FCC Sets Record-Breaking Fine of $300M on Robocall Operation

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has levied a landmark fine of almost $300 million against an illegal auto warranty scam robocall operation, as per an announcement made by the agency on Thursday. 

According to the FCC, this operation involved an international network of companies that violated federal statutes and the FCC’s regulations over a three-month period in 2021. During this time, they made over 5 billion robocalls to more than 500 million phone numbers. 

The operation violated several regulations, including making pre-recorded voice calls to mobile phones without obtaining prior express consent, making telemarketing calls without written consent, dialing numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, and failing to identify the caller at the beginning of the message, according to the FCC. 

Furthermore, the calls employed misleading caller ID tactics to entice consumers into answering, thereby violating spoofing laws, as stated by the agency.

It is worth noting that this operation had been ongoing since 2018, according to the FCC. Two main individuals involved, Roy M. Cox and Aaron Michael Jones, were already under lifetime bans issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the state of Texas, which prohibited them from making telemarketing calls. 

“At one point, it seemed like these calls were everywhere. They were more than just a nuisance. That’s because this scheme flooding our lines marketing fake car warranties was part of a scam to gain access to our personal and financial information. So the Federal Communications Commission kicked into high gear,” stated FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a released statement. 

This fine comes after the FCC directed all U.S.-based voice service providers to cease carrying traffic associated with certain members involved in the enterprise, resulting in a 99 percent reduction in illegal auto warranty robocalls, according to the agency’s report. 

The enforcement action was carried out in collaboration with the Ohio attorney general’s office, which filed lawsuits against multiple entities and individuals associated with the scheme. 

Additionally, on Thursday, the FCC announced new partnerships for robocall investigations with the attorneys general of Hawaii and New Mexico. With these new signatories, a total of 46 states, along with Washington, D.C., and Guam, have joined forces with the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to share evidence and coordinate interventions to combat robocalls. 

“We know the scam artists behind these calls are relentless — but we are coming for them and won’t stop until we get this junk off the line,” affirmed Rosenworcel.