The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking action to decrease illicit and foreign robocalls following a request from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and other state Attorneys General.

In January of 2022, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody urged the FCC to implement new measures to help prevent foreign-based illegal robocalls that are used to scam residents of the United States.

The FCC will require companies that transmit phone calls originating in foreign countries to U.S. public telephone networks, called gateway providers, to comply with STIR/SHAKEN: a protocol intended to combat caller ID spoofing. According to the FCC, certain small carriers that were previously afforded an exception must implement STIR/SHAKEN by June 30.

Moody said, “The best way to stop scams associated with robocalls is to block the avenues some telemarketers use to send fraudulent automated messages. By working with the FCC, we are gaining ground in our fight to protect Floridians by ensuring carriers utilize the latest technology to try and keep foreign actors from bombarding phones with illegal robocall messages.”

In addition to requiring broader adoption of STIR/SHAKEN, the FCC is also demanding that gateway providers take additional measures to reduce robocalls, including:

  • Responding to requests from law enforcement, state Attorneys General, or the FCC to trace back calls within 24 hours.
  • Blocking calls when providers are made aware of an illegal or likely fraudulent caller by the FCC.
  • Stopping calls that originate from numbers on a ‘do not originate’ list – such as certain government phone numbers that are for incoming calls only.
  • Requiring that foreign telephone companies partnering with U.S. providers register with the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database before they are allowed to transmit calls that use U.S. phone numbers.

To view Attorney General Moody’s original announcement requesting that the FCC take action to help block foreign robocall scams, click here.

For more information about the new measures of fighting illegal robocalls that Attorney General Moody and other state Attorneys General encouraged the FCC to adopt, click here.