WASHINGTON, D.C. – The office of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that he joined eight of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, urging the agency to take strong action to protect and educate consumers on the issue of cellphone fraud and to assist victims in understanding their options for recourse. In addition to cosponsoring the bipartisan TRACED Act in March – to cut down on the rising scourge of robocalls – Senator King continues to raise awareness on consumer protection and telecommunications issues, including pushing for Congressional action to protect vulnerable Americans from cellphone scams.

In the letter, sent today to FCC Chairman Pai, the senators wrote:

“Cellphone account fraud—in which scammers either open up a cellphone account in a consumer’s name or illegally clone the consumer’s phone in order to control their messages and data —is growing rapidly and is difficult to detect. In 2018, there were reportedly 680,000 victims, a 78% increase from 2017, many of whom are unaware that they have been targeted by scammers until they are contacted by debt collectors, implicated in a crime, or their bank accounts are drained.”

“Consumer protection is a core responsibility of the FCC. While we recognize that consumers can take steps to better protect themselves from this fraud by securing their cellphone account with a pin number through their wireless provider or freezing their credit reports at the National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange, consumers cannot protect themselves from dangers they do not know about and these measures are not foolproof,” the senators continued. “The FCC offers virtually no information to consumers about how to prevent this type of fraud or information about how to seek recourse if they are targeted. Given the seriousness of this issue and its growing prevalence, we urge the FCC to take action to better educate consumers about cellphone fraud and assist victims in understanding their recourse options.”

In addition to Senator King, the letter is signed by Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.)

The full letter can be downloaded HERE and read below.

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The Honorable Ajit Pai

Chairman

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street SW

Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Pai:  

We write to express our concern regarding the growing number of Americans who fall victim to cellphone account fraud—also known as subscriber fraud or SIM card cloning fraud—and to inquire about what steps the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can take to better protect and educate consumers.

Cellphone account fraud—in which scammers either open up a cellphone account in a consumer’s name or illegally clone the consumer’s phone in order to control their messages and data —is growing rapidly and is difficult to detect. In 2018, there were reportedly 680,000 victims, a 78% increase from 2017, many of whom are unaware that they have been targeted by scammers until they are contacted by debt collectors, implicated in a crime, or their bank accounts are drained.  

Consumer protection is a core responsibility of the FCC. While we recognize that consumers can take steps to better protect themselves from this fraud by securing their cellphone account with a pin number through their wireless provider or freezing their credit reports at the National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange, consumers cannot protect themselves from dangers they do not know about and these measures are not foolproof. The FCC offers virtually no information to consumers about how to prevent this type of fraud or information about how to seek recourse if they are targeted. 

Given the seriousness of this issue and its growing prevalence, we urge the FCC to take action to better educate consumers about cellphone fraud and assist victims in understanding their recourse options. Accordingly, we respectfully request that you respond to the following questions:

(1)       What efforts is the FCC currently undertaking to educate consumers about cellphone account fraud and available methods to protect themselves?

(2)       Will the FCC commit to working with cellphone providers to develop measures to ensure that all customer accounts are protected?

(3)       What additional resources and authorities does the FCC need in order to better protect consumers from cellphone account fraud and educate them on how to prevent it?

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to your response.