PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania is part of a multi-state task force demanding voice phone providers rein in alleged robocall activity. Now, the coalition has announced the implementation of the second phase of its national crackdown.
The bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force formed in 2022 with 51 attorneys general joining forces, including Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday.
In a statement, Sunday called robocalls “more than just a nuisance,” adding “they can be dangerous lures to obtain Pennsylvanians’ personal information and access to their identity and finances.”
That’s why the task force instituted “Operation Robocall Roundup.” As part of its second phase, the task force directed providers Inteliquent, Lumen, Bandwidth, and Peerless to crack down on illegal robocalls across their networks.
Collectively, the four companies have been notified more than 25,000 times since 2019 that suspected illegal robocall activity was traced back to them, according to Sunday’s office. Officials estimate over a three-year period, the companies combined for more than a billion imposter robocalls purporting to be from “Amazon” or “Apple.” The estimate over a three-to-four-year period for phony robocalls from the “IRS” or “Social Security Administration” linked to those four companies was more than 3 billion.
In August, the task force contacted 37 smaller voice providers in the operation’s first phase. According to Sunday’s office, 13 companies can no longer have their call traffic accepted by U.S. voice providers. Nineteen stopped appearing in traceback results, indicating they’ve stopped allowing robocalls, and at least four ended contracts with accounts identified as transmitting illegal voice traffic.
KYW Newsradio reached out to the four companies. A spokesperson for Lumen said, “Lumen strives to collaborate with key stakeholders to mitigate unlawful robocalls. We have partnered with industry and regulators for several years to protect consumers and other end-users from illegal robocalls as a founding member of the Industry Traceback Group and a leader in developing technical standards. We are reviewing the assertions in the letter and will respond appropriately.”
The other three companies have not responded.