FCC issues a $120 million fine for robocalling

On May 10, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission voted to fine a robocall perpetrator $120 million.

The perpetrator, Adrian Abramovich, of Florida, made over 96 million robocalls during a three-month period in 2016. He spoofed caller ID to make it appear that the calls were coming from well-known travel and hospitality companies, including TripAdvisor, Marriott International, Expedia and Hilton.

The real companies received complaints from people who had received the robocalls. Representatives from TripAdvisor contacted the FCC, who then caught the robocall perpetrator.

Reuters also reported that YouMail estimated that 3.4 million robocalls were placed in the United States in April 2018—an all-time high for one month.