Does “We've been trying to reach you concerning your car's extended warranty” ring a bell? Or make you want to throw your phone across the room?
As of late, annoying robocalls are the most common consumer complaint. Fortunately, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has started to identify the people and organizations responsible for these calls.
Jerry
, the car ownership super app
, investigates the massive car warranty
scam that stole millions of dollars from unsuspecting consumers. FCC orders block on car warranty robocalls
Consumers have had it with car warranty scam calls. In fact, last year scam call complaints beat out other leading topics like credit card scams and phishing. On average, over 1,000 auto warranty complaints were issued per month.
As a result, the FCC started to require carriers to verify network traffic, which decreased car warranty scam calls by 50%. But this year, the FCC announced that it will block the huge auto warranty scam campaign.
These scam calls have been an ongoing issue for the past two years. Millions of illegal car warranty calls have been sent out in both English and Spanish. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel assured consumers that robocall scammers and their accomplices will no longer be tolerated.
U.S. voice service providers will need to take all necessary steps to comply with the FCC’s new order. If it’s not possible, the FCC will expect telecom providers to communicate to them what steps they’re currently taking to reduce cell phone traffic.
As stated by Car and Driver
, if the FCC suspects that the voice service provider isn’t doing their part to stop the calls, the companies “‘may be deemed to have knowingly and willfully engaged in transmitting unlawful robocalls.’" This may force other providers to block the traffic from the uncooperative service provider. According to the FCC, Roy Cox, Jr. and Aaron Michael Jones are the two main people responsible for the car warranty scam calls. As part of the Cox/Jones/Sumco Panama Operation, they’ve been scam-calling consumers since 2018.
In 2020, their operation ramped up after purchasing almost 500,000 numbers from about 229 area codes. Since the calls appeared to be from a local number, they seemed even more legit to the everyday consumer.
The Cox/Jones/Sumco Panama Operation consisted of a dozen people internationally and has generated about 8 billion robocalls to U.S. consumers since its inception. Millions of illegal calls are still being patched through today.
As of yet, the carriers identified by the FCC for carrying these calls include Mobi Telecom, Fugle Telecom, Geist Telecom, Global Lynks, South Dakota Telecom, Virtual Telecom, and SipKonnect—none of which responded to cease-and-desist letters.
Unfortunately, fraudulent calls cost consumers almost $30 billion last year, most of which were car warranty calls. About 12,000 total complaints about them were filed to the FCC by Americans.
Cox has entered into a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. He’s also agreed to a permanent ban on telemarketing activities. The Ohio Attorney General and the FCC's Enforcement Bureau are also getting involved.
Protect yourself from car warranty scams
If you do receive a call about your car warranty from an unknown number, do not provide any personal information, even if the caller has real information about your car.
To make sure you’re actually talking to the correct organization, hang up and call back using a phone number from their website or from a previous legitimate interaction you had with them. A bill from the company is also a great place to find proper contact information.
Most Americans (more than 80%) don’t answer phone calls from unknown numbers. Many are overwhelmed by robocalls, and others would rather wait and listen to a voicemail instead.
While regulators have had some success mitigating fake calls, robo-texts are a new scam that fool even the most tech-savvy consumers. Many mobile service providers will allow customers to forward unwanted texts to 7726 (or “SPAM”).
Protect yourself with legit insurance
When it comes to car insurance
, don’t let someone take advantage of you. Did you know that most Americans overpay for the monthly policy and don’t even know it? Don’t let that be you. If you want cheap car insurance quotes fast, download the Jerry
super app. A licensed broker that offers end-to-end support, the Jerry app gathers affordable quotes, helps you switch plans, and will even help you cancel your old policy. The average driver saves $800+ a year with Jerry. 
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