December 11, 2024
FCC Targets Bank Impersonation Robocall Scam Campaign
As the FCC continues its aggressive stance against bad actors, it recently identified a bank impersonation scam targeting U.S. consumers. The FCC coordinated with state-level regulators to find the source of the scam, which impersonates legitimate banks and credit card issuers to trick victims.
Now, the FCC is cracking down on the service provider that let these robocalls reach America’s phone network.
FCC Identifies Scam Calls Impersonating Financial Institutions
In an October press release, the FCC named Identidad Advertising Development as the gateway voice service provider giving illegal robocalls access to the U.S. network. The robocalls impersonated legitimate financial service providers to trick consumers into making unnecessary payments.
The FCC also sent a cease-and-desist letter to Identidad, to stop facilitating traffic from the bank impersonation scam. The letter tells Identidad to stop carrying the illegal calls. It also warned Identidad that failing to comply could mean the government would shut down all downstream traffic from the gateway voice service provider, which would effectively end the company’s ability to conduct business.
FCC Issues a K4 Public Notice to Service Providers
The FCC issued a K4 Public Notice to U.S. service providers. The K4 Public Notice tells all providers that they may stop accepting traffic from Identidad.
In the notice, the FCC states that Identidad must:
- Investigate the source of the problematic calls
- Block the robocalls and similar robocalls
- Report the details of its investigation to the Agency within 14 days
Identidad has an opportunity to explain why it believes the traffic is legal, but it must provide evidence to support such a conclusion. Failing to do so would mean that all other service providers can block Identidad’s traffic.
USTelecom’s ITG Identifies Bank Impersonation Scam Calls
A telecom group coordinated with the FCC to identify the source of more than a million robocalls made between July and September 2024. The Industry Traceback Group (ITG) works with regulators and industry leaders to stop illegal calls. The group includes companies in the VoIP, cable, wireless, and wireline industries.
The FCC also coordinates with state and international partners to identify and stop illegal calls. This group currently includes 49 states, Guam, Washington, D.C., and partners in several countries.
Transaction Alert Robocalls
This specific case involves “Transaction Alert” robocalls, which attempt to frighten consumers into paying money or providing information that could enable fraud.
In at least one version of the fraud campaign that entered the U.S. through Identidad, robocalls told consumers that there had been potentially fraudulent charges made to their credit cards. If the consumers wanted to contest the charges, they needed to press 1 on their phones. Pressing one encouraged them to pay a fee or provide sensitive personal information.
Many consumers reported the suspicious activity. In one complaint, a person said they received a call from “Chase Bank.” The call requested $2,000 from the person. The consumer didn’t believe this information, so they hung up and called the bank. Chase confirmed that it hadn’t initiated the call.
FCC’s Robocall Response Team
Illegal robocalls have become a serious problem throughout North America, and the FCC is taking action to protect U.S. consumers. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel created the Robocall Response Team to combat scam robocalls and robotexts.
The group has several ways to protect consumers. Some actions it has taken so far include:
- Closing international gateways used by robocallers
- Working with legitimate companies within the telecom industry to spot and stop bad actors
- Fining companies that allow illegal calls to reach the U.S. network
- Naming and classifying threat actors complicit in illegal schemes
- Developing regulations that make it harder for scammers to reach victims
Past Actions From Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force
Anti-robocall task forces have pursued potential criminals diligently. In May 2024, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau designated “Royal Tiger” and its associates as a Significant Threat under the Consumer Communications Information Services Threat (C-CIST) classification system. It was a first for the group, and the designation seems to have stopped a robocall gang using AI voice cloning and caller ID spoofing to defraud consumers.
In November 2023, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel worked with the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force to issue warning letters to eight VoIP service providers suspected of helping illegal robocallers use their services. In a press release, the AG said the VoIP providers didn’t “appear to have taken sufficient steps to identify, investigate, and mitigate suspected illegal call traffic…”
These and similar actions send a clear message that service providers must know their clients and ensure they use services legally. A VoIP or gateway service provider can’t simply claim ignorance to avoid penalties.
Protecting Your Phone Numbers
While the FCC and various task forces do excellent work, caller ID spoofing still happens. Caller ID’s Device Cloud solution uses screenshots from real mobile devices connected to popular networks so you can see precisely what your number looks like on caller ID screens.
Contact Caller ID Reputation today to learn more about protecting your phone number’s reputation. As long as there’s a possibility that a bad actor could spoof your number, you need a way to verify accuracy before reaching out to your customers.
