FCC vows to do more to stop scam auto warranty robocalls

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Robocall Response Team announced on Thursday that the agency has ordered phone companies to block scam robocalls promoting auto warranties.

“We are not going to tolerate robocall scammers or those that help make their scams possible,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.  “Consumers are out of patience and I’m right there with them.”

Earlier in July, the FCC and the Ohio attorney general announced they’re trying to stop an operation they say is responsible for 8 billion illegal auto warranty robocalls since 2018. On July 19, U.S. PIRG Education Fund published a report that found the number of phone companies complying with a federal law to detect illegal robocalls has quadrupled in the last year and scam robocalls have declined by nearly 50 percent.

Meanwhile, scam texts have increased 12-fold. The report also said the FCC needs to do more to enforce existing laws and to approve a proposal to order phone companies to block scam texts.