By Staff Report
A panel of Florida state senators on Wednesday advanced legislation aimed at making it harder for fraudulent telemarketers to mask their identities, part of an effort to reduce scams targeting senior citizens.
Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, sponsor of SB 1516, said spoofed numbers and other deceptive caller ID practices have contributed to rising reports of fraudulent calls targeting people over 60.
She cited a Federal Trade Commission report indicating that between 2020 and 2024, reports from older adults who said they lost more than $10,000 to such scams increased fourfold.
As technology evolves, Garcia warned, previous state efforts to curb telemarketing fraud have struggled to keep pace.
“We want to get ahead of this very, very advanced AI digital age where basically they are circumventing everything we currently have in place,” Garcia said.
The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee unanimously approved the measure.
Under the bill, telecommunications companies that provide fraudulent caller ID information for phone calls or text messages could face civil penalties of up to $250,000.
The proposal would not apply to law enforcement activities.
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, voiced support for the measure.
“If there’s one thing that all of us in this chamber can agree on, it’s how annoying fraudulent robocalls are,” he said.
A similar bill, HB 1299, has been filed in the House but has not yet received a hearing.
Garcia’s proposal follows previous efforts at both the state and federal levels to combat unwanted calls and text messages from scammers and telemarketers. The problem has grown as internet-based phone systems have expanded and automated services have made it easier to place calls with minimal human oversight.
Congress passed the Truth in Caller ID Act in 2009, barring the use of fraudulent caller ID information and allowing penalties of up to $10,000 per call. However, the law applies only when callers intend to defraud, cause harm or wrongfully obtain something of value.
Florida lawmakers have revisited the issue several times in recent years. In 2021, they approved a law aimed at limiting unsolicited calls and messages. In 2023, after a wave of lawsuits against businesses accused of violating the law, legislators made it more difficult for customers to sue telemarketers.
Garcia’s bill would require telecommunications companies to provide the originating telephone number and location and to block calls and text messages that use manipulated caller ID information that does not match the original number or location.
If approved by the Legislature, the changes would take effect Oct. 1.
