Pa. Joins Anti-Robocall Task Force to Limit Scams

Pennsylvania has joined an anti-robocall task force that aims to decrease the number of illegal robocalls in the country.

The organization consists of 50 attorneys general that will investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for allowing a majority of foreign robocalls in the U.S., a release from Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro states.

Shapiro said that robocall scammers are relentless.

“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 and collaborate to shut them down," he said.

The task force will focus on the bad actors within the telecommunications industry in order to help reduce the high number of robocalls that Pennsylvanians receive, according to the release.

More than 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans each day, totaling more than 1 billion scam calls a month, according to the National Consumer Law Center.

The task force has issued 20 civil investigative demands to 20 gateway providers and other entities that are allegedly responsible for a majority of the foreign robocall traffic. The statement says these gateway providers have a responsibility to monitor traffic and ensure its legality, but providers "are not taking sufficient action to stop robocall traffic," according to the AG's office.

Shapiro reminded community members to protect themselves from scams with these tips:

• Be wary of callers who specifically ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.
• Look 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.

Pennsylvanians can and are encouraged to report suspected scam phone calls to the the AG's office's Bureau of Consumer Protection at their website.