PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey and Pennsylvania are leading the charge in the fight against illegal robocalls, heading up a coalition of 49 states looking to crack down on scammers and spammers.
Attorneys general like Jennifer Davenport in New Jersey are asking the FCC for stricter rules and more transparency regarding what companies can obtain phone numbers and for what reasons.
“Americans receive more than 2 million scam or telemarketing calls every hour,” Davenport explained. “What we’re doing here is we’re urging the FCC to increase visibility into who is getting access to these phone numbers and who is giving them that access.”
Scam calls result in billions of dollars worth of fraud every year. One of the problems the coalition highlights is the ability for call centers to rotate through dozens of phone numbers, making blocking calls ineffective.
Davenport and other attorneys general hope to target both the companies making the calls and the companies that sell phone numbers to fraudsters.
She said the coalition sent its letter to the FCC ahead of a rule-making proceeding, and she’s hopeful their requests will be well-received.
States seek stricter rules, more transparency from FCC about what companies can obtain phone numbers
States seek stricter rules, more transparency from FCC about what companies can obtain phone numbers
