WASHINGTON — Those annoying robocalls about auto warranties expiring are about to expire -- for good.
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday ordered U.S. telecom companies to block robocalls about scam auto warranties.
Consumers are familiar with the sales pitch, which usually begins, “We’ve been trying to reach you concerning your car’s extended warranty.”
Say goodbye to those auto-warranty robocalls. The FCC orders phone companies to block them https://t.co/19Box1B0NY
— Bloomberg (@business) July 21, 2022
Now, the FCC has extended a stern order toward telephone companies that have allowed the calls to reach consumers.
U.S. voice service providers must now “take all necessary steps to avoid carrying this robocall traffic,” or provide a report outlining how they are “mitigating the traffic,” the FCC’s Robocall Response Team said in a statement.
The calls are coming from Roy Cox Jr., Aaron Michael Jones, their Sumco Panama companies and international associates, Bloomberg reported.
“Now that U.S. voice service providers know the individuals and entities associated with this scheme, the Enforcement Bureau will closely monitor voice service providers’ compliance with this order and take appropriate enforcement action as necessary,” acting FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal said in a statement.
The operation is also the target of an ongoing investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau and a lawsuit by Ohio’s attorney general, Bloomberg reported.
The individuals and their groups have sent more than 8 billion scam messages since 2018, according to CNN.
“We are not going to tolerate robocall scammers or those that help make their scams possible,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Consumers are out of patience and I’m right there with them.”
As part of the robocall scheme, the group bought access to nearly 500,000 telephone numbers from more than 200 area codes in late 2020, CNN reported. The group then used the number to make it appear to consumers that the robocalls were coming from local numbers, according to the news outlet.
Auto warranty renewal calls were the No. 1 robocall complaint filed with the FCC by consumers in 2021, Bloomberg reported. The number of complaints filed with the FCC about auto warranty scams rose from nearly 7,600 in 2020 to more than 12,000 in 2021, according to the FCC.
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