"FCC Proposes Massive $300m Fine for Robocall Firm"

The FCC recently announced that it is going after an alleged prolific robocall company, with a proposed record-breaking fine in the hundreds of millions of dollars.  The FCC stated that the operation run by Roy Cox, Jr. and Michael Aaron Jones made billions of illegal robocalls via their Sumco Panama company and numerous other entities located in the US, Panama, and Hungary.  The FCC noted that although in operation since 2018, this “Cox/Jones Enterprise” made over five billion robocalls to more than half a billion phone numbers during a three-month period in 2021.  It apparently used pre-recorded voice calls to pressure victims into speaking to a “warranty specialist.”  The FCC stated that the size of the fine, close to $300m, is a result of “egregious violations” of both spoofing and robocalling provisions.  Specifically, the duo’s firms didn’t gain express consent in writing from the called party, didn’t identify the caller at the start of the message, and didn’t provide an opt-out number at the end, as they must under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  Additionally, the FCC judged the calls to have caused harm to victims because they spoofed numbers to appear as if calls were made from inside the US and misrepresented the service being offered.  According to the FCC, these are all violations of the Truth in Caller ID Act.  

Infosecurity reports: "FCC Proposes Massive $300m Fine for Robocall Firm"