Tired of annoying robocalls? Pennsylvania is joining a new task force that aims to help reduce the number that you receive.
State attorney general Josh Shapiro announced this week that Pennsylvania has joined an Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force. The task force, made up of 50 attorneys general, aims to investigate and take legal action against telecommunications companies responsible for bringing a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States.
“Robocall scammers are relentless,” Shapiro said in a press release. “The best way for us to fight back against them is by working together to track their behavior across the country. I’m dedicated to doing all that I can do to ensure these calls stop plaguing Pennsylvanians.”
According to the press release, the task force has issued civil investigative demands to 20 gateway providers and other entities that are allegedly responsible for a majority of foreign robocall traffic.
These providers, the group argues, are not taking sufficient action to stop these kinds of calls and in some cases appear to be intentionally ignoring them in return for steady revenue.
The ultimate goal is to help reduce the number of robocalls that Pennsylvanians receive.
More than 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day, according to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center. These calls include people pretending to be Social Security Administrators, Amazon representatives and more. It’s estimated that $29.8 billion dollars was stolen via scam calls in 2021.
To help protect yourself from robocall scammers:
— Be wary of callers who specifically ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.
— Watch out for prerecorded calls from imposters posing as government agencies.
— If you suspect fraudulent activity, immediately hang-up and do not provide any personal information.
You can report any and all suspicious robocalls to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection by visiting OAG’s website, emailing scamsattorneygeneral.gov, or calling 800-441-2555.
