WebProNews

Tag: Loyaan A. Egal

  • FCC Sends Cease & Desists to More Providers Over Robocalls

    FCC Sends Cease & Desists to More Providers Over Robocalls

    The Federal Communications Commission’s war on robocallers continues, with the agency sending cease & desists to more providers.

    The FCC passed rules requiring phone carriers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN protocol in an effort to fight robocalls. The protocol allows carriers to verify the authenticity of a caller, pass that verification on to the next carrier for confirmation, and so on. Carriers were given a deadline to implement the protocol or be blacklisted, with the first such carrier blocked in November.

    The FCC has now sent cease & desist orders to two additional companies the agency says has been supporting “illegal robocall traffic.” This brings the number of cease & desists to twenty, with the majority complying and cutting off robocall assistance.

    The latest cease & desists, sent to SIPphony LLC and Vultik, Inc, included a warning that their traffic could be permanently blocked by downstream providers if they failed to comply.

    “You should investigate the identified traffic and take the steps …, including blocking the traffic if necessary, and take steps to prevent your network from continuing to be a source of apparently illegal robocalls,” wrote FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal. “Failure to comply with the steps outlined in this letter may result in downstream voice service providers blocking all of [SIPphony LLC and Vultik, Inc] traffic, permanently.”

    “Scam robocalls are more than just a nuisance, they waste our time and resources and destroy trust in our communications networks,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “We will continue to use every tool we have to go after this fraud and stop the bad actors responsible for these calls in their tracks.”

  • Global UC the First Provider to Be Blocked for Failing to Fight Robocalls

    Global UC the First Provider to Be Blocked for Failing to Fight Robocalls

    Global UC is the first telecom provider to be blocked under the FCC’s new rules requiring providers to block robocalls.

    The FCC has been cracking down on robocalls, requiring providers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID protocol. The protocol helps providers identify a caller, pass that ID on to the next carrier who then re-verifies it, with the process repeating until the call reaches the recipient. The FCC set a deadline for implementation of the protocol.

    Global UC has become the first provider to miss the FCC’s deadline and fail to provide a valid reason for missing it, resulting in the company being removed from the Robocall Mitigation Database. As a result, other telecom companies can no longer accept or relay calls from Global UC customers.

    “For too long, robocalls have flooded our phones and facilitated fraud. So we are using a new tool to fight against these scam calls. We are cutting providers off and preventing them from accessing our networks when they fail to demonstrate they will protect consumers. This is a novel way to stop robocalls and it’s one we are going to keep using until we get this junk off the line,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

    “We have reached the point where we are ready to remove companies if they fail to abide by the rules and heed our warnings,” said Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal. “While this is a steep and impactful penalty, it underscores the importance we place on complying with our rules, which are designed to eliminate the ability of bad actors to use the U.S. communications networks to harm consumers.”

    The action should send a start warning to other companies about the seriousness of heeding the FCC’s guidelines.

  • FCC Cracks Down on Carriers That Have Failed to Fight Robocalls

    FCC Cracks Down on Carriers That Have Failed to Fight Robocalls

    The FCC is getting serious about fighting robocalls, requiring other carriers to block calls from non-compliant ones.

    The FCC required carriers to implement the STIR/SHAKEN protocol, providing a way for carriers to verify the origin of a call before passing it on to another carrier or to the call recipient. While the top three US carriers fully implemented the protocol some time ago, a number of small carriers have failed to do.

    FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel made clear that the repercussions would be severe:

    “This is a new era. If a provider doesn’t meet its obligations under the law, it now faces expulsion from America’s phone networks. Fines alone aren’t enough. Providers that don’t follow our rules and make it easy to scam consumers will now face swift consequences.”

    The agency has given Akabis, Cloud4, Global UC, Horizon Technology Group, Morse Communications, Sharon Telephone Company, and SW Arkansas Telecommunications and Technology 14 days to explain why they should not be removed from the Robocall Mitigation Database. Any carrier removed from the database will be blacklisted by other carriers, with no other carrier allowed to relay its calls.

    “These and other recent actions reflect the seriousness with which we take providers’ obligations to take concrete and impactful steps to combat robocalls,” said Loyaan A. Egal, acting Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. “STIR/SHAKEN is not optional. And if your network isn’t IP-based so you cannot yet use these standards, we need to see the steps taken to mitigate illegal robocalls. These providers have fallen woefully short and have now put at risk their continued participation in the U.S. communications system. While we’ll review their responses, we will not accept superficial gestures given the gravity of what is at stake.”

  • FCC Targets Auto Warranty Robocall Scams

    FCC Targets Auto Warranty Robocall Scams

    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is targeting auto warranty scam calls, ordering carriers to block them.

    Virtually everyone has had the misfortune of receiving a call from someone promising to extend their vehicle’s warranty at an unbelievably low price. The FCC wants to put an end to the annoyance, telling phone companies to stop relaying the calls.

    “We are not going to tolerate robocall scammers or those that help make their scams possible,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Consumers are out of patience and I’m right there with them.”

    The FCC’s statement revealed who was responsible for many of these calls, saying they are “coming from Roy Cox, Jr., Aaron Michael Jones, their Sumco Panama companies, and international associates.” With the perpetrators unmasked, the agency can now work with phone companies to block them.

    “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,” said Acting FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal.

    The FCC says auto warranty scams resulted in more complaints than any other type of unwanted calls in the past two years. Hopefully, this new action will help cut down on the menace.