Arizona AG joins coalition urging FCC to take action against robocalls
May 7, 2019, 4:35 AM
(Pixabay Photo)
(Pixabay Photo)
PHOENIX — A coalition of 42 attorneys general, including Arizona’s Mark Brnovich, on Monday called for the Federal Communications Commission to take further action against illegal robocalls.
The coalition urged the FCC to adopt rules that would give the commission broader authority to go after overseas criminals who make calls or send messages to the U.S. using caller ID spoofing, which masks phone numbers and can make them appear as if they are from a target’s local area.
Not all robocalls are illegal, but the attorneys general argued that a large number of them are tied to scams related to health insurance, student loans, taxes, travel, business and warranties.
According to a press release from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Americans received almost 18 billion scam robocalls in 2018, and all robocalls increased in the U.S. by 57% from 2017 to 2018.
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The office joined the executive committee of a separate coalition of 40 state attorneys general working to reduce robocalls in December 2018.
Congress is also working toward reducing robocalls. In January, Arizona Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally co-sponsored the TRACED Act, which would require U.S. telecom companies to implement technology that can unmask spoofed numbers.
Brnovich and other attorney generals sent a letter in March to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation in support of the bill.
Anyone who believes they have been the victim of consumer fraud can call the attorney general’s office in Phoenix at 602-542-5763 or in Tucson at 520-628-6648.
