Government Finally Going Up Against Illegal Robocallers
The Federal Communications Commission is taking a major stand in combatting the presence of robocallers nationwide.
Cellular robocallers are more than just a nuisance. Every single day these nefarious ploys are successful at scamming thousands of people out of their money. Thankfully the government is finally taking major action against them. CNET detailed that the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is implementing new laws, limitations, and procedures that aim to seriously decrease the number of robocallers who are able to reach unwitting Americans.
In order to heavily decrease the number of robocallers circulating their illegal schemes, the FCC is focusing on reducing the access that international scam artists have to what are known as gateway providers. Gateway providers are smaller cellular providers with networks that are far easier to penetrate than that of key players like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. These foreign scam artists plant their malicious robocallers in these lower-profile networks. These networks then communicate with other networks allowing the robocalls to be spread across them. The FCC is aiming to wall off this well-known back door. It is planning to accomplish this by ensuring that all providers situated on that lower tier are cross-referencing and verifying any and all calls that pass through their network servers before handing them off.
In theory, the FCC’s ultimate plan to go up against robocallers sounds like it could be effective. However, when it comes down to it, even the FCC isn’t wholly confident that it will have a significant or lasting effect. This is because those with the intent to infiltrate United States cellular networks via robocallers are consistently looking for viable avenues to do so. Thus, if one door shuts these schemers will likely already have found a way to open another. “Robocalls are aggravating. What is worse is when we crack down on these junk calls, the scam artists behind them find new ways to reach us,” explained FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworce.
Still, even though the odds are against them in the fight to combat robocallers, the FCC has no intentions to surrender in that battle. The FCC recognizes that not only do these robocallers scam people out of money but it is ranked as the number one complaint from cellular consumers who receive them nationwide. Hence, in addition to cracking down on how gateway providers are monitoring the calls that pass through their networks, they are looking into other implementations that can be exercised to reduce the number of active robocallers. For instance, the agency detailed a new software called Stir/Shaken that they are planning to leverage that will aid them in their pursuits.
Additionally, the FCC is working on bolstering its partnerships with local government assets. It hopes that these alliances will lead to better overall monitoring of robocallers. Essentially, the FCC is relying on the fact that two heads are far better than one. Ultimately, because of the sheer size and scope of how many robocallers there are, it’s likely the FCC’s war against them will be waged far into the foreseeable future. Although, it is perhaps slightly comforting to know that they are employing significant tactics to go up against them.
