Media Contact: 
Mike Snyder, (202) 418-0997
michael.snyder@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC EXPANDS MULTILINGUAL CONSUMER OUTREACH WITH NATIONAL ASIAN AMERICAN COALITION
Consumer Education Kiosks in West Coast Supermarket Chain to Feature FCC Tip Cards to Help Consumers Avoid Unwanted Robocalls and Spoofing Scams

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2019—The Federal Communications Commission today announced that it is furthering its multilingual consumer education efforts on unwanted robocalls and spoofing scams through its ongoing engagement with the National Asian American Coalition. 

Since 2017, the FCC has provided consumer tip cards in Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese for distribution by NAAC through the organization’s Hope Booths, which are consumer education kiosks located in Asian supermarkets.  NAAC is now expanding its Hope Booths from four pilot locations—primarily in the Bay Area—to 15 stores in southern California, the Bay Area, Sacramento, as well as Las Vegas.  Each booth is staffed by trained volunteers and will have FCC tip cards available soon.   

Phone scammers often target non-English-speaking communities to try to take advantage of language barriers to defraud consumers.  A recent scam involved callers who posed as Chinese consulate employees to try to steal money and personal information.  

The FCC tip cards provide customers with helpful information for avoiding unwanted robocalls, robotexts, and spoofing scams, which are consistently among the top complaints filed by consumers with the agency.  The FCC also provides “train the trainers” support to the volunteers staffing this NAAC consumer education program. 

Consumer information and resources to avoid robocalls and spoofing scams are available at fcc.gov/robocalls. For a full list of FCC’s consumer guides and links to information in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese go to fcc.gov/consumers. 

For additional information about the location of a Hope Booth in your area, please call NAAC at (650) 952-0522 or send an email to: info@naac.org. The NAAC is a non-profit housing counseling organization leading other African American, Latino, and Asian American advocacy groups, focusing on sustainable homeownership, job creation, small business growth, and consumer awareness. 

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Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / TTY: (888) 835-5322 / Twitter: @FCC / www.fcc.gov 

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).