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A congressional committee is pressing AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to strengthen their efforts to protect Americans from scams, as Washington broadens its investigation into the role U.S. telecommunications companies may play in a spike in cyber-enabled fraud. In a request sent Wednesday evening, committee leaders said scam calls and texts increasingly resemble legitimate messages and that customers are bearing too much of the burden to detect them.
Rep. David Schweikert, an Arizona Republican and chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, and Sen. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Democrat and the committee’s ranking member, wrote that consumers need to be able to trust that the calls and texts they receive are authentic. They said scam communications are becoming harder to distinguish from legitimate messages such as those from a doctor’s office or a child’s school.
The committee asked the carriers to provide information about what the companies are doing to collect data, monitor for scams and cybercrime, and take action against bad actors. The request also sought details on how those efforts are carried out in practice, according to the letter described by the committee leaders.
The committee’s scrutiny is part of a wider push in Washington over the explosion of scams targeting U.S. citizens, including cyberscams. The investigation comes as Congress also examined other sectors tied to scam activity, including Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, online dating sites, artificial intelligence companies, data brokers and federal agencies, the report said.
The telecom request is not the first time lawmakers have tried to address robocalls. The committee cited the 2019 TRACED Act, under which Congress and the Federal Communications Commission required large carriers to implement caller ID authentication technology aimed at combating caller ID spoofing and helping law enforcement identify bad actors.
Even so, the committee said the underlying problem has persisted, leaving Americans vulnerable to what the letter described as highly organized translational crime. The report also pointed to industry and anti-spam figures showing large volumes of scam messages and calls that continue to break through.
In an email to The Associated Press, Josh Bercu, senior vice president of policy at USTelecom, said the industry’s work includes tracing back scam calls, disrupting illegal activity and supporting government investigations and law enforcement. He also said, “Scam prevention requires a coordinated, inter-industry approach and our sector remains committed to strengthening partnerships that protect consumers.”
The report noted that some telecom companies appear to be seeking to monetize anti-scam work, including through premium call-filtering services and branded caller ID available for a fee. Consumer advocates, however, argued that incentives may need to change.
Eden Iscil, a senior public policy manager at the National Consumers League, said stronger incentives are needed, arguing that companies may not go far enough unless they face some form of liability. She said, “Companies will not go far enough until they actually do feel some type of liability,” adding that she believes financial incentive could push carriers to better protect consumers.