Unwanted calls and texts are a nuisance, but spam calls have become an around-the-clock annoyance for one man in East Troy.
Gary Sartler says he's getting constant spam calls — every single day.
In fact, he's has kept a log and says, since the start of July, he's gotten more than 235 spam calls.
"They start at like 8:00 in the morning," explained Gary. "We don't answer the phone anymore." But, he knows who is on the other end. "I mean, it was always pretty much the same," recalled Gary as he described what he'd hear on the other end of the line when he used to answer the calls. "Something like, we understand you have Medicare part A and B and we can get you all these other benefits."
Gary believes the calls are a phishing attempt to get personal or financial information. "My concern is not me entirely, it's all these other people who are getting these calls and giving out the information."
Watch: East Troy man says he's gotten more than 200 spam calls since July
Americans receive an average of 14 spam calls each month. That's according to voice security firm Hiya. In the first half of 2024, most spam calls were related to health insurance, with medicare scams coming in at number one.
Gary says his number has been on the 'Do Not Call' list since 2003. It was the first thing he verified when the calls started coming in. Then, he contacted his telephone service provider, "They did as much as they could, they were pretty good about it."
Next, he went to the Federal Communications Commission. "I've gone to the top 5 people in the FCC," he said. "Nobody will reply, I've sent emails to Tammy Baldwin and Bryan Steil — I got nothing from him."
TMJ4 contacted Rep. Bryan Steil about Gary's endless stream of spam calls.
"It's one of the top complaints I hear from people across our state," the lawmaker acknowledged. "If there was a silver bullet, count me into implementing it immediately. I think it would have unanimous support in a terribly divided government right now."
Rep. Steil has now spoken with Gary and continues working to identify new legislation and technology that could prevent these calls and hold criminals accountable.
"Don't answer the phone call if you don't know the number," he continued. "But, that said, that's not terribly satisfying to someone whose phone continues to ring. What I have done on behalf of individuals is be an intermediary with the FCC and other agencies to try to raise their issue to the highest level of attention within our government." Which is what Rep. Steil is doing for Gary.
"I got a letter from Tammy Baldwin, which is basically a form letter," added Gary. "And it says what she did in 2019, unfortunately, it's 2024 now."
Senator Baldwin has sponsored or cosponsored legislation to block robocalls and penalize bad actors, including the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act and the Repeated Objectionable Bothering of Consumers on Phones Act.
Baldwin's letter encourages him to contact the FCC, something he's done repeatedly. "Every day. Every time I get a phone call," said Gary.
The FCC declined TMJ4's interview request and instead pointed us to an online consumer guide with call-blocking tools available to consumers.
Gary acknowledges he could change his number, but he's had it since 1976.
"I'm not changing it," he said with certainty. He fears his call for help will be unanswered. "It's government," continued Gary. "They want you to pay your taxes by April 15 every year but when you ask for help from them you get nothing."
Sen. Tammy Baldwin's team responded to TMJ4's interview request by providing a quote from the Senator: “Robocalls and text scams are not only annoying, but they can be downright dangerous. I am committed to cracking down on these scams, protecting Wisconsinites from fraudsters and abuse, and giving people the peace of mind that their personal and financial information is safe.”
Most fraud calls are blocked by your provider before they ever reach your cellphone. Blocking spam calls on a landline can be more challenging. Click here for a list of resources from popular phone service providers.
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