Arizona Woman Gets $15,000 From Illegal Robocalls

One Arizona woman has turned robocalls into a money-making opportunity, reported 12 News. Lisa Wolfe used to get annoyed with the calls, but has now found a way to benefit from them.

Wolfe said, "Oh I'd get angry. I don't get angry anymore. I'm happy to take those calls. So far, I'm up $15,000 in recoveries since August of last year. I've got about $30,000 to $40,000 pending in the courts now."

Wolfe got the idea of benefitting from the robocalls after hearing the story of a Texas accountant who made $100,000 from the illegal calls.

Doc Compton, who runs Robocalls.cash, sells kits to help people use the Telephone Consumer Protection act to earn money from the calls.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act or TCPA of 1992 allows penalties every time a company violates the "National Do Not Call" registry, uses automatic dialing systems, or pre-recorded messages in an illegal manner. Victims are entitled to $500 for each violation through the TCPA.

Compton explained, "The law makes it illegal for anyone to call you with an automated telephone dialing system, a prerecorded message, one of those AI systems, or ringless voicemails without your expressed, prior written consent. There is also a provision in the law that says if your number is registered on the national "do not call registry" and they call you more than once in any 12-month period, that too is an actionable violation."

According to Compton, that makes the calls worth anywhere form $500 to $3,000 under federal law. Wolfe said, "It can add up really quickly."

Wolfe bought the kit last year, which cost $47. Wolfe said, "Got it, read it, ran with it."