FCC Releases Details on Record-Setting Robocall Fine

The FCC released its notice of apparent liability Friday, proposing a nearly $300 million fine against Sumco Panama and the perpetrators of an alleged auto warranty scheme, approved by commissioners Wednesday (see 2212210054). The NAL describes a “complex robocall sales lead generation scheme, which was designed to sell vehicle service contracts that were deceptively marketed as car warranties.” The perpetrators “apparently used several deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices,” the FCC said: “The two foreign dialing entities, Virtual Telecom kft and Sumco Panama, SA, placed calls to consumers’ phones without their consent and used misleading caller identification. The caller IDs were U.S. numbers selected apparently to cause call recipients to believe that the calls originated locally. The messages also failed to disclose the identity of the caller, misrepresented the nature and characteristics of the product or service being offered, and made false or misleading statements to induce call recipients to purchase goods or services.” The proposed nearly $300 million fine is based “on a sample of 33,333 verified calls” and “is appropriate in light of the multiple apparent violations and the scope of the apparently unlawful calling campaign,” the notice said.