PrivacyStar Develops New Android App To Block Harassing Phone Calls, File Complaints

PrivacyStar has developed a new Android app that will let mobile phone users choose to answer or block harassing or illegal phone calls, and then file a complaint directly with the Federal Trade Commission.

“Our mission is to ensure that when your phone rings, you know who’s calling and why,” said Jeff Stalnaker, President of PrivacyStar. “We then give you control to take action as every month we block millions of calls for our users and we are really just scratching the surface. One thing we are especially proud of is helping people to easily file complaints as they may be eligible for cash compensation. Telemarketers have already paid PrivacyStar users millions of dollars due to their abuses.”

According to PrivacyStar officials, the new app offers such features as enhancing call logs, a color coded threat indicator, caller ID and a business directory to match local businesses with incoming phone numbers.

Currently, the FTC enforces the national “Do Not Call” registry, which is list of phone numbers consumers have requested to limit unknown telemarketing calls they receive. The registry was created in 2003 to offer consumers a choice regarding telemarketing calls, FTC officials said.

The FTC’s decision to create the National Do Not Call Registry was the culmination of a comprehensive, three-year review of federal telemarketing rules. The FTC also held numerous workshops, meetings and briefings to solicit feedback from interested parties, and considered more than 64,000 public comments, most of which favored creating the registry.

A company that has an established business relationship with a consumer may call for up to 18 months after the person’s last purchase, delivery or payment, unless the consumer asks the company not to call again. In that case, the company must honor the request not to call, or may face a fine of up to $16,000.

In 2014, PrivacyStar users accounted for 21% of all complaints submitted to the FTC in 2014, with many reporting harassing calls, threats of violence and vulgar language, officials said.

In early April, PrivacyStar and Inuvo Inc. announced joint plans to move their corporate headquarters from Conway to Little Rock’s River Market district. Those plans, which include the expansion of the companies’ payrolls, are expected to take place by the fall.