The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved new rules to make it easier for phone companies to crack down on robocalls.
With Americans receiving an estimated 28.8 billion robocalls in 2016, Chairman Ajit Pai says these robocalls and telemarketing calls are the “number one source of consumer complaints that the FCC receives.” On an annual basis, the agency says it receives about 200,000 complaints. Though Americans have signed up on the federal Do Not Call Registry, fraudsters have found sneaky methods of working around the rules.
The new rules allow phone companies to block fake or “spoofed” caller ID numbers which sometimes lure consumers into scams. They allow these companies more leeway in how they crack down on these scammers without fear of breaking FCC rules which prevent them from blocking legitimate numbers.
The proposed rules also allow phone companies the latitude to block a scammer’s phone number that doesn’t actually exist, including numbers that have not been assigned to anyone yet or claim to be from an area.
One notable case involves calls from scammers claiming to be tax collectors from the Internal Revenue Service. Early last year the IRS said victims have been tricked into paying more than $26.5 million since October 2013 as a result of the scam.
A test run by an industry-led “Robocall Strike Force,” with the FCC’s permission, reduced IRS scam calls by about 90 percent in the third quarter of 2016, according to the FCC. The agency is now looking for public comments on what it is calling “Do-Not-Originate” initiative, which is now operational.
The agency also announced that it is seeking comment on how to address spoofed calls from international locations, “where scammers often hide to avoid U.S. legal processes” and public comment on how to create a “safe harbor” to assist phone companies in blocking illegal robocalls before they can reach consumers.
