The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is continuing it's efforts to stop the spam calls that plague every person who owns a phone.
Back in April they created the TRACED Act, which was put in place to make spam calls illegal by putting it mostly on the shoulders of phone services to regulate. That act doesn't seem to work so great considering I still get plenty of random phone calls that come through on my phone and I know I'm not the only one. Now they're also pushing some their focus to illegal text messages that have caused some people to click links that will mess with their phones or lead them to webpages that will ask for personal information.
The FCC Acting Chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, said, “We’ve seen a rise in scammers trying to take advantage of our trust of text messages by sending bogus robotexts that try to trick consumers to share sensitive information or click on malicious links. It’s time we take steps to confront this latest wave of fraud and identify how mobile carriers can block these automated messages before they have the opportunity to cause any harm.”
They also announced in a press release that they will implement a new plan to combat robocalls with the largest fine yet.
“Unwanted robocalls are not only a nuisance, but they also pose a serious risk to consumers who can inadvertently share sensitive, personal information in response to bad actors’ malicious schemes. I’m proud to unveil my first set of actions to put a renewed focus on what the FCC can do to combat the issue that we receive the most complaints about. I believe closer coordination within the agency and between federal and state partners can help in addressing this consumer epidemic. Also, today’s cease and desist letters should serve as a warning sign to other entities that believe the FCC has turned a blind eye to this issue. We certainly haven’t and we’re coming for you," said Rosenworcel.
Let's see if this threat actually turns into anything productive...