Abuse and Deception by Telemarketers.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 520
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/6/25

Short Title: Abuse and Deception by Telemarketers. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 27, 2025
*H520-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ADDRESS AB USE OF PRIVACY AND A CTS OF DECEPTION FRO M 2
TELEMARKETERS BY DISPLAYING PHONE NUMBERS THAT ARE FRAUDULENT 3
AND MISREPRESENTATIVE OF THE ACTUAL CALLER. 4
Whereas, the citizens and businesses of North Carolina claim the right of privacy and 5
exclusive use of the phone lines and numbers for which they contract for; and 6
Whereas, the citizens and businesses of North Carolina claim a right of privacy and 7
enjoyment of that privacy from telemarketers who spoof, or otherwise disguise their actual phone 8
numbers, preventing the receiving phone from identifying who is calling; and 9
Whereas, the citizens and businesses of North Carolina claim some telemarketers are 10
violating these rights and fraudulently displaying numbers which ar e assigned to other people, 11
assigned to various businesses, using numbers that are not assigned to anyone (including the 12
caller), or made up combinations of numbers and letters to disguise the real identification of the 13
caller; Now, therefore, 14
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 15
SECTION 1. G.S. 75-100 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 16
"(10) A telephone number is the property of a telephone subscriber, subject to the 17
terms and conditions of the subscriber's contract with a telephone carrier." 18
SECTION 2. G.S. 75-101(10) reads as rewritten: 19
"(10) Telephone solicitor. – Any individual, business establishment, business, or 20
other legal entity doing business in this State that, directly or through 21
salespersons or agents, makes or attempts to make telephone solicitations or 22
causes telephone solicitations to be made. made, and any agent of that 23
individual, business establishment, business, or legal entity. "Telephone 24
solicitor" also includes any party defined as a "telemarketer" under the 25
Telemarketing Sales Rule." 26
SECTION 3. G.S. 75-102 reads as rewritten: 27
"§ 75-102. Restrictions on telephone solicitations. 28
… 29
(i) No telephone solicitor shall cause misleading information to be transmitted to users 30
of caller identification technologies or otherwise block or misrepresent the origin of the telephone 31
solicitation. solicitation or use any other alteration to the origin of the telephone solicitation that 32
displays in a way to give the perception that the call originated from any other origin except the 33
actual origin of the telephone solicitation. No provider of telephone caller identification services 34
shall be held liable for violations of this subsection committed by other individuals or entities. It 35
is not a violation of this subsection for a telephone solicitor to utilize the name and number of 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 520-Second Edition
the entity the solicit ation is being made on behalf of rather than the name and number of the 1
telephone solicitor. 2
(j) A telephone solicitor or its agent that makes telephone solicitations on its behalf, 3
provided that the telephone solicitor ensures compliance by its agent, sha ll keep a record for a 4
period of 24 months from the date a telephone solicitation is made of the legal name, any fictitious 5
name used, the resident address, the telephone number, and the job title of each individual who 6
makes a telephone solicitation for that telephone solicitor. If an individual who makes telephone 7
solicitations for a telephone solicitor uses a fictitious name, the fictitious name shall be traceable 8
only to the specific individual. 9
…." 10
SECTION 4. Article 4 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 11
a new section to read: 12
"§ 75-104.1. Telephone carriers. 13
(a) A telephone carrier shall not knowingly and intentionally transmit, sell, or otherwise 14
provide the numbers of telephone subscribers to any entity the telephone carrier knows (i) will 15
use the number to violate provisions of this Article, (ii) has previously used telephone subscriber 16
information to violate provisions of this Article, or (iii) has previously provided the information 17
to another entity that has violated provisions of this Article. 18
(b) A telephone carrier shall not be held liable for a telemarketer's violation of 19
G.S. 75-102(i)." 20
SECTION 5. G.S. 75-105 reads as rewritten: 21
"§ 75-105. Enforcement. 22
… 23
(b) A telephone subscriber who has received a telephone solicitation from or on behalf 24
of a telephone solicitor in violation of this Article may bring any of the following actions in civil 25
court: 26
(1) An action to enjoin further violations of this Article by the telephone solicitor. 27
(2) An action to recover five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the first violation, one 28
thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second violation, and five thousand dollars 29
($5,000) for the third and any other violation that occurs within two years of 30
the first violation. 31
(3) An action to recover ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each call placed in 32
knowing violation of G.S. 75-102(i). 33
…." 34
SECTION 6. This act becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to phone 35
calls placed on or after that date. 36