It never ceases to amaze us that, in times of crises, unscrupulous parties launch new and frightening scams that prey on all of us but especially our most vulnerable populations. Such is the case with the surge in robocalls offering “miracle cures” for the COVID-19 virus, or “magical test kits” that can detect the virus with a drop of spit.
To help stop the spread of these malicious calls, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued a joint call for three telecommunications gateway providers to preemptively cut off scam COVID-19-relataed robocalls originating from outside of the U.S.
According to a press release issued last week, the three gateway providers have been identified by a consortium of phone companies as responsible for facilitating the scam robocalls. The gateway companies include SIPJoin of Suffolk, VA, Connexum of Orange, CA, and VoIP Terminator/BL Marking of Lake Mary, FL.
The press release also reports that the FCC and FTC has requested that broadband industry association USTelecom ask its members to begin blocking calls from these gateway providers if the flood of robocalls does not promptly cease.
Read the FCC/FTC joint press release on cutting off COVID-19-related scam robocalls.
