Washington, DC — October 18, 2023 —The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau today took targeted, coordinated action against a provider for transmitting scam calls impersonating legitimate banks and credit card issuers. The calls, brought onto the U.S. network by Miami, Florida-based gateway voice service provider Identidad Advertising Development, directed recipients to make payments under the guise of fake “transaction alert” notifications.
FCC investigators coordinated with state enforcement counterparts comprising the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, which also issued a warning letter against Identidad today. This is the latest coordinated, state-federal enforcement effort to protect consumers from scam robocalls, building on the FCC’s formal robocall enforcement partnerships with 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and international partners.
What’s New:
The Bureau issued a cease-and-desist letter ordering Identidad to immediately stop carrying the apparently illegal robocall campaign, warning the company that failure to comply with the requirements outlined in the letter may result in mandatory blocking by downstream providers of all traffic from Identidad. In addition, the Bureau issued a “K4 Public Notice,” notifying all U.S.-based voice service providers that they may be permitted to cease accepting traffic from Identidad.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel:
“Federal and state cooperation is critical for protecting consumers. We cannot allow scammers to target families with fake ‘transaction alerts’ from credit card companies and money transfer services. I thank the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force for their leadership and for working with us to combat and cut off these garbage calls.”
Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal:
“Combatting Communications-Fraud-as-a-Service (CFaaS) is a top priority for the Enforcement Bureau. Companies like Identidad provide the infrastructure for bad actors not only to exploit consumers’ fear of falling victim to financial fraud, but they also undermine attempts by legitimate financial institutions to protect their customers. With our enforcement partners, we continue to combat scammers and have developed powerful, cutting-edge tools not only to punish bad actors but to cut off on-going scam campaigns quickly.”
The ‘Transaction Alert’ Robocalls:
According to YouMail, between July and September 2024, more than one million calls of this nature were generated. USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group traced a sample of these robocalls to wireless phones back to Identidad, which served as the gateway provider allowing this traffic onto the U.S. network. The calls played variations of the following prerecorded message:
“This is a transaction alert call from Visa and Mastercard support. There has [sic] been two transactions done on your card for $299.00 on Walmart and $3,950.00 on Western Union. If you have made these transactions and accept the charges simply hang up. If you have not made these transactions and you wish to report fraud please press 1 immediately.”
Consumers who responded to similar calls under this robocall campaign assert that they were instructed to make payments or provide sensitive financial information. One consumer complaint to the FCC stated:
“Received a call from ‘chase bank’ it wasn’t chase and they said I had fraudulent activity so I called them back knowing they weren’t chase and they tried to get me to send $2,000 to them [].”
How We Got Here:
Since March 2021, the FCC has been issuing cease and desist letters to companies suspected of originating and/or transmitting illegal robocall campaigns. These warnings have largely resulted in the targets ending their robocall activities. Where a warning was not enough, the FCC has moved quickly to block ongoing robocall campaigns. The FCC has prioritized addressing ongoing robocall campaigns to save consumers from the scams and the frustration of illegal calls.
Bigger Picture:
The FCC’s Robocall Response Team serves as a working group to combat the unyielding menace of illegal spoofed, or scam, robocalls. The Robocall Response Team has protected consumers by:
- Issuing the first-ever Consumer Communications Information Services Threat (C-CIST) classification to formally name threat actors that use U.S. communications networks to perpetuate the most harmful, illegal schemes against consumers;
- Blocking active robocall scam campaigns by issuing first-of-their-kind actions;
- 99% drop in auto warranty scam robocalls after an FCC action;
- 88% month-to-month drop in student loan scam robocalls in 2022;
- Halted predatory mortgage robocalls targeting homeowners nationwide;
- Fining companies record-breaking amounts for illegal robocalls and spoofing;
- Closing gateways used by international robocallers to reach Americans’ phones;
- Widespread implementation of STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication standards – including applying the requirements to gateway providers;
- Working with industry to traceback illegal calls to their sources;
- Ensuring voice service providers meet FCC robocall mitigation requirements;
- Signing robocall investigation partnerships with 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and international partners;
- Establishing first-of-their-kind regulations targeting scam text messaging; and
- Launching the Robocall Mitigation Database to monitor STIR/SHAKEN compliance.
