1/18/14
Editor
Washington Post
Washington, DC
Dear Editor:
TELEPHONE SCAMMERS
John Kelly's 1/15/14 column on Robo-callers and other telephone scammers reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is finally taking some action against one offender. These frauds have been going on for years and the FTC has done almost nothing about it except wring their hands. Kelly is right that if the NSA or other computer/communications nerds were put on the problem, the criminals would soon be identified and stopped. Most of my friends from across the country get one or more robo-calls a day, even if they are on the "No Call" list or ask to be removed from the offender's call list. Congress should drastically stiffen the penalties for such scam activity and post a large reward for informers turning in the scammers to the Justice Department.
The failure of government to act effectively on this problem is one of the reasons the public has lost faith in government. Offer a contract to private nerds for identifying these criminals with payment proportional to the size of the scam operation (like whistle blowers get) and we will see some fast results.
Sincerely yours,
Jan Polissar
301-365-6303
8501 Rayburn Rd.
Bethesda, MD 20817