Media Contact: Will Wiquist will.wiquist@fcc.gov For Immediate Release FCC NOTIFIES CARRIERS OF REPEATED ILLEGAL ROBOCALLER One Owl Telecom Sought to Quietly Pick Up Where Its Predecessors, One Eye and Illum Telecommunications, Left Off When the FCC Shut Down Their Robocalls -- WASHINGTON, August 1, 2023—The FCC’s Robocall Response Team today provided notice to U.S. voice service providers that they may block and cease accepting traffic from international gateway provider One Owl Telecom if it fails to mitigate traffic the FCC identified in a letter to One Owl as illegal. Gateway providers serve as the on-ramps to U.S. phone networks for calls from overseas, and they have important obligations to block illegal robocall traffic from getting to consumers. One Owl Telecom has a multitude of interconnections with at least two other companies – Illum Telecommunications and One Eye – that the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has targeted in other enforcement actions, including FCC-mandated blocking of One Eye’s traffic. Although this entity continues to change its company name and appoints a new executive, the apparently illegal traffic continues. The Robocalls: The prerecorded calls in question, which the called parties did not provide consent to receive, sought to engage with consumers under the guise of fictitious purchase orders. Some calls purported to be from “AMC Trading LLC” and stated that “your product is ready to ship.” The calls asked consumers to confirm the order. Other calls stated that a “pre-authorized order” had been “placed on your name.” The calls did not state what the order was for or where the order was placed. FCC Leadership: Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “Unwanted robocalls are annoying and put consumers at risk. We are determined to use every tool we have to get these sorts of scams off our networks—including cutting them off at the source. These scam artists can try to duck and hide, but we’ll keep coming for them until we get this junk off the line.” Enforcement Bureau: Chief Loyaan Egal: “Companies such as One Owl attempt to mask their identities in an attempt to facilitate illegal robocalls. Our investigators and industry partners in the Traceback Consortium are not fooled by these tactics. We will remain vigilant in protecting consumers in the United States from being bombarded with scam communications originating from overseas.” What’s New: The Enforcement Bureau today issued a “K4 Notice” to notify all U.S.-based voice service providers about substantial amounts of apparently unlawful robocalls originating from or transmitted by One Owl. The Bureau also issued a cease-and-desist letter to One Owl, demanding that it take immediate action to stop originating or transmitting illegal robocalls. The letter requires the company to immediately investigate, mitigate, and prevent a reoccurrence of the traffic identified in the letter. One Owl has 48 hours to notify the Bureau and the Traceback Consortium of the steps taken to mitigate the identified traffic and 14 days to detail the steps it has taken to prevent new or renewing customers from using its network to transmit illegal robocalls. How We Got Here: One Owl has continued a pattern of closely associated companies generating and facilitating apparently illegal scam robocall traffic. One of One Owl’s apparent predecessors, Illum Telecommunications, received a cease-and-desist letter for transmitting illegal robocall campaigns. One Eye, another apparent predecessor, received a similar cease-and-desist letter, a “K4 Notice” like today’s to encourage other providers to refrain from carrying One Eye’s traffic absent mitigation efforts; an Initial Determination Order formally demanding that the company block the illegal traffic; and a first-of-its-kind RoboBlocking Order. The FCC has solidified its robocall defenses when it comes to gateway providers, including by adopting the Gateway Provider Order last year which increased the obligations of these providers to police their own networks, and imposed consequences on gateway providers that fail to do so. This built upon the Commission’s call blocking rules by requiring gateway providers to block illegal traffic when notified of such traffic by the Commission. The Bigger Picture: Chairwoman Rosenworcel established the FCC’s Robocall Response Team to serve as an FCC staff working group to combat the unyielding menace of illegal spoofed, or scam, robocalls. The team pulls together expertise from across the agency to leverage the talents of enforcers, attorneys, policy makers, engineers, economists, and outreach experts. Getting Results: · Blocking active robocall scam campaigns by issuing first-of-their-kind actions: o 99% drop in auto warranty scam robocalls after an FCC action; o 88% month-to-month drop in student loan scam robocalls; o Halted predatory mortgage robocalls targeting homeowners nationwide; · Fining companies record-breaking amounts for illegal robocalls and spoofing; · Closing gateways used by international robocallers to reach Americans’ phones; · Widespread implementation of STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication standards – including applying the requirements to gateway providers; · Working with industry to traceback illegal calls to their sources; · Ensuring voice service providers meet FCC robocall mitigation requirements; · Signing robocall investigation partnerships with 44 states, District of Columbia, Guam and international partners; · Establishing first-of-their-kind regulations targeting scam text messaging; and · Launching the Robocall Mitigation Database to monitor STIR/SHAKEN compliance. ### Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / 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).