HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC) – Attorney General William Tong announced he has joined a coalition of attorneys general representing 54 states and territories urging the U.S. Senate to enact the TRACED Act.
The Traced Act stands for the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act. Essentially, the legislation aids in curbing illegal robocalls and spoofing.
Telemarketing scams are a growing problem in the United States, as estimations show robocalls will grow from 29% of all phone calls this year to 45% of calls by next year. Additionally, people have lost in excess of $290 million as a result of fraud from telephone telemarketers and these scams have cost $9.5 billion to the U.S. economy.
Furthermore, the FCC and FTC report that robocalls are the number one consumer complaint and over a million complaints were filed to state’s attorneys general across the country last year alone.
The TRACED Act enables states, federal regulators and telecom providers to take steps to combat illegal calls. It requires voice service providers to participate in a call authentication framework, which helps block unwanted calls and creates an interagency working group to take additional action to reduce robocalls while holding telemarketers and robocallers accountable.
Attorney General William Tong says this legislation is important to combat the growing problem.
“It would provide the FCC with the power to levy fines as high as $10,000 per call for wrong-doers,” said Tong. “It would also extend the statute of limitations for violations of our federal laws for three years so we have more time to prosecute violators. Also, it encourages coordination between state and federal officials including state’s attorneys general to strengthen criminal prosecution and tools in the criminal toolbox.”
He added the issue was a major topic of discussion during the recent National Association of Attorneys General in Washington D.C. The bill is bipartisan with Senator John Thune from South Dakota and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts working together to help address the issue.
Tong noted the work that state law enforcement has done in combating robocalls, however, technology required to place calls is easy to obtain, relatively inexpensive and enables mass dialing of thousands through fake or spoof caller ID information. Also compounding the problem, is that most calls are not made locally and in some cases are placed overseas.
“The fraudsters are a step ahead in technology because it’s easy to use and because many of the wrong-doers are not in Connecticut, they’re either elsewhere in the country or abroad,” said Tong. “This is really important to bring as much pressure as we can on this industry to stop this abuse.”
He added that if anyone in Connecticut is a victim of robocalls, they are encouraged to call his office at (860) 808-5000. They can also contact their local state legislator and if any victim has lost money due to these telemarketing scams, they should contact their local police department.