For Government

Working with the Industry Traceback Group

The Industry Traceback Group, or ITG, plays a central and ever-growing role in the battle against illegal robocalls. Relying on the cooperation of hundreds of domestic and foreign voice service providers, the ITG traces back each day numerous examples of the most prolific ongoing illegal robocall campaigns in the United States, representing millions of illegal calls targeting U.S. consumers.

The ITG, designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the official U.S. Traceback Consortium, prides itself on its close partnership with government agencies to provide information they need to bring enforcement against the perpetrators of illegal robocalls. The ITG regularly collaborates with dozens of distinct federal and state enforcement agencies, and ITG tracebacks have supported enforcement actions targeting nearly 50 individuals and entities. The ITG stands ready to assist additional agencies in bringing illegal robocallers to justice.

How a Traceback Works

The origination, delivery, and termination of robocalls involves numerous voice service providers in a complex ecosystem. Using a secure traceback portal developed by the ITG, suspected illegal robocalls are traced systematically back through various networks until the ITG identifies the originator of the suspicious calls, where the calls entered the United States if internationally originated, and often the identity of the calling party. The ITG traces the call back from the recipient to the caller – usually routing through four or more, or sometimes as many as nine or ten service providers (or “hops”) across the globe.

Tracebacks do more than just find out where the calls are coming from. Tracebacks directly disrupt illegal robocall campaigns as most completed ITG tracebacks result in the robocaller kicked off of its provider’s network.

The ITG regularly traces back calls based on requests from law enforcement and government partners. The calls the ITG traces back run the gamut from high-volume fraud campaigns to telephony denial-of-service attacks against public safety and other critical entities to spoofed calls posing safety-of-life threats. The traceback process can overcome spoofing to identify the source of illegal robocalls.

Please note that there are limits to the number of tracebacks the ITG can run, and therefore the ITG cannot guarantee that it will conduct every traceback requested of it. For more guidance on submitting traceback requests, please click the link below:

If you would like to submit a subpoena, civil investigative demand, or other legal process, please send to subpoenas@tracebacks.org.

For all other questions, please complete an inquiry form.