Attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission supporting efforts to strengthen the process by which official and legitimate phone numbers are handed out, in an effort to keep those numbers out of the hands of illegitimate companies that use the numbers to make illegal robocalls.
Buying legitimate phone numbers is a way for robocallers to evade Caller ID authentication requirements like the STIR/SHAKEN protocols.
Not only should phone numbers be handed out to legitimate companies, but the AGs also recommended bolstering policies and procedures to ensure that legitimate numbers are not sold, rented, or leased to robocallers.
Robocallers are buying legitimate phone numbers from companies that do not have robust “Know Your Customer” rules in place, the AGs allege in their letter, which is giving those robocallers the ability to place phone calls with the same kind of anonymity that they would have if they were spoofing the numbers instead.
“State AGs support the Commission’s proposals to require direct access applicants to certify that they will use numbering resources lawfully; not assist and facilitate illegal robocalls, illegal spoofing, or fraud; verify their customers’ identities; and take reasonable steps to cut off illegal robocalls transiting their networks once discovered,” the AGs wrote in their letter. “These practices will further the goals of the Anti-Robocall Principles by bringing accountability to companies that provide the phone numbers that fuel efforts to circumvent STIR/SHAKEN call authentication.”
The AGs used the letter to voice their support for the FCC’s proposal that would:
- Require applicants for direct access to numbers to disclose foreign ownership information;
- Require that holders of direct access authorization update the Commission and applicable states within 30 days of any change to the ownership information submitted to the Commission;
- Reject an application or revoking an authorization for direct access to numbers of any applicant or holder that has been found to have originated or transmitted illegal robocalls;
- Require direct access authorization applicants to certify in the Robocall Mitigation Database that they have fully implemented STIR/SHAKEN or a robocall mitigation program in accordance with certification requirements;
- Require that a direct access applicant or authorization holder inform the Commission if it is subject to a Commission, law enforcement, or regulatory agency action or investigation due to suspected unlawful robocalling or spoofing;
- Clarify that interconnected VoIP providers holding a Commission numbering authorization comply with state numbering requirements and other applicable requirements for businesses operating in the state and that such must establish minimal state contacts in order to obtain numbering resources in any particular state.
