Politics & Government
AG Brnovich Urges Congress to Take Action Against Robocalls
Signs nationwide letter calling for urgent legislation, increased technology, increased fines
PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich has urged the U.S. Senate to enact the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, legislation designed to curb illegal robocalls and caller-ID spoofing.
(In this context ‘spoofing’ is the process whereby the robocaller mimics the first six digits of a receiver’s own number to make it appear to the receiver that the call is from a local source and thus probably someone the receiver knows).
According to a study mentioned in a February FCC report, nearly 48 billion robocalls made in 2018, nearly half of all cell phone calls in the U.S. in 2019 will be spam, and 90 percent of those spam calls will be spoofed to appear as though they’re originating from a familiar area code.
Find out what's happening in Phoenixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In their letter, the attorneys general state that the TRACED Act enables states, federal regulators, and telecom providers to take steps to combat these illegal calls. The legislation will require voice service providers to participate in a call authentication framework to help block unwanted calls and creates an interagency working group to take additional actions to reduce robocalls and hold telemarketers and robocallers accountable.
More than 48 billion robocalls were made in 2018, making them the number one source of consumer complaints to the FTC and the FCC, resulting in millions of dollars in consumer losses. The state attorneys general work to enforce do-not-call laws and protect consumers in their states from being harassed and scammed by robocalls.
Find out what's happening in Phoenixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Arizona Attorney General’s office recently brought legal action and imposed fines against Orangutan Home Services, Adobe Carpet Cleaning, and Desert Valley Aire for making phone calls to individuals on the FTC’s Do Not Call List. Additionally, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office is on the executive committee of a bipartisan coalition of 40 state attorneys general focused on stopping or reducing annoying and harmful robocalls.
A copy of the letter can be found at http://bit.ly/2J3aaQ2.
