Robocall scam leaders fined $300M by FCC

The Federal Communications Commission recommended a $300 million fine to be levied on the architects of an alleged massive robocall scamming campaign that took place between January and March 2021, according to CBS News. The operation allegedly placed around 5.2 billion unsolicited calls to over 550 million residential and wireless telephones using over one million unique caller ID numbers, ostensibly to market auto warranty services but was actually intended to generate leads for vehicle service contracts that would later be sold to other parties. The pre-recorded messages would press consumers to speak to a 'warranty specialist' about extending or reinstating their car's warranty, according to the agency. As some of the spoofed phone numbers were those of hospitals, calls from victims caused phone lines of critical public safety institutions to be tied up, the FCC said. The FCC says the scheme was led by Roy Cox, Jr. and Michael Aaron Jones, and involved Sumco Panama and other international entities.