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FCC Orders Phone Carriers to Block Scammers Behind 8 Billion Robocalls
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FCC orders phone carriers to block scammers behind 8 billion robocalls [upi.com]:
July 22 (UPI) -- The Federal Communications Commission on Friday ordered phone carriers to block calls from a scamming operation behind more than 8 billion robocalls.
The agency mandated U.S. providers to stop carrying traffic originating from the Sumco Panama company and the two people allegedly behind it, Aaron Michael Jones [upi.com] and Roy Cox. Jr., both of California. Advertisement
The group is accused of making more than 8 billion robocalls to U.S. consumers since 2018, marketing an auto-warranty scam, records show [fcc.gov].
"We are not going to tolerate robocall scammers or those that help make their scams possible," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement [fcc.gov]. "Consumers are out of patience and I'm right there with them."
FCC data estimates Sumco Panama generates millions of calls on a daily basis.
Earlier this month [upi.com], the agency sent cease-and-desist letters to a number of carriers to halt the calls, including Call Pipe, Fugle Telecom, Geist Telecom, Global Lynks, Mobi Telecom, South Dakota Telecom, SipKonnect and Virtual Telecom.
The move places on phone companies the burden of taking down one of the country's most prolific scammers by forcing them to clip its ability to reach consumers. Advertisement
"Now that U.S. voice service providers know the individuals and entities associated with this scheme, the Enforcement Bureau will closely monitor voice service providers' compliance with this order and take appropriate enforcement action as necessary," Acting FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal said in a statement.
In most calls, a pre-recorded message claims that a consumer's auto insurance or warranty is about to expire and "frequently use consumers' real information in order to appear legitimate," the FCC warns.
"Billions of auto warranty robocalls from a single calling campaign -- billions!" FCC Rosenworcel said earlier this month. "Auto warranty scams are one of the top complaints we get from consumers and it's time to hold those responsible for making these junk calls."
