Spoofing a Major Source of Callers' FCC Complaint Ire

Spoofing remains a particularly acute problem for U.S. residents already besieged by run-of-the-mill robocalls, with close to one in four robocall complaints to the FCC involving some form of spoofing, per our analysis of those complaints. The agency often says robocalls are the biggest source of public complaints it receives. Via a Freedom of Information Act request, we obtained and then reviewed the 446 complaints the agency received on one day, July 1. Per data from the agency's Consumer Complaints Center, it received just shy of 161,000 robocall complaints last year.

Those complaints are "often a critical part of investigations and sometimes prompt investigations" into robocallers, the FCC told us.

About 26% of the calls we analyzed came from either spoofed numbers or people saying their number was being fraudulently used for robocalls. "I just received a phone call and threat via text by someone who believes it was me who called them, when it wasn’t," said a Chicago complaint. "Today I received a call from my own phone. I did not answer," per a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, complaint. "My cellular phone number is continuously spoofed and I have had some very angry people call me back," said an Angelus Oaks, California, complaint.

A variety of those complaints show sizable amounts of incoming calls. A Houston, Tennessee, complainant reported 25-plus spam calls a day. A Quartz Hill, California, complainant told of elderly grandparents receiving 15-20 unwanted calls a day, and having blocked 30 numbers through their phone carrier "and still their phone rings off the hook with unwanted calls." A Siletz, Oregon, complainant reported receiving 20-30 unwanted texts a day: “I’ve blocked too many numbers to keep count. If I absolutely have no other choice than to change my number I guess I will it’s just going to cause a lot of issues in my work and personal life ... I know there is a national do not call number for telemarketers is there one for text fishing?!?! If so I want on it please!!”

The complaints themselves vary widely, from including the number that had called and details about the calls to vague grousing about unwanted calls. Per our analysis, about 10% of calls involved vehicle warranty sales pitches. Auto warranty robocalls often are the top unwanted call complaint made to the FCC, the agency said. People in our analysis also made close to two dozen complaints about calls purportedly about IRS or Social Security problems.

Many complaints also urge FCC action. “IDENTIFY AND BLOCK THESE ROBOCALLER OFFENDERS!,” said a Montrose, Colorado, complainant. “These repeat offenders repeatedly violate the No Call List and need to be identified, blocked, arrested and prosecuted! They are lawbreakers that solely exist to steal information or fraudently [sic] swindle money.” “WHY CAN’T THE FCC STOP THESE ABUSIVE PRACTICES,” echoed an Eastchester, New York, complainant who received at least half a dozen unwanted faxes. The complainant said whoever answered the phone number listed on the fax was abusive and refused to cease sending them. A Cumming, Georgia, complainant -- citing 10 calls in a month from the same number, all ending in hang-ups -- said the person responsible “needs to be held accountable and their privilege of phone use taken away.”

While their numbers differ, some telecom services companies see robocall volumes rebounding after a 2020 dip.

About 20% to 25% of all phone calls are robocalls, robocall blocking service YouMail blogged this month. "No wonder people are ... not bothering to answer their phone any more," it said. There were an average of 13.3 robocalls per person in March, with 4.4 billion calls placed nationwide, said YouMail. It said robocall volume in 2021, at 50.5 billion, was up about 10% from 2020, though both years were down from 2019. Transaction Network Services' robocall report last month said Americans were hit with 78.9 billion robocalls last year, up 2% from 2020 but down 26% from 2019. It said 61% of that volume originated via VoIP calls, and few originate on U.S. wireless networks. It said with implementation of the Stir/Shaken protocols improving call authentication across networks, robotexts are gaining in popularity with spammers as a route around the protocols. It said 48% of December robotext scams were from a robocall spammer.

Agency Action

The FCC said all its robocall and spoofing investigations involve the use of consumer complaints, "whether as the direct heart of the case or as supporting material that prompts a deeper dig into additional facts." It said the $225 million Rising Eagle spoofing fine (see 2103170061) "relied in part on consumer complaints," with that investigation partially prompted by increasing health insurance telemarketing complaints in 2018. The FCC said consumer interviews confirmed the calls caused notable consumer harm, and Rising Eagle didn't have consent to make the calls. It said the agency's $9.9 million spoofing fine, now the subject of DOJ litigation seeking collection (see 2110210048), "also started largely based on consumer complaints" to the FCC, FTC and local law enforcement.

Data from unwanted call complaints received at the FCC's Consumer Complaint Center gets shared internally with other agency bureaus and offices "to inform policy and potential enforcement," the commission said. That data gets analyzed for trending issues and to help inform consumer educational material such as scam alerts and consumer guides. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel created the Robocall Response Team "'in an effort to strengthen the relationships among Bureaus and Offices in the effort to address illegal robocalls," said the FCC. The Enforcement Bureau often begins investigations based on information such as media reports of possible illegal spoofing campaigns or signs of malicious robocall campaigns brought to its attention by USTelecom’s Industry Traceback Group. Consumer complaints to their service providers or to call-blocking apps are used as ITG evidence to conduct private-led tracebacks of suspected illegal calls, with the bureau using those investigations' findings "as evidence in its cease and desist letters to bad actor voice service providers," the FCC said.

Consumer complaints might be used by the Enforcement Bureau and agency leadership to inform decisions about the harms triggered by a particular calling campaign, with the result being "upward adjustments for egregiousness in proposed fines as allowed under the law to reflect harmful impacts," the FCC said. It said it also has taken different consumer protection initiatives informed by consumer complaints, including focusing on one-ring scams, enabling voice providers to block illegal calls before they reach consumers' phones and requiring that Caller ID be authenticated to address spoofing scams.