FCC Orders Telecoms To Block Scammers Targeting Student Loan Forgiveness Seekers

U.S. telecom providers, under a new FCC order, will have to take "all necessary steps" to block calls from a shady communication company engaged in a mass robocall scam preying on people seeking student loan forgiveness. From a report: The scammer company, called Urth Access, LLC, would reportedly spam users with calls urging them to forfeit their personal information or pay a fee in order to receive up to around $10,000 in student loan debt relief. Many of the scams reportedly referred to the Biden Administration's student loan forgiveness plan to give the messages a semblance of credibility. Though numerous fraudsters took part in the scam, an investigation conducted by the FCC and its private partner YouMail said Urth Access stood apart as the largest, accounting for around 40% of the robocalls in October.

"Scam robocalls try to pull from the headlines to confuse consumers," FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. "Trying to take advantage of people who want help paying off their student loans. Today we're cutting these scammers off so they can't use efforts to provide student loan debt relief as cover for fraud." The new order asks telecommunications companies to cease accepting phone calls coming from Urath Access, or report efforts they are making to limit Urath's reach in an effort to shut down the scams.

Why not prosecute?

[Darinbob]

Why not prosecute these scammers?

Re:

[wakeboarder]

Why not prosecute drug dealers?

Re:

[bn-7bc]

FCC has no authority when it comes to that kind of criminal activity, so theay can't order any one to do anything about that, just like the FAA has no authority when it comes to road vehicles (with the possible exception in cases where said vehicles operate on ramps ,runways, etc)

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[PPH]

Because they produce a significant portion of the GNP of the countries from which they operate.

Re: Why not prosecute?

[guruevi]

Then theyâ(TM)d have to prosecute the President, heâ(TM)s ultimately the first person to promise the scam.

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[mjwx]

Why not prosecute these scammers?

Because a lot of them do not live in the US. The telco companies live and operate out of the United States.

For once an American enforcement agency is realising that the borders of the United States are the limits of their jurisdiction, although maybe not by choice.

Why only them?

[iAmWaySmarterThanYou]

I'm certain I'm not the only one here getting shit scam texts every day and sometimes robocalls weekly.

What's so special about this one outfit? Block all of them. Find out where they are. Drone their ass. That's a perma ban.

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[Z00L00K]

I agree - just make the telcos block all junk calls.

People now no longer answer their phone from unknown and hidden numbers because there are too many junk calls.

why not just block student loans? or have chapter

[Joe_Dragon]

why not just block student loans? or have chapter 9 and 11 for them

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[ArchieBunker]

Uncle Sam doesn't fuck around when it comes to loans. Unless of course it's a huge bank and then you can have all the interest free loans you want.

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[bn-7bc]

As far as I remember all the 2008 bank bailouts have been bayed back in full,.and personally I find the lost interest to be a rather low price for saving the financial system. If I'm wrong about the statement above. or you where talking about other loans, please feel free to correct me or complexity ignore this post. on the subject of 2008 i wonder if ity would not have been cheaper to save Lehman Brothers than to deal with the fallout of its collapse, and yes I know they where complicit in the whole subpr

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[Z00L00K]

If it's a million, it's your problem. If it's a billion then it's the problem for the bank and if it's a trillion it's a problem for the government.

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[alvinrod]

At this point they should just turn it over to the banks and let it be treated like any other loan. I foresee the costs of a four year education plummeting when the free money train stops. Outside of specialized degrees that actually require years of training, most of what companies need could be handled by on the job training or supplemental education through community colleges. Letting people who don't understand the mathematics behind the compound interest of their student loan borrow that money is moral

Re: why not just block student loans? or have chap

[guruevi]

Thereâ(TM)s not a bank that would touch the current debt with a ten foot pole. I agree that if banks made decisions, they would properly distinguish between people and degrees that were more likely to result in payback.

But the current student loan issue is worse than the Obama-era mortgage crisis, most people holding a mortgage were able to pay it back eventually, most of the âoehumanitiesâ degrees that people go in debt for at the same rates as engineers and doctors will only make you a grea

Urth who?

[stevenm86]

In my experience, most student loan scam calls originate from HFA Services LLC of Boca Raton, FL (or one of its many corporate shells).

Haha. Robocalls were outlawed long ago

[groobly]

What? The FCC had already eliminated robocalls with their shaken not stirred nonsense.