Today:  FCC Issues Largest Forfeiture Ever, Farewell Remarks of FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn 

FCC Issues Largest Forfeiture Ever

The FCC today fined Adrian Abramovich $120 million for malicious spoofing that was part of his massive robocalling operation aimed at selling timeshares and other travel packages aimed at selling timeshares and other travel packages. The caller ID spoofing operation made almost 100 million spoofed robocalls over three months. Mr. Abramovich, of Miami, Florida, or companies he controlled, spoofed millions of robocalls in order to trick unsuspecting consumers into answering and listening to his advertising messages. To increase the likelihood that consumers would answer his calls, Mr. Abramovich’s operation made calls that appeared to be local—a practice known as “neighbor spoofing.” The messages indicated that the calls came from well-known travel or hospitality companies such as Marriott, Expedia, Hilton, and TripAdvisor, and prompted consumers to “Press 1” to hear about “exclusive” vacation deals. Those who did were transferred to foreign call centers where live operators attempted to sell vacation packages—often involving timeshares—at destinations unrelated to the named travel or hospitality companies. The Commission received numerous complaints about these calls from consumers as well as businesses that received complaints from consumers who believed the robocalls had come from them.

The federal Truth in Caller ID Act prohibits callers from deliberately falsifying caller ID information with the intent to harm or defraud consumers or unlawfully obtain something of value.

Farewell Remarks of FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn

Commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn delivered her farewell remarks at the Ceremony and Portrait Unveiling held at the FCC on May 8, 2018.   Addressing the distinguished gathering, she thanked her former colleagues and directed comments to the four Commissioners she is leaving behind at the FCC saying, “While I will enjoy a break from those monthly marathons—I mean meetings—I am going to miss serving with four terrific Commissioners. We may not have always agreed with each other, but I continue to admire your intellect and willingness to debate critical policy issues.”

And as for how Commissioner Clyburn wants to be remembered, she stated “While I had no firm idea at the time of the how it would happen, believe it or not, I came to this Commission with a clear objective in mind: to be a conduit for change, an enabler of opportunities, and a voice for the voiceless.”

“I truly believe in a broad and inclusive approach to policymaking. The best policies, are the ones where all relevant stakeholders benefit. That means serving the unserved, closing existing gaps, and doing nothing to get in the way of those who are advantaged, so long as no one else is unduly disadvantaged. We tried to meet as many outside-the-Beltway constituents as inside-the-Beltway constituents, and I was a better public servant for it.”

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.