I can’t go a week without someone illegally calling me about a small business loan or car insurance, and despite coming from a local phone number, I’m fairly certain they aren’t from around here.
Such spammers are usually using Voice over IP (VOIP) to fake phone numbers, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is as fed up as the rest of us. It’s threatening to shut down thousands of VOIP services.
In a press release issued yesterday, the FCC says 2,411 of these providers “failed to properly file in the Robocall Mitigation database, and must now show cause why they should not be removed.” In other words, these VOIP companies are lightning rods for spammers using their services to spread illegal calls, and they’ve ignored federally mandated action to stop spammers from pestering and scamming Americans.
The FCC’s authority over conventional phone calls is basically absolute, and this action was taken in partnership with attorneys …