The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a $4,492,500 fine against VoIP provider Telnyx, accusing the company of failing to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) rules.
The FCC claims that Telnyx allowed scammers to make robocalls impersonating a fake “Fraud Prevention Team” within the agency. However, Telnyx has denied the allegations, calling the FCC’s claims “factually mistaken.”
NEW: We've proposed a nearly $4.5M fine against Tenlyx in response to government imposter calls from a fake FCC 'Fraud Prevention Team.'
— The FCC (@FCC) February 4, 2025
“Cracking down on illegal robocalls will be a top priority at the FCC,” – Chairman Brendan Carr.
The Alleged Robocall Scheme
According to the FCC, scammers created Telnyx accounts under the names Christian Mitchell and Henry Walker using the same Toronto address but IP addresses from Scotland and England. These accounts, nicknamed “MarioCop” accounts after their email domain, reportedly made 1,797 fraudulent calls between February 6 and 7, 2024, before being terminated by Telnyx.
The robocalls used AI-generated voices, addressing recipients by their first names and claiming to be from the FCC’s “Fraud Prevention Team”—which does not exist. The FCC believes these calls were intended to intimidate and defraud individuals, with at least one victim being pressured into paying $1,000 in Google gift cards to avoid supposed legal consequences.
Notably, some of these fraudulent calls also reached FCC employees and their family members, raising concerns about how the scammers obtained personal phone numbers.
FCC’s Case Against Telnyx
The FCC argues that Telnyx failed to conduct proper KYC checks, allowing scammers to access its VoIP network. The agency states that Telnyx only required a name, email, physical address, and IP address for verification, accepting this information at face value without further validation.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr emphasized the importance of cracking down on robocalls, stating:
“Cracking down on illegal robocalls will be a top priority at the FCC. That is why I am pleased that our first Commission-level action is a bipartisan vote in favor of this nearly $4.5 million proposed fine.”
Patrick Webre, Acting Chief of the Enforcement Bureau, added:
“Providers are required to know their customers and secure their networks to deter fraudulent and malicious calls.”
Telnyx Pushes Back Against FCC Allegations
Telnyx, a global cloud-based VoIP provider, has strongly denied the FCC’s claims. In a press release, the company stated that it has exceeded the KYC requirements imposed by regulators and criticized the FCC for misrepresenting industry standards.
“The FCC is mistaken about the KYC and due diligence standards that apply to the industry. The FCC’s own regulations have long stated that perfection in mitigating illegal traffic is not required,” Telnyx said in its response.
The company also noted that there have been no allegations of repeat offenses, implying that it acted swiftly once it identified the fraudulent accounts.
