# SpamCash Skill

Turn unsolicited spam calls and texts into TCPA claims. This skill
teaches an agent the full workflow: log the spam, verify the number's
DNC status, research the sender, count violations from verbatim
message bodies, and draft a court-ready complaint.

## What this skill does

- Maintains a spam log: every unsolicited call and text, with dates,
  times, sender IDs, and full message bodies.
- Verifies the receiving number against the National Do Not Call
  Registry (donotcall.gov). DNC registrations are permanent; check
  the registration date, because the number must have been on the
  registry for at least 31 days before the violation.
- Researches the sender: identifies the actual company behind the
  message (spoofed caller IDs are common; the message content,
  linked URLs, and callback numbers usually name the real sender).
- Counts violations per message, using the verbatim text.
- Drafts a TCPA complaint pleading the correct counts.

## What this skill does NOT do

- It does not file anything. There is no automated e-filing.
  Court filing portals do not expose filing APIs to the public;
  any "one-click file" feature is vapor. The agent prepares the
  documents; the human files them (small claims / General Sessions
  in the user's state of residence).
- It is not legal advice. It is a documentation and drafting
  workflow. The user decides whether and where to file.

## The workflow

### 1. Log

For every spam call or text, record:

- Date and time received (with timezone)
- The receiving number
- Caller ID / sending number as displayed
- For texts: the VERBATIM message body, character for character
- For calls: whether voicemail was left, and its verbatim content
- Screenshots of everything, kept in the case folder

Rule: never delete a spam thread. Screenshot first, then keep the
original. Deleted evidence cannot be recovered.

### 2. Verify DNC

- Look up the receiving number at donotcall.gov.
- Record the registration date. The number must have been registered
  for at least 31 days before the offending contact.
- DNC registration does not expire. A number registered years ago
  is still protected.

### 3. Research the sender

Spoofed numbers are the norm. Identify the real sender by:

- The message body (company names, product names, URLs)
- Callback numbers in the message (look these up independently)
- Linked domains (WHOIS, business registration records)
- The Secretary of State corporate registry in the sender's state:
  find the legal entity name and its registered agent for service

The complaint names the legal entity, not the caller ID. "The number
that texted me" is not a defendant; "the corporation that paid for
the campaign" is.

### 4. Count violations (the critical step)

Pull the VERBATIM message body before counting anything. Summaries
lie; the exact words determine what counts.

Under 47 U.S.C. 227(b):

- Each call or text made with an autodialer (ATDS) or containing a
  prerecorded/artificial voice, without prior express consent: one
  violation, $500 statutory damages.
- If the violation was willful or knowing: the court may treble to
  $1,500 per violation.

Lessons that cost real cases:

- **Automated replies to your own messages are NOT violations.**
  If you texted the sender first (even a "STOP" or a question) and
  their system auto-replied, those replies are not TCPA violations.
  Read the whole thread before counting.
- **One message, one violation.** Do not multiply by the number of
  sentences or links in a single text.
- **Consent kills the claim.** If you ever gave the sender your
  number (a form, a purchase, an account), check whether that
  consent covers what they sent before counting it.
- **Political texts are exempt.** Campaign messages are carved out
  of the TCPA; they are not violations no matter how unwanted.
  (The exemption itself is a policy question, not a lawsuit.)

Under 47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5) (DNC private right):

- More than one telephone solicitation in 12 months to a number on
  the DNC registry: private right of action, $500 per violation,
  trebleable to $1,500 if willful.
- **Circuit split warning (2026):** several courts (7th Circuit in
  Steidinger, district courts in Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia)
  have held that TEXT messages are not "telephone calls" for the
  227(c)(5) DNC claim. The Ninth Circuit disagrees. Know your
  circuit before pleading a DNC count on texts alone. The 227(b)
  ATDS/prerecorded-voice route is unaffected by this split.

Statute of limitations: **4 years per violation** (28 U.S.C. 1658).
Each offending message starts its own clock.

### 5. Draft the complaint

Plead only what the verbatim record supports:

- Count I: 47 U.S.C. 227(b), one count per qualifying message.
  State the date, the message's verbatim content (or a fair
  summary with the full text attached as an exhibit), and why
  consent was absent.
- State the damages sought per message ($500, or $1,500 if
  willfulness is pleaded with facts).
- Name the correct legal entity defendant with its registered
  agent and address for service.
- Attach as exhibits: the screenshots, the DNC registration
  confirmation, and the corporate registry printout.

Keep it short. Small-claims judges read dozens of these; a tight
two-page complaint beats a sprawling one.

## Email spam: the verdict

Email spam is **not** a SpamCash vector. The federal CAN-SPAM Act
(15 U.S.C. 7701) gives individuals **no private right of action**;
only the FTC, state attorneys general, and ISPs can sue. Two states
grant individuals a private right, but both are resident-only:

- California (Bus. & Prof. Code 17529.5): $1,000 per deceptive
  email, but only for emails sent from or to California.
- Washington (CEMA, RCW 19.190): was $500, reduced to $100 per
  email by 2026 amendments, Washington residents only.

For everyone else, the move on email spam is reporting (FTC at
reportfraud.ftc.gov), not suing. This skill covers phone calls and
text messages only.

## What the user provides

- Their phone number(s) receiving the spam
- Screenshots or exports of the spam threads
- Whether they ever did business with the sender
- Their state of residence (for filing venue)

## What the agent does

- Everything else: logging, DNC verification, sender research,
  violation counting from verbatim bodies, complaint drafting.
- The agent never files, never pays fees, never serves process.
- The agent never invents message content, sender identities, or
  dates. Every fact in the complaint traces to a screenshot or
  a registry record.

## Privacy

Spam logs contain real phone numbers, real message content, and
real case details. Those live in the user's private case files,
never in a shared repo, a wiki, or a public skill. This skill
ships the method only.