FCC demands 2 companies stop robocall campaigns—or have their networks blocked

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sent letters to two companies demanding that they stop illegal robocall campaigns from being carried out on their networks.

The FCC sent cease-and-desist letters to VaultTel Solutions and Prestige DR VoIP warning them that if they did not take action to stop carrying the robocall campaigns on their networks, the FCC would allow other network operators to block traffic from their companies.

In the letters, the FCC notes instances where VaultTel Solutions and Prestige DR VoIP had transmitted robocall campaigns. The agency said social security administration imposter calls and internet bill reduction calls were sent on VaultTel's network and vacation package robocalls were sent on Prestige's network.

The FCC told the two companies it had to tell the agency how they were planning on taking steps to "effectively mitigate illegal traffic" and inform them within 14 days on the steps taken to "implement effective measures" to prevent their customers from using their networks to make illegal calls.

If they don't, the FCC said it would issue a notice to voice service providers in the U.S. telling them they could block all call traffic from VaultTel Solutions and Prestige DR VoIP's networks.

"We need to use every tool we have to get these junk calls off of our networks," Jessica Rosenworcel, the acting chair of the FCC, said in a statement. "From these new cease-and-desist letters to STIR/SHAKEN implementation to large fines and our robocall mitigation database, we are going to do everything we can to protect consumers from these nuisance calls. We’re not going to stop until we get robocallers, spoofers, and scammers off the line."

The cease-and-desist letters are the latest in a flurry of activity the FCC has taken against robocalls recently.

The agency will require phone companies to refuse traffic from providers who are not listed in a robocall database starting in September. The FCC also fined two Texas-based telemarkers $225 million, the largest in the agency's history, in March.

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