On October 18, the FCC issued a public notice to all US-based voice service providers regarding a cease and desist letter that it had sent to a “gateway” telecommunications provider instructing it to halt transmission of apparently unlawful foreign robocalls in the US. The FCC stated that the calls impersonate financial institutions and deceive recipients into providing sensitive information.

The FCC warned the gateway provider that it is unlawful to call cell phone numbers using prerecorded messages without prior express consent or an emergency purpose. It instructed the gateway provider to mitigate the illegal traffic within 48 hours or potentially face permissive and mandatory blocking of all its traffic and removal from the Robocall Mitigation Database, which would compel all intermediate and terminating voice service providers to cease accepting the gateway provider’s calls. In parallel, the FCC instructed US-based voice service providers that if the gateway provider failed to mitigate the apparently illegal traffic in a timely manner, voice service providers may block voice calls or cease to accept traffic from the gateway provider, without liability.

The FCC took these actions after the gateway provider failed to provide evidence of consent for these calls or dispute their illegality.  The cease and desist letter detailed five specific calls transmitted by the gateway provider that contained prerecorded messages claiming to be from bank customer support centers and warning of fraudulent transactions. The FCC emphasized that such calls exploit consumer fears and undermine legitimate financial institutions’ efforts to protect their customers.