Attorneys General ask FCC to put anti-robotext protections in place
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WWAY) — The attorneys general of all 50 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter supporting the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to help cut down on unwanted text messages by requiring mobile wireless providers to block texts from invalid, unassigned, or unused numbers, and from numbers on a Do Not Originate (DNO) list.
“We all get too many texts every day from numbers we don’t recognize with messages that frustrate, annoy, or seek to scam us,” said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. “Robotexts are becoming as much of a nuisance as robocalls, and we need to take steps now to stop them. I’m pleased that the FCC is taking a closer look at this issue, and I’m proud to lead my fellow attorneys general in finding solutions to cut down unwanted texts.”
Just like spam calls, spam texts are an irritation and can result in people losing millions through phishing texts, imposter scams, and links containing ransomware. In 2021, the FCC received more than 15,000 consumer complaints about unwanted texts and, in 2020, scammers stole more than $86 million through frauds perpetrated via scam text messages.
The FCC wants to require mobile wireless providers to block unlawful text messages at the network level if they originate from fraudulent numbers.
The attorneys general are asking the FCC to continue pushing the wireless industry to develop call authentication technology for text messages so people can know if the texts they receive are from spoofed numbers and law enforcement can investigate the source of these texts.
A copy of the letter is available here.
