LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined with 50 other AG’s to continue urging the FCC to crack down on robocalls.
According to an official press release, the AG’s are urging the FCC to “implement default call blocking technology…to block illegal and unwanted robocalls, and to protect consumers from caller-ID spoofing.”
In scam terms, “spoofing” is the practice of using a fake caller ID in order to get through to citizens.
“The FCC is integral in holding telecom providers accountable,” Nessel said in the press release. “We hope that the FCC will heed our advice to protect consumers in Michigan and across the country from caller-ID spoofing and the flood of illegal and unwanted robocalls.”
In a letter to the FCC, the AG’s maintain that service providers should provide the following services –
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Offer free, default call-blocking services to all customers based on reasonable analytics that do not block important calls such as emergency alerts or automated calls requested by customers;
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Implement the caller-ID authentication technology – known as STIR/SHAKEN – which will help ensure telephone calls are originating from secure, verified numbers as quickly as possible;
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Develop separate landline caller-ID authentication to prevent illegal and unwanted robocalls to seniors or those that live in rural areas; and,
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Ensure that call blocking and call authentication efforts protect consumer data.
A list of anti-robocall principles was established last week by the AG’s in cooperation with organizations such as AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile to help reduce the rate of these calls.
