The FCC’s Robocall Response Team has announced that its recent coordinated actions with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to combat international robocalls appear to have reduced apparently illegal robocall traffic across multiple networks. The FCC and FTC warned certain gateway providers to shut down on-ramps for international illegal robocall traffic. In November, the FCC sent targeted letters to seven gateway providers, including: (1) Acrobat; (2) Bandwidth; (3) CenturyLink; (4) iDentidad Advertising; (5) Tata Communications (America); (6) Telco Connection; and (7) TeleCall Telecom. The FCC specifically warned such providers of the consequences of failing to prevent their networks from being used to process a large volume of illegal traffic onto the U.S. network. The FTC demanded that these providers cease such activity and that this traffic was apparently illegal under its robocall rules. The FCC and FTC believe that their coordinated actions have had a significant impact in protecting consumers.
According to the Robocall Response team, there has been: (1) a 99 percent drop in auto warranty scam robocalls after FCC action; (2) an 88 percent month-to-month drop in student loan scam robocalls; and (3) a halt in predatory mortgage robocalls targeting homeowners nationwide. The FCC has also fined companies record-breaking amounts for illegal robocalls and spoofing and signed robocall investigation partnerships with 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and certain international partners.
