The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined telemarketing firm Americall $500,000 for breaching the Telemarketing Sales Rule, claiming it did not honor customers' requests to be taken off call lists and did not identify itself as the caller. According to the FTC, Americall instructed callers not to, for example, place consumers on a company-specific do-not-call list when a consumer said, "don't call again" or "don't call me back." The FTC says Americall also masked its identity on caller-ID systems, in some cases transmitting false names. In addition to the $500,000 civil penalty, the company is prohibited from continuing the practices alleged in the complaint.
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