BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey today joined a coalition of 51 attorneys generals in supporting the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to help cut down on unwanted text messages by requiring mobile wireless providers to block texts from invalid, unassigned, or unused numbers, and from numbers on a Do Not Originate (DNO) list.  

“Robotexts, much like robocalls, can put vulnerable consumers at risk of losing money or other sensitive information due to fraud,” said AG Healey. “I am joining my colleagues in urging the FCC to confront this widespread problem and enhance protections for our residents.” 

Scammers increasingly utilize robotexts as a way to dupe consumers. Similar to spam calls, these unwanted texts are not only an irritation, but they can result in people losing millions through phishing texts, imposter scams, and links containing ransomware. In 2021, the FCC received more than 15,000 consumer complaints about unwanted texts and, in 2020, scammers stole more than $86 million through frauds perpetrated via scam text messages.  

In a comment letter sent to the FTC, the coalition of attorneys general claim that unwanted text messages from bad actors present the same problems and risks as unwanted calls, and can result in the invasion of consumer privacy, as well as act as vehicles for consumer fraud and identity theft. The coalition also cites a growing number of consumer complaints to their respective offices concerning illegal or unwanted text messages, signaling a troubling, emerging problem, as another reason for concern.  

The coalition supports the FCC’s proposal to require mobile wireless providers to block unlawful text messages at the network level if they originate from fraudulent numbers. The coalition is also asking the FCC to continue to push wireless companies to develop call authentication technology for text messages, so consumers know if the texts they are receiving are from spoofed numbers and law enforcement are able to investigate where the messages are coming from. The coalition notes that current STIR/SHAKEN technology, caller ID authentication technology designed to reduce the amount of fraudulent robocalls and illegal phone number spoofing received by consumers, does not support text messaging.

AG Healey has been at the forefront of curbing and stopping illegal and unwanted robocalls. In December 2021, the AG’s Office and a coalition of 51 attorneys general successfully helped to persuade the FCC to shorten the deadline by a year for smaller telephone companies to implement STIR/SHAKEN. Earlier this year, AG Healey also joined a multistate coalition to send a letter to the FCC, urging them to require gateway providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN technology to help prevent robocalls from entering the U.S. telephone networks. And in August this year, AG Healey also announced that her office joined a nationwide, bipartisan anti-robocall litigation task force of 50 attorneys general to investigate and take legal action against providers that appear responsible for a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States. 

A copy of the letter is available here.

Joining AG Healey in sending this letter, which was led by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge of Arkansas, Attorney General Josh Stein of North Carolina, and Attorney General Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgina, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia. 

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