FCC Opens Robocall Reporting Portal

WASHINGTON, December 20, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau on Thursday announced a new web portal that allows private entities to report robocall and spoofing violations.

“Uses of this form might include a corporation or association experiencing a deluge of robocalls overwhelming their internal phone network, voice service providers that found evidence of illegal robocalls traversing their networks, or private entities that have had their number(s) spoofed,” the FCC’s portal says.

The category “private entities” does not include 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 Loyaan Egal, chief of the Enforcement Bureau.  “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 elimination of illegal robocalls has of late been a priority for the FCC, and the agency has taken several actions to squash them in recent months. A recent report by Truecaller found that in the twelve months preceding May 2022, scam callers pried $39.5 billion from 68.4 million Americans. These year-over-year figures rose sharply from $29.8 billion lost and 59.4 million victims in 2021.