Robocall Response Team: Combating Scam Robocalls & Robotexts

Cease-and-Desist

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau demanded dozens of voice service providers that have apparently facilitated illegal robocall campaigns on their networks immediately cease-and-desist from those activities. The FCC has been clear: if this practice does not end immediately, other network operators will block traffic from these companies altogether. The FCC continues to monitor all these companies’ activities and, should a recurrence take place, stands ready to authorize the blocking of traffic from any of these duly warned companies.

Major Fines

The FCC has taken aggressive enforcement actions in recent years against telemarketers for apparent illegal caller ID spoofing and robocalling. These included the largest FCC fine ever – $225 million – against Texas-based health insurance telemarketers for apparently making approximately 1 billion illegally spoofed robocalls, a $120 million fine for illegal “neighbor” spoofing by a Florida-based time-share marketing operation, an $82 million fine against a North Carolina-based health insurance telemarketer, a $37.5 million fine of an Arizona marketer which apparently made millions of spoofed calls that appear to come from consumers, and a proposed $116 million fine for nearly 10 million robocalls made in an apparent toll-free traffic pumping robocalling scheme.

The FCC also proposed a $45 million robocall fine – the largest ever under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act – against a company that conducted an apparently illegal robocall campaign to sell health insurance under the pretense that the annual enrollment period had been reopened due to the coronavirus pandemic. The FCC works closely with the Justice Department to collect on the fines it adopts, including a lawsuit filed by the DoJ to collect a $9.9 million FCC fine and obtain an injunction. More details are available from the FCC Enforcement Bureau's Unwanted Communications webpage.

Caller ID Authentication (STIR/SHAKEN)

Caller ID authentication is critical for protecting consumers against spoofed robocalls where scammers mask their identity, harass consumers, and seek to defraud vulnerable communities. Caller ID authentication, based on so-called STIR/SHAKEN standards, provides a common information sharing language between networks to verify caller ID information which can be used by robocall blocking tools, FCC investigators, and by consumers trying to judge if an incoming call is likely legitimate or not. On June 30, 2021, the FCC confirmed that all the largest voice service providers had implemented these standards in the IP sections of their networks, in accordance with the FCC’s deadline. While some small carriers were originally afforded an extension of this deadline, Chairwoman Rosenworcel cut in half the time afforded to a subset of small voice service providers based on evidence that they were originating an increasing quantity of illegal robocalls. Thus, small voice service providers that are not facilities-based are now required to have implemented STIR/SHAKEN in the IP portions of their networks as of June 30, 2022.

Robocall Mitigation Database

The FCC requires voice service providers to file certifications in the FCC’s new Robocall Mitigation Database to inform the agency of their STIR/SHAKEN implementation status and, in some cases, their robocall mitigation efforts. Hundreds of voice service providers have certified to either full STIR/SHAKEN implementation or full implementation on the IP portions of their networks. Voice service providers certifying to anything short of full STIR/SHAKEN implementation must describe the robocall mitigation steps they are taking to ensure they are not the source of illegal robocalls. Since September 2021, voice service providers must block phone traffic from any providers that neither certified to implementation of STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication standards nor filed a detailed robocall mitigation plan with the FCC. In October 2022, the FCC issued first-of-their-kind Enforcement Bureau orders to begin removing certain voice service providers from the agency’s Robocall Mitigation Database meaning other networks will no longer take their traffic.

Closing Gateways for International Robocalls

The FCC adopted new rules to stop illegal robocalls that originate overseas from entering American phone networks. Adopted in May 2022, the new rules on gateway providers – the on-ramps for international call traffic – institute stringent compliance requirements to ensure that these providers comply with STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication protocols and require that they take additional measures to validate the identity of the providers whose traffic they are routing. The new rules require gateway providers to participate in robocall mitigation, including blocking efforts, take responsibility for illegal robocall campaigns on their networks, cooperate with FCC enforcement efforts, and quickly respond to efforts to trace illegal robocalls to their source. Eliminating illegal robocalls that originate abroad is one of the most vexing challenges the Commission faces because of the difficulty in reaching foreign-based robocallers and the foreign voice service providers that originate their traffic.

The FCC is also working with international partners to develop and coordinate a global approach to addressing unlawful robocalls or robotexts, and the unlawful use of inaccurate caller ID information or “spoofing.” Chairwoman Rosenworcel has signed international partnerships that involve cooperation in combatting robocalls with counterparts in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Romania, Singapore, the United Kingdom’s ICO and Ofcom, and the European Union.

Collaboration to Protect Consumers

“Closer coordination within the agency and between federal and state partners can help in addressing this consumer epidemic,” said FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel. To further that goal, she launched a Robocall Response Team, bringing together FCC staff members across six bureaus and offices tasked with coordinating and implementing the agency’s anti-robocall efforts to enforce the law against providers of illegal robocalls, develop new policies to authenticate calls and trace back illegal robocalls, and educate providers and other stakeholders about what they can do to help. She actively sought to renew partnerships between the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, and State Attorneys General – with whom the FCC's Enforcement Bureau has solidified robocall investigation partnerships with formal MOUs – to benefit consumers and fight robocall scams by leveraging the knowledge, skills, and jurisdictional reach of cooperating organizations to share critical investigative information and collaborate on cases. The FCC also established and continued important international partnerships. The FCC also joined the TRACED Act-established and Justice Department-led interagency working group to study enforcement efforts.

Robotexts

As the FCC continues to combat unwanted robocalls, it recognizes that it must adapt to the latest scamming trends—including the rise of robotexts. In 2021 alone, the Commission received over 15,000 consumer complaints about unwanted text messages. Meanwhile, data from other sources reaffirm evidence of the problem. For example, RoboKiller estimated consumer received over 12 billion spam texts were in June 2022. To help address this problem, the FCC launched a proceeding to take public comment on ideas to require providers to find and actively block illegal texts, at the network level, before they get to consumers and applying caller ID authentication standards to text messaging. She said: “The American people are fed up with scam texts, and we need to use every tool we have to do something about it. Recently, scam text messaging has become a growing threat to consumers’ wallets and privacy.” In July 2022, the FCC issued a consumer alert about the rising consumer threat of robotext scams.

Other Actions

• Addressing Robocaller Number Access – The FCC launched two proceedings that confront illegal robocallers access to legitimate numbers obtained from other providers to attempt to get around anti-spoofing protections. The FCC started a rulemaking proposing changes to its policies to reduce access to phone numbers by perpetrators of illegal robocalls. The FCC’s new gateway provider rules addresses foreign robocallers’ use of U.S. NANP numbers.
• Protecting 911 Call Centers – The FCC also proposed new rules to protect 911 call centers, also known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), from unwanted robocalls by requiring voice service providers to block robocalls made to 911 call center telephone numbers listed on a PSAP Do-Not-Call registry.
• Fining the Robocall Sources - To supplement existing efforts to trace scam calls, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau also works with an industry group to "traceback" the traffic of illegal calls to the originating provider.
• Robocall Blocking Apps – The FCC continues to support efforts by phone companies and third-party providers to empower consumers with effective robocall blocking tools. The information made available through STIR/SHAKEN standards is now a critical resource for such tools.
• TRACED Act – Following Congress’s adoption of the TRACED Act, the FCC took a series of actions to implement the law.
• Consumer Education and Awareness – The Commission also continues to issue consumer alerts, work with consumer groups, and use social media to raise consumer awareness of best practices to protect themselves (see consumer tips below).