FCC proposes rules against caller ID spoofing

The FCC today announced proposed rules banning malicious caller ID spoofing of text messages and foreign robocalls.

The Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 already prohibits malicious caller ID spoofing, but the scope did not extend to text messages or international calls to U.S. numbers. The RAY BAUM’s Act of 2018 extended the Truth in Caller ID Act to cover such calls.

The proposed FCC rule would implement this aspect of the RAY BAUM’s Act.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

“Scammers often robocall us from overseas, and when they do, they typically spoof their numbers to try and trick consumers,” said Chairman Pai. “With these new rules, we’ll close the loopholes that hamstring law enforcement when they try to pursue international scammers and scammers using text messaging.”

The Commission will vote on the proposed rule at its meeting on August 1, 2019.

Prevent caller ID spoofing