FCC takes decisive action against auto warranty scam calls

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July 12, 2022 - One of the most prolific phone scams of the past few years is undoubtedly the vehicle warranty spam call. The way it goes is that a call is placed wherein the caller poses as a representative of a car warranty service or even a dealership.

During this call, the scammer may present specific information about your vehicle to add a sense of legitimacy to the claim. Eventually the caller will ask the recipient for personal information or even payment details, which can then be used to defraud the victim.

According to the FCC, these calls have been the leading reported spam call complaint for years running, although leading towards the end of 2021, they were reportedly on a sharp decline.

Billions of auto warranty #robocalls from a single calling campaign. Billions! Auto warranty scams are one of the top complaints we get from consumers and it’s time to hold those responsible for making these junk calls. #StopRobocalls https://t.co/evQ2iVOIgF

— Jessica Rosenworcel (@JRosenworcelFCC) July 7, 2022

That drop may soon extend even further as the FCC has sent cease and desist letters to a handful of carriers it has identified as originators of a massive international scam call campaign totalling more than 8 billion calls. According to the letters, these carriers have 48 hours to stop delivering these calls, or other carriers will be authorized to drop their traffic entirely.

Thus far, the FCC reports that these carriers have been responsive to the order, so with any luck we should soon see a larger drop in the frequency of these calls.

Ultimately, only time will tell if these warranty robocalls become a thing of the past, or if some other scam rises up to take their place, but the FCC has vowed to monitor the situation and take further action if necesarry.