FCC Accuses ScammerBlaster Of Blasting Scams, Proposes $100m Fine

OpenAI

July 22, 2022 - The FCC last week named Thomas Dorsher as the perpetrator of nearly 10 million illegal robocalls designed to generate revenue for his company, ChariTel, Inc. 

In this scheme, Dorsher is accused of placing millions of robocalls to toll-free numbers, for which his local exchange carrier would have been compensated by the recipient of the calls. The local exchange carrier would then go on to provide a cut of the proceeds with Dorsher.

In the automated calls, Dorsher used a prerecorded message to promote his other company, ScammerBlaster, which was allegedly engaged in performing denial of service attacks against other entities that Dorsher suspected of making robocalls. The FCC further claims that Dorsher used inadequate verification methods to identify these spammers, leading his Scammer Blaster service to potentially target innocent callers.

Although the proposed fine weighs in at a hefty $116,156,250, this proposal currently stands only as a Notice of Apparant Liability, and Dorsher will have a chance to respond to the allegations before any additional actions are taken.

Additionally, if the case against Dorsher does proceed, it's realistically unlikely that much if any of the fine amount will be paid due to red tape in the enforcement process, which the FCC does not have direct authority over.