There are many deceptive tactics serial litigators will try to use to precipitate lawsuits. TCPA was enacted over 28 years ago and does not clearly represent today’s telemarketing environment. As judges and attorneys interpret these complex TCPA regulations, it presents opportunities for the serial litigators to make claims and, in some cases, using deceptive tricks to siphon money out of businesses.

Here are some of the dangerous tricks being used:

• Dual-purpose phone line usage: many litigators will use a single phone line for both business and personal purposes, hoping that telemarketers will contact them under the impression that the line is just a business line. The telemarketer violates TCPA by contacting the personal number without permission, and the litigator sues.
• Waiting to receive multiple calls before citing a violation: the TCPA fines are based on number of occurrences. By waiting, the litigators can leverage having been contacted multiple times and sue for more money. One serial litigator has filed over 86 TCPA lawsuits this way.
• Out-of-court settlements: litigators will push to settle out of court in order to get quick and easy money from the lawsuit.
• Baiting calls to a number: litigators may sign up for or consent to receiving messages on one line then call back on another. This baits the company into contacting them through phone lines for which the litigator hasn’t given consent, allowing them to sue.
• Providing bogus personal information at an online registration form, i.e. a loan application, to receive calls or text messages that gives an excuse to a lawsuit.

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