Gateway Providers Shuttered COVID-19 Robocall Scams: Pai

Six gateway providers complied “within 48 hours” of receiving letters from the FCC and FTC in April and May demanding they cut traffic allowing COVID-19-related scam robocalls originating outside the country into the U.S. (see 2005200053), FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in letters to Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Tom Carper, D-Del., released Thursday. Hassan and Carper wrote in June urging the FCC, DOJ and IRS to “aggressively” crack down (see 2006260067). The USTelecom Industry Traceback Group confirms Connexum, IntelePeer Cloud Communications, PTGi International Carrier Services, RSCom, SipJoin and VoIP Terminator/BL “continue to be in compliance,” Pai said. “We will continue to monitor these and other gateway providers to stop illegal international robocalls before they reach consumers.” Those efforts “could be one reason that there has been a notable decrease in robocall complaints filed both at the FCC and FTC in recent months,” he said. He said the FTC reports robocall complaints decreased 68% in April 2020 from April 2019, with a 60% drop in complaints in May. Pai noted the senators’ concerns about DOJ’s recent inability to collect more than a token amount of FCC-levied fines against robocallers, saying the commission lacks "authority to force entities to pay the fines levied in a Forfeiture Order. When an entity does not pay, we must refer the case to the Justice Department for collection."