AG Donovan joins effort to curb illegal robocalls

MONTPELIER – Attorney General T.J. Donovan called on the Federal Communications Commission to create new rules to allow telephone service providers to block more illegal robocalls being made to unsuspecting consumers.

Last year, the FCC granted phone service providers authority to block certain illegal spoofed robocalls. Now, 34 attorneys general seek added authority for the providers to work together to detect and block more illegal spoofed robocalls — including “neighbor spoofing.”

The formal comment to the FCC explains that scammers using illegal robocalls have found ways to evade a call blocking order entered last year by the FCC. Despite the FCC’s order, robocalls continue to be a major irritant to consumers. In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission received 4.5 million illegal robocall complaints — two and a half times more than in 2014.

“Illegal robocalls are on the upswing,” Donovan said. “I call upon the FCC to create new rules to let telephone service providers block more types of illegal robocalls.”

“Virtually anyone can send millions of illegal robocalls and frustrate law enforcement with just a computer, inexpensive software and an internet connection,” the attorneys general wrote in the formal comment filed with the FCC.

One tactic on the rise is “neighbor spoofing,” a technique that allows calls — no matter where they originate — to appear on a consumer’s caller ID as being made from a phone number that has the same local area code as the consumer. This manipulation of caller ID information

increases the likelihood that the consumer will answer the call. Spoofing an “802” number is illegal in Vermont.

In the formal comment, Donovan and his colleagues expressed support for the new initiative, which will give phone service providers the ability to authenticate legitimate calls and identify illegally spoofed calls and block them. The added authority sought by the attorneys general will allow service providers to use new technology to detect and block illegal spoofed calls – even those coming from what are otherwise legitimate phone numbers. Service providers will be ready to launch this new authentication method in 2019.