The FCC proposed a $116,156,250 fine for robocalls made in an apparent toll-free traffic pumping robocalling scheme. The nearly 10 million robocalls were apparently made to generate toll-free dialing fees for the robocaller. The law prohibits robocalls – even non-commercial calls – made to any service for which the called party is charged for the call unless the caller has prior express consent or an emergency purpose, according to the agency.
An FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation found that, between January 1, 2021, and March 2, 2021, Thomas Dorsher and his company, ChariTel Inc, apparently made more than 9.7 million prerecorded voice message calls to toll free numbers. Businesses reported receiving unsolicited prerecorded voice messages that referenced an entity called “ScammerBlaster.” The messages mentioned the harms associated with scam calls and directed the recipient to report such calls to government regulators, telephone carriers, and “ScammerBlaster,” an entity that Dorsher controls.
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau worked with the Industry Traceback Group to trace the calls to Dorsher and ChariTel. Dorsher apparently targeted toll-free numbers specifically with his robocalls because he received financial compensation for every call made to a toll-free number. When a caller makes a toll-free call, the service provider—typically a long-distance carrier—pays the caller’s local exchange carrier for originating the call and for performing the toll-free database query. The called party—the toll-free subscriber customer—compensates the service provider for completing the call.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said during the vote he was “shocked” to find out that ScammerBlaster “engaged in business that was not entirely above board.” That’s like going to the “Dowecheatemandhow” law firm, he quipped, referring to a fictitious sponsor of the former humorous NPR “Car Talk” show.
Then turning serious, Carr said: “We need to continue the work we are doing to crack down on these types of schemes and scams.” He called the penalty “another concrete step.”
More FCC Authority
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the proposed fine is big “for a scammer responsible for a traffic pumping scheme built on robocalls.” But she reiterated her call for the agency to have more authority to take these cases further, noting the agency has issued large robocall fines before, but then has to turn over the cases to the Justice Department and hope for prosecution.
“Instead of wishing for the best, I would like the certainty of this agency being able to go to court directly and collect fines against these bad actors—each and every one of them. This will take a change in the law and we need Congress to fix that. But I think this is robocall change worth fighting for.”
Dorsher will get a chance to answer the allegations in the Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture. Then, the Commission will consider his evidence and legal arguments before acting further to resolve the matter.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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