says 2.9 billion robocalls
were placed in April in the
U.S., down from 4.1 billion
in March and 4.8 billion in
February. That's a daily av-
erage of 97 million calls in This Aug. 1, 2017, file photo, shows a call log displayed via an AT&T app on a cellphone in Orlando,
April, down from 132 million Fla.
in March and 166 million in Associated Press
April.
The main reason: many went into effect in India in the scammers are back, wanted calls are going to
global call centers have late March, "we saw the however. In recent months, slip through," said Maureen
closed or are operating volume of calls basically federal agencies have fo- Mahoney, a policy analyst
with fewer workers, said half the next day," Quilici cused on going after the with Consumer Reports.
YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. said. small telecom providers Complaints about un-
While it may be odd to think That means scammers that were allowing calls wanted calls to the Federal
of scams being run out of will probably be back in from COVID-19 scammers, Trade Commission have
call centers rather than a force once the call cen- citing the urgency of the been steadily trending
dark, creepy basement or ters come back online. pandemic. down since late 2018, and
a garage, that's often the Stepped-up enforcement "What we do hear from dropped by more than half
case, particularly in coun- from industry groups and consumers is call blocking in March from the year be-
tries such as India and the the U.S. government could tools are effective in reduc- fore, to 240,000.
Philippines, experts said. nibble around the edges ing a significant number The Federal Communi-
After a lockdown order of those call volumes when of robocalls but some un- cations Commission gets
AT&T to drop misleading ‘5G’ marketing for

non-5G networks

By TALI ARBEL nected to the network. But
AP Technology Writer it was not 5G. It was merely
AT&T says it will stop adver- the existing 4G network
tising its wireless network as with minor speed boosts, at
"5G Evolution" after a divi- least compared to the fast-
sion of the Better Business est type of 5G networks.
Bureau determined that its Now, a division of the Bet-
language was misleading. ter Business Bureau that
The network AT&T branded regulates the ad industry
this way is not, in fact, 5G — has recommended that
a new technology for fast AT&T stop using "5G Evolu-
wireless data. tion" and "5G Evolution, The In this Sept. 26, 2018, file photo visitors stand near a 5G logo at a
While AT&T and other wire- First Step to 5G" claims in its display the PT Expo in Beijing.
less carriers in the U.S. have marketing. Rival T-Mobile Associated Press
now begun rolling true 5G had brought a complaint
wireless networks, AT&T in about AT&T's language. will comply with the de- phones carry a "5G E" icon
December 2018 began The panel found that this cision. It's not clear what when you connect to the
talking about a "5G Evo- language "will mislead rea- that means and how much 4G network. AT&T spokes-
lution" service that was sonable consumers into be- AT&T uses the "5G Evolu- woman Kate MacKinnon
already available in hun- lieving that AT&T is offering tion" branding today in its declined to comment on
dreds of markets, and a 5G network." stores and ads today. "5G how AT&T uses the "5G Evo-
placed a "5G E" icon on AT&T said it disagreed with Evolution" is on the com- lution" branding today or
phones when they con- the group's reasoning but pany's website, and AT&T what would change.q