The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has imposed a £100,000 fine on TMAC, a pendant alarm firm, after making more than 260,000 nuisance calls to the Telephone Preference Service-registered numbers, reports Infosecurity Magazine.
According to the regulator, the Birmingham-based company employed scam tactics and pretended to be "a variety of different local crime and fire prevention initiatives” to deceive people, specifically those aged 60 and above. TMAC's actions showed a brazen disregard for privacy laws – making thousands of intrusive calls each month and failing to identify themselves to the recipients," Andy Curry, ICO head of investigations, said.
One of TMAC's directors confirmed that the company used the telephone numbers from data obtained from a previous company. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations govern nuisance and scam calls rather than the GDPR. It requires businesses to obtain the express approval of TPS registrants before making marketing calls.
"We are grateful to those who reported these calls to us. Public reporting plays a crucial role in our work, and where we see organizations causing harm through unlawful and predatory direct marketing, we will not hesitate to act," Curry noted.
Kelley Damore is Chief Content Officer at CyberRisk Alliance, where she leads content strategy across the company’s digital brands, research, communities and live events serving CISOs and security practitioners. At CyberRisk Alliance, she is focused on delivering 365-day engagement, trusted journalism and actionable insights to help security leaders navigate an increasingly complex threat landscape.
Kelley Damore is Chief Content Officer at CyberRisk Alliance, where she leads content strategy across the company’s digital brands, research, communities and live events serving CISOs and security practitioners. At CyberRisk Alliance, she is focused on delivering 365-day engagement, trusted journalism and actionable insights to help security leaders navigate an increasingly complex threat landscape.
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