Dateline: May 18, 2015 

Creating a system that actually blocks telemarketing robocalls would win you both the eternal gratitude of all humanity and a $25,000 prize from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The $25,000 top prize is just part of the total of $50,000 to be awarded in the FTC’s Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back competition challenging the public to develop a robocall-trapping system technology geeks call a “honeypot.”

As in the famed Winnie the Pooh story, the honeypot would actually attract or lure robocalls to consumers’ landline or mobile phones, block the calls, and forward them to the centralized database where they can be identified and analyzed.

Data trapped in the honeypot would be used to maybe, just maybe, someday completely eliminate illegal robocalls.

“We’re using many strategies to fight robocalls, including law enforcement, education, and crowd-sourced innovation,” said Jessica Rich, Director, FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in a press release. “Following the success of our previous robocall challenges, we’re once again seeking expertise from the public to put a new tool in consumers’ hands, and to develop technology to help law enforcement and other partners investigate these calls.”

Solutions for the Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back competition must be submitted by June 15, 2015. All individuals and groups wishing to enter should review the contest rules and criteria before submitting their solutions.

Up to five contestants from Robocalls: Humanity Strikes Back will be selected from the qualifying phase and move on in the competition to a final round, competing for a top prize of $25,000 at DEF CON 23 in Las Vegas on August 6-9, 2015. In addition, up to two honorable mention winners may be awarded $10,500 and each remaining finalist may also be eligible for $2,000 for a total of $50,000 in cash prizes.

In 2012, the FTC’s first attempt at engaging the public in the fight against robocalls – the Robocall Challenge – received more than 800 ideas and resulted in at least two solutions available in the market today.

Robocalls are prerecorded messages usually promoting the purchase of goods or services, automatically placed by computer systems to consumers phones without their permission. Robocalls are regulated by the FTC under the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Consumers who receive a robocall can report it to the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant.