• Tonya Stevens got about $5,000 in purchases from Conn's and got called 1800 times about the debt over a 13 month period. She is seeking more than $2 million in damages from the excessive calling on Friday, April 13, 2018 in Sherman, Texas. The government can't keep up with the complaints so consumers like Tonya have to take matters in their own hands and file lawsuits. ( Joyce Marshall /For the Chronicle) Photo: Joyce Marshall, Freelance / For The Chronicle / © 2018 Houston Chronicle
Photo: Joyce Marshall, Freelance / For The Chronicle
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Tonya Stevens got about $5,000 in purchases from Conn's and got called 1800 times about the debt over a 13 month period. She is seeking more than $2 million in damages from the excessive calling on Friday, April 13, 2018 in Sherman, Texas. The government can't keep up with the complaints so consumers like Tonya have to take matters in their own hands and file lawsuits. ( Joyce Marshall /For the Chronicle) less
Tonya Stevens got about $5,000 in purchases from Conn's and got called 1800 times about the debt over a 13 month period. She is seeking more than $2 million in damages from the excessive calling on Friday, ... more
Photo: Joyce Marshall, Freelance / For The Chronicle
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Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., accompanied by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., second from left, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., right, and other Democratic congressmen, speak at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after the Senate passes a resolution to reverse the FCC decision to end net neutrality. less
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., accompanied by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., second from left, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Rep. Anna ... more
Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP
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Despite the federal "Do Not Call" list, robocalls and fraud and spam calls frequently get placed to consumers' cell phones.

Despite the federal "Do Not Call" list, robocalls and fraud and spam calls frequently get placed to consumers' cell phones.

Photo: Dwight Silverman / Houston Chronicle
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Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, speak together during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after the Senate passes a resolution to reverse the FCC decision to end net neutrality. less
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, speak together during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, ... more
Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP
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Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., accompanied by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., right, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., second from left, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, laugh during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after the Senate passes a resolution to reverse the FCC decision to end net neutrality. less
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., accompanied by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., right, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., second from left, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, laugh ... more
Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP
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From left, Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., leave a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after the Senate passed a resolution to reverse the FCC decision to end net neutrality. less
From left, Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., leave a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, ... more
Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP
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Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., bottom, watches as Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., left, hugs House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, as they and other Democratic congressmen gather before a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after the Senate passes a resolution to reverse the FCC decision to end net neutrality. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) less
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., bottom, watches as Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., left, hugs House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, as they and other Democratic congressmen gather ... more
Photo: Andrew Harnik, Associated Press
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WASHINGTON - The war on robocalls won a prominent recruit, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, who said Wednesday that he too is tired of "getting interrupted at dinner" by a call from "someone I don't want to speak to."

Schumer is backing legislation cleverly titled the Repeated Objectionable Bothering of Consumers on Phones Act - ROBOCOP - that would require phone carriers to offer free call-blocking technology to consumers.

It also would direct the Federal Communications Commission to require carrier verification that the caller ID information is accurate.

The aim of the FCC requirement is to prevent what is known as "spoofing" - using a familiar area code or phone-number prefix to entice consumers into answering robocalls.

In a conference call with upstate reporters, Schumer acknowledged that the 2003 “do-not-call” list is no longer effective. The list, the result of congressional legislation the same year, allowed consumers to insulate themselves against unwanted calls.

But technological advances now enable robocallers, many of them overseas, to generate millions of calls with the push of a button.

“The technology is so good that a single person can call millions with click of mouse,” Schumer said.

Financial losses from robocalls were estimated by Consumer Reports to be in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Often a recorded voice entices the recipient into believing the call is from a legitimate company such as TripAdvisor. In that case, for example, once call recipients agree to check out the offer, they are connected to sketchy-sounding operators who try to interest them in time shares in Mexico or other questionable offers.

After receiving complaints, TripAdvisor conducted an investigation that pinpointed a Miami robocaller, Adrian Abromovich, who was fined $120 million by the FCC last week for launching 96 million robocalls.

“He’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Schumer said. “Going after individuals is a good thing, but it isn’t enough.”

He cited data showing 3.4 billion robocalls dialed in April - almost 900 million a month more than a year ago.

The Federal Trade Commission has said it received 4.5 million robocall complaints in 2017, an increase of over one million from the previous year.

Spectrum, formerly known as Time Warner Cable, has used a technology known as “Nomorobo” to block calls for customers. Schumer said other carriers should follow suit to stanch the robocalling upsurge in the short term.

Although no Republicans have signed on to the ROBOCOP bill yet, Schumer called robocall prevention a “nonpartisan issue.”

“Congress is inclined to do this,” he said.