The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau ordered Veriwave Telco to halt its robocall campaign promoting a “National Tax Relief Program.” The FCC said the effort asked recipients for personal ID information.
The FCC issued a cease and desist letter and described the robocall campaign as illegal. It said failure to comply could result in a downstream block of all traffic from Veriwave. The Bureau also issued a K4 order notifying voice service providers that they may be permitted to not accept Veriwave’s traffic.
It is estimated 15.8 million calls with prerecorded messages about the “National Tax Relief Program” were placed between Nov. 1, 2023 and January 23. The Bureau said there is no evidence the program existed.
The calls increased in volume in the three months before the start of the 2024 tx filing season, offering to “rapidly clear” the call recipient’s tax debt. Recipients were asked to provide personal information, including dates of birth and Social Security numbers.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind