The Justice Department, FCC and FTC took part in a nationwide effort to crackdown on illegal telemarketing. The year-long effort, called Operation Stop Scam Calls, involves enforcement actions taken by federal and state agencies to combat telemarketing operations that include robocalls and scam calls.
Enforcement actions targeted lead generators who deceptively collect consumers’ telephone numbers and then provide those telephone numbers to robocallers and others. Bad actors falsely represent that these consumers have consented to receive calls, say the agencies.
The effort involved targeting VoIP service providers who facilitate tens of billions of illegal robocalls every year. Significant actions also were taken against individuals and entities who unjustly profited by facilitating the movement of money from scam call victims to fraudsters.
“The FCC is committed to using every tool at its disposal to crack down on illegal robocalls and protect the U.S. communications network,” said FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal. “We, alongside our partners, will not let up in tracking, prosecuting, and penalizing the bad actors in this space and protecting consumers.”
Cases brought by the DoJ targeted foreign and domestic telemarketing operations. They focused on actions targeting fraudsters who directly contacted victims to actions targeting those who provided scam call operators with the means to perpetrate their schemes, according to the agencies. The DoJ’s efforts contributed to over 180 actions taken by the federal and state partners.
The DoJ brought nine civil actions in partnership with the FTC, which collectively alleged conduct involving billions of robocalls. Four of these cases involved lawsuits against VoIP providers that transmitted illegal phone calls. Some of these calls were scams arising from foreign call centers, such as calls by fraudsters pretending to be government agencies or impersonating e-commerce companies.
Cases brought by the department also involved criminal charges against those alleged to have made illegal phone calls or facilitated such calls. Many of these cases involved foreign fraud operations that victimized older adults. The department prosecuted perpetrators of various lottery fraud schemes, in which consumers were falsely told they had won a large prize but must first pay money to receive that prize.
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