FCC Issues Series of Warnings, Resources about Scams

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The FCC has issued a series of alerts and resources for common scams for which they have received complaints. The scams often leverage personal information obtained from social media accounts or cybercriminals and rely on unsolicited calls/texts to target potential victims. Institutions affected, as well as individual consumers, should be on the alert for these types of scams. These include warnings about:

• Port-Out Frauds. Mobile phone numbers can legally be ported from one provider to the next when you switch your phone services. Phone companies have established safeguards to protect this process, such as having account holders set up a PIN or a password they must provide when calling about their account. To work around these protections, scammers will gather personal information about their target through social media posts or purchasing information from cyber thieves or hackers. With the right combination of personal information (e.g., address, birth date, PINs or passwords, last four digits of Social Security numbers), they may be able to con the victim's phone company into believing they are the authorized account holder making the porting request. If so, the phone number will be ported to a different mobile device or service account set up by the scammer, so they can reset access credentials for as many of the victim's financial and social media accounts as possible before the victim realizes they have lost service on their device. Then they may attempt to drain the victim's bank accounts. In another variation, the scammers may attempt to sell or ransom back to the victim access to their social media accounts. For information on how to prevent this or to file a complaint with the FCC, see here.
• “Grandparent” Scams. Leveraging the generosity and affection of grandparents towards their grandchildren, scammers can mine social media or purchase data from cyber thieves to create storylines preying on the fears of relatives. The scammers call and impersonate a grandchild – or another close relative – in a crisis situation, asking for immediate financial assistance. Sometimes, these callers “spoof” the caller ID to make an incoming call appear to be coming from a relative or another trusted source. Often the imposter claims to have been in an accident or arrested. The scammer may ask the grandparent, “Please don’t let Mom and Dad know,” and may hand the phone over to someone posing as a lawyer seeking immediate payment. In many cases, payment is requested through a mobile app, wire transfer, or gift card purchase, which may make it harder to track the scammer down. In March, the Department of Justice announced that it had charged 25 people from Quebec, Canada for allegedly participating in a ‘grandparent scam’ defrauding elderly individuals out of over $21 million in Vermont and more than 40 other states. Bad actors can now use AI to create audio or video clips to “clone” a loved one’s voice. For tips on staying vigilant and how to file a complaint with the FCC, see here.
• Spoofed Mortgage Relief Calls. The FCC issued a Consumer Communications Information Services Threat (C-CIST) alert warning consumers about a deceptive and fraudulent calling campaign targeting homeowners in all 50 states. The illegal spoofing operation known as “Green Mirage” has a presence in India and the U.S. In this scam, callers pose as the homeowner’s mortgage provider to contact homeowners, who often have previously sought relief from the actual mortgage lender and may expect to be contacted. The callers frequently know details about the homeowner, their property, and their lending institution. Callers also spoof the caller ID numbers of the actual lending institutions. They threaten foreclosure, but then offer relief if the homeowner makes specific payments, which are redirected to Green Mirage. Green Mirage has impersonated over 400 mortgage institutions. For more information about the scam and how to report it, click here.
• ACP Enrollment Scams. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was a federally funded program offering monthly discounts on broadband services and one-time discounts on the purchase price of certain devices.  Participation in the ACP by internet service providers was an eligibility requirement associated with certain federal broadband grant funding programs under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).  However, due to a lack of additional funding from Congress, the ACP ran out of funds and ended on June 1, 2024. As a result, the ACP is no longer accepting applications or providing monthly discounts on internet services or device purchases. The FCC and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) have reminded providers that failing to accurately update websites and materials to reflect that the ACP has ended may violate the FCC’s rules that prohibit providers from engaging in false or misleading advertising of the ACP. However, some scammers may impersonate internet service providers and continue to offer phony ACP benefits as a way of obtaining personal information for purposes of identity theft. For more information, see the FCC’s fact sheet.
• Student Loan Debt Robocalls and RoboTexts. In the wake of the 2023 Supreme Court decision Biden v. Nebraska, which related to the Department of Education’s student loan forgiveness program and received significant news coverage, the FCC and state attorneys general have seen a rise in scammers attempting to use the program as a pretext for misleading robocalls and texts, which pressure consumers to make a payment or provide private information.  The scam calls and texts may purport to offer some form of relief from student loan debt.  Common scam campaigns purport to be from the “student loan forgiveness center” or from a state “forgiveness center.” Other messages reference a “settlement” with the Department of Education that entitles the recipient to “fully discharge” their student loan obligations. Incoming communications may also fraudulently reflect seemingly legitimate caller ID information to convince consumers to respond. For more information, see the FCC consumer alert.

Scam Clues for Consumers.  Consumers should be aware that they are likely or potentially talking to a scammer if the caller:

• Pressures you to provide money or information.
• Insists on an upfront payment in order to apply for or appeal a loan, mortgage, application, or other business transaction.
• Requests contact via app-based message platforms.
• The call or text is made using a suspicious caller ID, name or email that is inconsistent with the substance of the message, or if it purports to be from a different area but uses the same area code and first three digits of your own phone number.
• Asks for immediate payments through unusual methods or channels.
• Offers a deal too good to be true.

What to Do.  If you have received a possible scam robocall or call using a spoofed telephone number:

• Do not share any personal or financial information.
• If you are not sure, hang up (or stop texting) and call the institution using their publicly available, legitimate phone number.
• File a complaint with the FCC: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. You can also file complaints about identity theft and consumer fraud with the Federal Trade Commission: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/identity-theft/report-identity-theft.