Security News > 2024 > March > US fines man $9.9 million for thousands of disturbing robocalls
A U.S. federal court has issued a $9,918,000 penalty and an injunction against an individual named Scott Rhodes for making thousands of "Spoofed" robocalls to consumers across the country.
Robocalls are automated phone calls that use automated dialing software to deliver a pre-recorded message to many recipients.
The U.S. Department of Justice announcement calls Rhodes' actions "Illegal and malicious," highlighting the man's preference for launching robocall campaigns against specific regions with inflammatory and disturbing messages.
In the past few years, the authorities in the U.S. have imposed very hefty fines against robocallers.
In August 2023, the FCC announced a record-breaking fine of $300 million for an international network of companies that had placed over five billion robocalls.
In February 2022, the FCC proposed that a health insurance robocaller be fined $45 million for more than 500,000 unlawful robocalls.