By Angelika Munger
FCC ENFORCEMENT
FCC DISHES OUT THE LARGEST FINE YET
$ 300,000,000 Fine Against An Illegal Robocall Auto Warranty Operation
By Angelika Munger
ANOTHER day , another FCC enforcement ! And this is the largest fine the FCC has ever issued , $ 299,997,000 . Dang ! And just who is at the receiving end of this insane fine ? The operators of a massive international auto warranty scam enterprise according to the FCC . The enforcement action was announced at the recent FCC open meeting followed by a press release .
So what exactly caught the FCC ’ s attention ? The international network has been operating for some time , and in 2018 , two of the named members were placed on a lifetime ban from telemarketing activities . Last year , the FCC directed all US service providers to stop carrying the traffic of the known companies at issue : Sumco Panama , Virtual Telecom , Davis Telecom , Geist Telecom , Fugle Telecom , Tech Direct , Mobi Telecom , and Posting Express . This alone provided a 99 % reduction in illegal activities . A more recent scam that was noted in the press release was one that within a threemonth period in 2021 placed more than five billion robocalls to more than five hundred million consumers all while cycling through over one million phone numbers used to contact consumers .
VIOLATIONS THAT WERE NOTED ARE AS FOLLOWS :
• pre-recorded voice calls to mobile phones without prior express consent
• placing telemarketing calls without written consent
• dialing numbers included on the National Do Not Call Registry
• failing to identify the caller at the start of the message
• failing to provide a call-back number that allowed consumers to opt out of future calls
• violated spoofing laws by using misleading caller ID to disguise the enterprise ’ s role
FCC ’ S ENFORCEMENT BUREAU CHIEF LOYAAN A . EGAL SAID THE FOLLOWING :
We take seriously our responsibility to protect consumers and the integrity of US communications networks from the onslaught of these types of pernicious calls . I want to thank the Enforcement Bureau ’ s Telecommunications Consumers Division for its groundbreaking work on this case , and we will continue to work with our federal and state partners to hold these entities and others engaged in similar conduct accountable .
I did find an interesting bit of detail provided by the FCC : the FCC had issued a fine and an opportunity for the associated parties to respond — and they stayed silent in the matter . If you take anything away from this , do not ghost a federal agency . If you find yourself at the end of a state AG ’ s office or a federal agency , seek counsel , not silence , or you too may be paying the big bucks .
It was also announced that Hawaii ’ s and New Mexico ’ s state Attorney Generals have also signed on to the FCC ’ s Robocall Response Team , rounding out the membership to 46 states , Washington DC , and Guam .
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