Federal Communications Commission FCC 23-21
consumers, particularly for aging Americans struggling with digital literacy.
13
Robokiller reports 47.2
billion spam texts were sent in November 2022 alone.
14
Consumer comments filed in this proceeding also
describe personal experiences with unwanted and scam texts.
15
And consumer groups note that,
according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers have reported greater losses, at $231
million, from text message scams in the first three quarters of 2022 than in all of 2020 and 2021
combined.
16
Robokiller projects a 179% increase in the dollars lost from text messages between 2021 and
2022.
17
7. In their schemes, text scammers exploit emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic
and natural disasters, along with other important topics that grab consumers’ attention such as student
loans and unemployment insurance.
18
Illegal texts can include links to phishing
19
websites that appear to
be the website of a legitimate company and deceive the victim into providing personal or financial
information.
20
Reports indicate that “smishing” fraud increased by 700% last year.
21
The potential harm
13
The App Association Reply at 2.
14
See Robokiller, United States Spam Text Trends, 2022 United States Robotext Trends,
https://www.robokiller.com/spam-text-insights (last visited Dec. 19, 2022).
15
See, e.g., Omoigui Express Comment (receiving scam text messages from unknown numbers with “Hi” or with a
link, claiming to be a company like Amazon or CVS reaching out with a gift card); Anna K. Comment at 1; Boyd
Express Comment; Hillenburg Comment at 1; Schmidt Comment at 1 (“I am in support of the proposed rule. I am
tired of receiving weird, questionable, and risky texts.”).
16
NCLC/EPIC Joint Reply at 5, citing FTC, Consumer Sentinel Network, Fraud Reports,
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/federal.trade.commission/viz/FraudReports/FraudFacts (adding the first three
quarters of 2022, totaling $231M; the total for 2021 was $131M, and for 2020 was $86M) (last visited Feb. 2, 2023).
17
NCLC/EPIC Joint Reply at 5, citing Robokiller, The Robokiller Report, 2022 Mid-Year Phone Scam Insights,
https://www.robokiller.com/the-robokiller-report (last visited Feb. 2, 2023).
18
See, e.g., FCC, COVID-19 Text Scams, https://www.fcc.gov/covid-19-text-scams (last visited Sept. 26, 2022);
FCC, Fear Fuels COVID-19 Contact Tracing Scams, https://www.fcc.gov/fear-fuels-covid-19-contact-tracing-
scams (last visited Dec. 21, 2022); FCC, Consumer Alert, Scam Robotexts are a Rising Threat, (Jul. 28, 2022),
https://www.fcc.gov/robotext-scams-rise; FCC, Consumer Guides, Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts,
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/stop-unwanted-robocalls-and-texts (last visited Dec. 19, 2022); Federal
Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, How to Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages,
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages (last visited Feb. 2, 2023);
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Cyber Division, Cyber Criminals Create Fraudulent
Cryptocurrency Investment Applications to Defraud US Investors, (Jul. 18, 2022),
https://www.ic3.gov/Media/News/2022/220718.pdf; Internal Revenue Service, News Releases, IRS Reports
Significant Increase in Texting Scams; Warns Taxpayers to Remain Vigilant, (Sept. 28, 2022),
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-reports-significant-increase-in-texting-scams-warns-taxpayers-to-remain-vigilant;
NBC News, Kevin Collier, Odd Text from a Wrong Number? It’s Probably a Scam, (Jul. 29, 2022),
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/wrong-number-text-scam-rcna39793; WMC Global Comments at 4
(Millions of consumers are receiving links to phishing websites and phishing messages purportedly from their state’s
workforce agency in an extensive and far-reaching campaign targeting U.S. consumers.).
19
WMC Global Comments at 2 (The most significant cyber threats to mobile users revolve around compromising
their personal information, often through brand impersonation or phishing. SMS phishing—commonly referred to
as “smishing”—is an extremely effective method and scammers are learning just how simple and profitable it is.).
“Smishing” is a term that combines SMS and phishing. Scammers use smishing to target consumers with deceptive
text messages sent to their smart devices. FCC, Avoid the Temptation of Smishing Scams,
https://www.fcc.gov/avoid-temptation-smishing-scams (last visited Feb. 8, 2023).
20
See, e.g., Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams,
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams (last visited Dec. 21, 2022); AT&T,
Cyber Aware, Text Message Scams, https://about.att.com/pages/cyberaware/ni/blog/text_scams (last visited Dec. 21,
2022); Verizon, Smishing and Spam Text Messages, https://www.verizon.com/about/account-security/smishing-and-
(continued….)