Are Robocalls Finally Coming to an End?

Since 2018, the vice grip robocalls have held over the American people has been suffered with no small amount of complaining. Yet, despite the numerous calls to end the spam, it persists. That is, until now (possibly).

Just yesterday, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenwood released a bombshell, opening with the following line.

”We are not going to tolerate robocall scammers or those that help make their scams possible. Consumers are out of patience and I’m right there with them.”

The Problem

No, it’s not your imagination, robocalls have been getting worse and worse. Particularly, the “Car Warranty Scams” have spiraled out of control.

Over 2020, more than 7,000 complaints were issued directly to the FCC, dramatically increasing as the year wore on as exemplified by the following graph.

The trend did not slow down.

It’s estimated in the FCC report that over 8 billion fraudulent calls were made to American consumers since 2018, an incomprehensibly large number. Many consumers, including me, have been trained to totally ignore your phone.

It wasn’t always like this.

The Plan

At last, the FCC has decided that enough is enough. They’re instructing all U.S. phone providers to take “all necessary steps” to prevent these spam calls from reaching your device.

This is a rather vague order, but it was paired with a useful list of the common culprits behind the flood of messages - the telecommunications organizations creating, distributing, and proliferating the fake numbers used by scammers.

If you’re curious about the list, here’s a download link to the pdf released by the FCC.

Will it work?

Unfortunately, this is not the first time the FCC has tried to stop the robocall problem.

In 2021, the FCC passed a rule requiring authentication for calls. Not only did the scammers just spoof the authenticity (as you’ve noticed if you pay attention to your phone), the number actually continued to get even higher.

We’ll have to wait and see how effective this new attempt is. Until then, remain vigilant, and ignore your phone calls.