(Phoenix, AZ) Attorney General Mark Brnovich applauds the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") for adopting new rules to protect consumers from unwanted robocalls. The new rules will allow phone companies to proactively block calls that are likely to be fraudulent because they come from certain types of phone numbers.
“These new rules will help us stop illegal phone scammers from preying on hardworking Arizona families,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “We need to use every tool available to protect consumers from scam calls and that includes allowing phone companies to block spoof robocalls.
”In July 2017, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich led a bipartisan group of 30 attorneys general in urging the federal government to adopt the new rules that would allow telephone providers to block several types of “spoofed” calls, in which a call appears to be coming from one number, but is actually coming from a different number. Scammers frequently use spoofed calls to hide their identity and to trick consumers into believing that their calls are legitimate.
Previously, regulatory roadblocks prevented telecommunications companies from blocking many illegal robocalls. Providers will now be allowed to block calls coming from invalid numbers, unallocated numbers, and numbers whose owners have requested to be blocked.
The rules prohibit providers from blocking 911 emergency calls.