but just before the snap and the handoff to jamaal charles, the phone rings. you reluctantly answer only to hear a record message claiming to be from the i.r.s. and the caller says that you owe the government money and you'll be arrested unless you pay immediately. you hang up and, angry at yourself, and you realize you're angrier after you realized you missed jamaal charles' romp into the end zone for a resounding chiefs victory. now, artificial or prerecorded calls, robocalls, as we all know them, are awful. they are unwanted, they're intrusive. many of them, like the recent i.r.s.-related robocalls, are a scam. robocalls and telemarketing calls are the number one complaint, source of consumer complaints received by the f.c.c. i think former senator from south carolina, who i had the pleasure of meeting with last year, put it well. he once called robocalls the scourge of civilization. that, if anything, is an understatement. the broad, deep and enduring disease like of these robocall -- dislike of these robocalls inspires our work this morning. we are gather