Here’s a rare moment in regulatory policy: a group of financial industry heavyweights actually agreeing on something sensible.
The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) just teamed up with eight other major financial associations to tell the Federal Communications Commission, “Hey, we love what you’re trying to do with this Robocall Mitigation Scorecard, but let’s make sure we’re measuring the right things.”
The coalition—which includes the American Bankers Association, American Financial Services Association, America’s Credit Unions, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Electronic Transactions Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, and Payments Leadership Council—submitted an official comment letter backing the FCC’s proposed scorecard. Think of it as a report card for phone companies on how well they’re stopping scam calls.
It’s Not About Quantity, It’s About Quality
The associations had some solid advice: don’t just count blocked calls and call it a day. Sure, a provider might brag about blocking millions of calls, but if they’re still letting a flood of scam calls through, what’s the point?
As the letter put it, the scorecard “should encourage prevention, not merely removal of illegally spoofed calls after they have entered the provider’s network.” It’s like judging a security guard by how many intruders they chase out instead of how many they stopped from getting in at all.
The groups suggested a smarter metric: look at the percentage of illegal calls that actually slip through a provider’s network compared to their total call volume. A provider that’s doing their homework—really knowing their customers and upstream partners—might have very few illegal calls to block in the first place. That’s the real win.
Don’t Forget the Middle Players
The financial associations also pushed for the FCC to rate all providers in the call chain, not just the ones delivering calls to your phone. Some originating providers basically roll out the red carpet for scammers by not properly vetting who’s using their network. And intermediate providers? They often just pass calls along without asking questions.
Everyone in the telecommunications supply chain should be held accountable, according to the letter. Makes sense—a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Texts Are the New Frontier
Here’s a statistic that’ll make you check your spam folder: Americans now get more automated texts than robocalls. And according to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers lost around $470 million to text message scams in 2024 alone. That’s more than five times the losses reported in 2020.
The coalition urged the FCC to include wireless providers’ effectiveness at blocking illegal texts in the scorecard. Because if we’re serious about protecting consumers, we can’t ignore the medium where scammers are increasingly doing their dirty work.
Why Credit Unions Care
“Defense credit unions work every day to protect members from fraud, scams, and financial harm,” says Anthony Hernandez, DCUC President and CEO (and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel). “Members are best served when bad actors are stopped before fraudulent calls and messages ever reach them. Stronger protections and greater accountability across communications networks help strengthen trust and support the financial well-being of the communities we serve.”
Translation: financial institutions can train their members on spotting scams all day long, but it’s a whole lot easier when the scams don’t reach them in the first place. Prevention beats cleanup every time.