Security News > 2023 > September > Menacing marketeers fined by ICO for 1.9M cold calls

The UK data watchdog has penalized five businesses it says collectively made 1.9 million cold calls to members of the public, illegally, as those people had opted out of being menaced at home by marketeers.

Anyone registered with the Telephone Preference Service in the UK should not receive calls from organizations, unless they've expressly given consent.

The US equivalent is National Do Not Call Registry, and residents of Australia can use the Do Not Call Register.

The companies include SGS Home Protect, fined £70,000 for making more than 24,000 illegal calls; Cover Appliance Ltd, fined £200,000 for 511,499 calls; F12 Management, which copped a £200,000 fine for 1.34 million calls; HouseHold Appliance 247, which must pay £55,000 for 19,069 calls; and RHAP, which made 15,288 calls and is nursing a financial penalty of £65,000.

"We've heard harrowing stories of people being hounded with these nuisance calls, and feeling forced into handing over bank details fr unwanted and necessary insurance. We're working to protect people who are being deliberately targeted because they're seen as was pickings by unscrupulous cold callers," said Curry of its work in the past 23 months.

The majority of the illegal calls the companies made to TPS registered people were to sell double glazing and a free energy test.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/09/21/ico_fines_another_bad_bunch/