TBA, ABA presses FCC on illegal text messages

The Texas Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association and state banking associations from across the country are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to immediately take action to combat illegal text messages that impersonate banks to defraud customers.

A draft FCC order supported by TBA and the associations would require mobile wireless providers to offer email-to-text as an opt-in service, so consumers will receive these text messages only if they have affirmatively chosen to do so. Additionally, the order would “require all voice service providers in the call path to block calls that are highly likely to be illegal, based on a reasonable ‘do not originate’ (DNO) list – i.e., a list of numbers highly likely to be illegal, such as calls from invalid, unallocated, or unused numbers.”

“We expect this will lead to a significant reduction in the number of consumers who receive email-to-text messages and to a commensurate reduction in the amount of fraud that is facilitated by this form of communication,” the joint associations wrote. See the joint letter here.

The draft order was set to be considered by the FCC on September 26, 2024, but was removed from the meeting’s agenda two days prior.