Robocallers tried to take advantage of the closure of the federal government

The phone rings and you run to take it, only to hear an automated recording. You are not alone.

This message appeared when you tried to complain about automated calls on the FCC website.

If the government was arrested longer, Quilici expects the effects to be greater.

"The real impact on all this is the long-term application, so if the government had been shut down for a long time, the FCC would not pursue the bad guys," he said.

"These two examples clearly show that competition callers are reading news and exploiting events to fool people and get their money in. They look a lot like the fraudulent calls from the IRS that scare people into thinking that 39, they owe tax arrears, while they do not., The FTC was not funded and could not receive complaints from consumers, but we are open and strongly hope that the people are reporting [such calls] at the FTC at donotcall.gov. These complaints are critical to our enforcement work, "said Lois Greisman, badociate director of the FTC's Marketing Practices Division.

The FCC has directed CNBC to its website.

As President Ajit Pai has stated, the FCC is employing to "end the plague of illegal automated calls". He made the fight against illegal automated calls and the identification of malicious callers a false identity of his "top priority in consumer protection," reads on the site. "President Pai has launched a number of important public policy initiatives to combat illegal automated calls and malicious identity theft." The Commission, under his leadership, has also taken steps to enforce the law. precedent for punishing those who flout consumer protection laws. "

Callers also benefit from other news.

"The last election we saw the student loan fraudsters talk about how the president [Donald] Trump was going to force people to repay their money immediately, "said Quilici. We have already seen with Obamacare that, on December 15, the deadline, fraudulent calls are rapidly gaining momentum. "

Fraudsters can also take advantage of the opening of the government. "In fact, I expect the government to become open and that we can help you more than the closing of the government," Quilici said.

If the government closes again, Quilici expects the same tax calls to begin.

The crooks behind the calls can come from anywhere, even in the United States, but Quilici says they most often come from India. To make calls more professional, he sometimes uses talented US voice over services online.