Ashley Moody, the state attorney general of Florida, recently made the announcement of the formation of a new Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force. This task force will investigate con artists who operate in countries other than the United States.
The task force that focuses on telecommunications companies that are responsible for bringing the majority of foreign robocalls into the United States is comprised of fifty attorneys general, and Florida is a member of the executive committee of that task force. The new task force has one goal in mind, and that is to reduce the number of illegal robocalls.
“To put a stop to the flood of illegal robocalls coming from other countries, my office is collaborating with state governments across the country. “It’s important that we work together to investigate these international phone calls and find ways to stop them from harming our citizens,” Moody said. “These calls are often used to carry out deceptive scams and steal from Americans.”
Before the announcement was made, the task force had already sent out 20 investigative demands to 20 gateway providers and other entities that are believed to be responsible for the majority of the international robocall traffic.
The gateway providers that bring illegal robocall traffic into the United States telephone network are responsible for ensuring that the traffic they bring in is legal; however, the task force believes that these providers are not taking sufficient action to stop the illegal robocall traffic they bring in.
To lessen the number of unwanted robocalls that customers are subjected to and to encourage businesses to operate by the law, the task force will concentrate its efforts on the nefarious participants in the telecom industry.
The National Consumer Law Center and the Electronic Privacy Information Center report that more than 33 million fraudulent robocalls are placed in American households every single day.
Scammers posing as representatives of legitimate government agencies such as the Social Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service have been known to make these calls. Other types of cons include fraud committed against senior citizens, fraudulent online shopping, and many others.
In 2021, consumers lost an estimated total of $29.8 billion due to fraudulent phone calls; the majority of these calls originated from another country.
The primary objective of the task force is to put an end to the operations of telephone service providers who make money off of illegal traffic and who refuse to take action to reduce the number of unwanted calls in any other way.
The Attorney General of Florida Has Joined an Anti-Robocall Task Force
The following advice was provided by Moody to residents of Florida to protect them from fraud and unwanted phone calls:
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Be wary of callers who claim to represent government agencies or other organizations and who specifically request payment by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.
These callers are likely scammers. The Internal Revenue Service, for instance, does not acknowledge gift cards purchased from iTunes;
Be on the lookout for prerecorded phone calls coming from fraudsters posing as representatives of legitimate government agencies. In most cases, the Social Security Administration does not communicate with individuals via telephone; and
Put the phone down immediately and do not give out any personal information if the call seems to be part of a scam or other fraudulent activity. If you are unsure whether a call is coming from a legitimate company or an imposter, you can do the following:
