The FCC is once again putting rules in place to protect consumers from robocalls, especially those that lead to scams.
Robocalls aren’t just annoying, they can also be harmful to consumers, causing major financial loss. A report from the Federal Trade Commission says “scams that started by a phone call caused the highest per-person loss ($1,480 average loss).”
The FCC says it has been working to “improve blocking of suspicious calls, enhance robocall traceback and caller-ID authentication, and implement additional mitigation strategies such as the Robocall Mitigation Database and know-your-customer-style rules.”
The new rules revolve around do-not-originate lists. These lists allow providers to identify spam callers before the call is made and block the numbers. The numbers being blocked include those that are unused, unallocated, and invalid. Service providers will be required to block calls from these do-not-originate lists, which should significantly cut down on the number of robocalls that make it to consumers.
If you’re dealing with unwanted robocalls, the FCC has a page of tips and resources.