The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, reports that the Federal Communications Commission announced that an entity known as Royal Tiger has been designated as the first group tagged through its new threat analysis and designation system called the Consumer Communications Information Services Threat.
An individual or company can be designated as a C-CIST if its activities constitute a "significant threat to consumer trust in the integrity of communications information services," according to the FCC release.
The group usually makes fraudulent robocalls through international networks impersonating banks, government agencies, and utility companies, and has also made illegal calls to defraud international consumers with offers for fake interest rate reductions for credit cards and requesting "purchase authorizations" for fake orders never made by people, the FCC said.
Royal Tiger's operations are run in India, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the U.S., and Prince Jashvantlal Anand, known as the group's leader, operates three U.S.-based robocall companies, namely PZ Telecommunication, Illum Telecommunication Limited and One Eye.
