The TVCC is an outgrowth of a prior Boiler-room and Telemarketing (BAT) Task Force project named Operation BAT - RAP. This was a reverse Boiler-room project which convened at the Los Angeles World Trade Center February 18 - 19, 1998. The operation's two-fold objectives were the same as the TVCC. There were 54,000 potential victim names amassed for BAT-RAP.

During Operation BAT - RAP, 7,955 calls were made to potential victims, leaving 46,045 victims without contact. The partners were willing to continue the business of contacting victims and thus the TVCC was born. The initial commitment by TVCC partners was for one year; however, the TVCC has proven to be a popular endeavor. Volunteer callers greatly enjoy assisting in the project. More leads are continually received by task force members.

A press conference held in conjunction with the operation featured dignitaries such as the head of the Postal Inspection Service, Kenneth Hunter; the Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, Timothy P. McNally; the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, Nora Manella, and others. It also featured celebrity personalities of the Los Angeles area such as Academy Award winners Shirley Jones and Ernest Borgnine, comedians Marty Ingles and Norm Crosby, and more than a dozen cast members of two TV daytime dramas, The Young and The Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.