The Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday that it has opened a portal for private entities to report suspicious robocall, robotext, and spoofing campaigns. The portal is meant for organizations — essentially entities other than consumers and private citizens — to let the FCC know of a problem. The portal can be accessed by clicking here.
The FCC provided an example of a hospital filing a report because its phone lines are being flooded with robocalls or its number is being spoofed to try and trick individuals.
“This new tool will help us support companies and businesses that see their phone lines jammed with robocalls or their valuable and hard-won brand awareness undercut by scammers spoofing their numbers,” said FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal, in a statement. “While we will always rely on consumer complaints about massive robocall campaigns and have existing lines of communications with many public institutions, we now also have a direct line of communications with private entities that sometimes seem under siege by robocalls and now have an avenue to reach out for help.”
The portal is part of the requirements under the TRACED Act for the FCC to develop methods allowing private entities to share information regarding suspected robocall and spoofing violations. The FCC adopted rules nearly 18 months ago to create the portal.
When making a submission, companies will be required to provide as much information as possible, including the name of the entity, contact information, caller ID information, phone number called, date and time of relevant calls or texts, the service provider, and a description of the incident.
