Phone Scam Prevention Act of 2015

Summary: Phone Scam Prevention Act of 2015 Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to publish on its website a report that identifies existing technologies that consumers can use to protect against misleading or inaccurate caller identification information. Requires the FCC, within one year after enactment of this Act, to submit to Congress a report detailing a plan to expeditiously develop, within six years after submission of such report, reasonable authentication standards for voice service providers to validate caller information so that subscribers may obtain secure assurances of a call's origin, including the calling party's number and identification.  Extends the prohibition on the provision of inaccurate caller identification information to persons outside the United States if the recipient is within the United States. Expands the definition of &quot;caller identification information&quot; to include text messages. Revises caller identification requirements to make standards applicable to voice communications using resources from the North American Numbering Plan (currently, the requirements apply to telecommunications or IP-enabled voice services).

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Phone Scam Prevention Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission; and
            (2) the term ``voice service'' means any service that 
        furnishes voice communications to an end user using resources 
        from the North American Numbering Plan or any successor to the 
        North American Numbering Plan adopted by the Commission under 
        section 251(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        251(e)(1)).

SEC. 3. REPORT ON EXISTING TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS TO COMBAT INACCURATE 
              CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION.

    (a) Publication of Report.--The Commission shall publish on the 
website of the Commission a report that identifies existing technology 
solutions that a consumer can use to protect the consumer against 
misleading or inaccurate caller identification information.
    (b) Contents of Report.--The report described in subsection (a) 
shall--
            (1) analyze existing technologies that can enable consumers 
        to guard against misleading or inaccurate caller identification 
        information;
            (2) describe how the technologies described in paragraph 
        (1) protect consumers; and
            (3) detail whether and how voice service providers are 
        making the technologies described in paragraph (1) available to 
        subscribers.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON PLAN TO DEVELOP CALL ORIGINATION AUTHENTICATION 
              STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report detailing 
a plan to expeditiously develop, not later than 6 years after the 
submission of the report, reasonable authentication standards for a 
voice service provider to validate the calling party number and caller 
identification information of a call originated through a voice service 
so that the subscriber receiving the call may obtain, to the extent 
technologically feasible--
            (1) a secure assurance of the origin of the call, 
        including--
                    (A) the calling party number; and
                    (B) caller identification for the call; or
            (2) notice that an assurance described in paragraph (1) is 
        unavailable.
    (b) Recommendation on Legislation.--The report submitted under 
subsection (a) may include recommendations on whether legislation is 
necessary to promote or facilitate the adoption of authentication 
standards for caller identification information.

SEC. 5. EXPANDING AND CLARIFYING PROHIBITION ON INACCURATE CALLER ID 
              INFORMATION.

    (a) Communications From Outside United States.--Section 227(e)(1) 
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)) is amended by 
striking ``in connection with any telecommunications service or IP-
enabled voice service'' and inserting ``or any person outside the 
United States if the recipient of the call is within the United States, 
in connection with any voice service''.
    (b) Coverage of Text Messages and Other Voice Services.--Section 
227(e)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)) is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``telecommunications 
        service or IP-enabled voice service'' and inserting ``voice 
        service (including a text message sent using a text messaging 
        service)'';
            (2) in the first sentence of subparagraph (B), by striking 
        ``telecommunications service or IP-enabled voice service'' and 
        inserting ``voice service (including a text message sent using 
        a text messaging service)''; and
            (3) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(C) Text message.--The term `text message'--
                            ``(i) means a real-time or near real-time 
                        message consisting of text, images, sounds, or 
                        other information that is transmitted from or 
                        received by a device that is identified as the 
                        transmitting or receiving device by means of a 
                        telephone number;
                            ``(ii) includes a short message service 
                        (commonly referred to as `SMS') message, an 
                        enhanced message service (commonly referred to 
                        as `EMS') message, and a multimedia message 
                        service (commonly referred to as `MMS') 
                        message; and
                            ``(iii) does not include a real-time, 2-way 
                        voice or video communication.
                    ``(D) Text messaging service.--The term `text 
                messaging service' means a service that permits the 
                transmission or receipt of a text message, including a 
                service provided as part of or in connection with a 
                voice service.
                    ``(E) Voice service.--The term `voice service' 
                means any service that furnishes voice communications 
                to an end user using resources from the North American 
                Numbering Plan or any successor plan adopted by the 
                Commission under section 251(e)(1).''.
    (c) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to modify, limit, or otherwise affect--
            (1) the authority, as of the day before the date of 
        enactment of this Act, of the Commission to interpret the term 
        ``call'' to include a text message (as defined under section 
        227(e)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by 
        subsection (b)); or
            (2) any rule or order adopted by the Commission in 
        connection with--
                    (A) the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 
                (Public Law 102-243; 105 Stat. 2394) or the amendments 
                made by that Act; or
                    (B) the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7701 et 
                seq.).
    (d) Regulations.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall prescribe regulations to 
implement the amendments made by this section.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date that is 6 months after the date on which the 
Commission prescribes regulations under subsection (d).