FCC Meet & Greet To Be Held September 17 In West Point; Nebraskans Received Over 17.5 Million Robocalls In August

WEST POINT – Multiple Nebraska communities are scheduled to host Rural Tour consumer events featuring FCC consumer education specialists.

According to a release from the Federal Communications Commission, consumer education events will be held in September to raise awareness about the new and existing resources as well as policies to help consumers. Unwanted calls and topics of interest will also be addressed from Tuesday, September 17 – Thursday, September 19 as part of the FCC Nebraska and Kansas Rural Tour.

Robocalls are the top consumer complaint received by the FCC. Just last month, according to industry reports, Nebraskans received more than 17.5 million robocalls. Many robocalls spoof neighborhood phone numbers to make it appear as if a call is coming from the recipient’s local area by mirroring their area code and local exchange. Spoofed calls are often the start of an imposter scam, the top complaint reported by Nebraskans to the FTC.

The Rural Tour Schedule in Nebraska will begin with a FCC Meet and Greet from the John A. Stahl Library (330 No. Colfax St.) in West Point at 3:30 p.m. on September 17. Additional meetings with local leaders in Harington, Wayne and West Point will follow.

Other stops will be on September 18 for a Consumer Education Forum at 9:30 a.m. in Fremont (Keene Memorial Library; 1030 N Broad St) and a Town Hall Meeting at 2 p.m. in Valley (Valley Public Library; 232 N. Spruce St.) along with another Town Hall Meeting on September 19 at 5:30 p.m. from the Beatrice Public Library (100 N. 16th St). Additional meetings with local leaders in Valley, Plattsmouth, Nebraska City, Auburn, Tecumseh and Beatrice will also be held.

As part of a multipronged approach to help consumers avoid unwanted robocalls, spoofing and phone scams, the FCC affirmed in June that phone companies can immediately begin blocking unwanted robocalls by default based on reasonable call analytics. Also, phone companies may now offer customers the choice to opt-in to tools that block calls from any number that does not appear on a customer’s contact list or other “white lists.”

The FCC also recently adopted new rules to ban malicious caller ID spoofing in calls originating overseas and spoofed text messages.

For more information visit the FCC Nebraska & Kansas Rural Tour webpage, or contact: Mike Snyder at 202-418-0997, Michael.Snyder@fcc.gov; or Eduard Bartholme, 202-418-1463, Eduard.Bartholme@fcc.gov.

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