We didn't build good security into the telecom system because we didn't anticipate that, someday, scammers would be able to call thousands of people per minute, because before computers, that idea was completely ludicrous. An important thing to remember is that anyone who calls you when your name is on the Do Not Call list is breaking the law. But there is no good way to find them as they can disappear as fast as they appear.
We have had to change a lot of how telecommunications law works to start combatting this, and absolutely it could have happened faster if telecom companies and the government weren't resistant to change. But it's also a hard problem to solve. We've built this system, and it works really well all day long every day...we just made it work too well...so well that it really isn't that hard to set up a robocalling scam...which is why a thousand or so people have done it...thus making all our lives miserable.
But as I say in the video, if you only need 1000 people out of 300,000,000 to ruin something for money...they're gonna do it.
Here are some articles I read:
This one's real long but gives a lot of good background
Short and older article/NPR story, but still relevant.
What Phone companies can do but aren't
This one also has tips on how to stop them if you care enough
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