FCC Adopts New Rules On Blocking Robocalls

On November 16, the Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to allow telephone carriers to block robocalls as potentially fraudulent when they come from certain types of phone numbers.

According to the FCC's press release, robocalls are the top consumer complaint submitted to the FCC, with more than 200,000 annually. The FCC's report also highlights a more recent phenomenon where callers are now "spoofing" – the practice of altering or manipulating their Caller ID information to hide their true identity and to trick a consumer into answering the call. For instance, callers may create the illusion that they are calling from the IRS and defraud consumers by having them pay money that is not owed to the IRS.