Many Americans have received spam calls that attempt to trick them into answering by spoofing (unauthorized utilization of consumers’ phone numbers) a local number; giving the impression of a real person as opposed to a telemarketer using a toll free number. As the number of these calls increase, many people have either turned to blocking each number, leveraging mobile apps to identify spam calls, or stopped answering calls from unrecognized numbers altogether.
In a recently proposed $37 million fine, the FCC has recently proposed a fine against Affordable Enterprises, which the agency claims made over 2 million spam calls utilizing spoofed local phone numbers dating back to 2016. According to a report from The Verge, some calls are also said to have come from unassigned numbers or burner phones, which would also violate caller ID laws.
The FCC says this is its “first major enforcement action against a company that apparently commandeered consumers’ phone numbers.” One woman whose phone number was used said she ended up getting five calls per day on her cellphone from people complaining about being spammed.
The fines could help to deter other bad actors, but ultimately will not have the desired impact. According to The Verge, “Many robocalls now originate overseas, limiting what the FCC can do to fight them. Instead, the commission has been leaning on phone and tech companies to help out by giving them leeway to block calls that appear to be coming from spammers.”
Source: The Verge
