MAR 05, 2019

Attorney General Alan Wilson urges Congress to take action against robocalls

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - March 5, 2019 - Attorney General Alan Wilson today urged the U.S. Senate to enact the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, legislation to curb illegal robocalls and spoofing. A coalition of 54 attorneys general sent a letter to the U. S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation supporting the TRACED Act. The 54 attorneys general include the attorneys general from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories.  The legislation is sponsored by Sens. John Thune and Ed Markey.

“We all get robocalls and spoofed calls, where a scammer or telemarketer makes his phone number look like another number so you’ll answer,” Attorney General Wilson said. “It’s a case of the bad guys using technology against us, so we’re urging Congress to do something to protect everyone.”

In their letter, the attorneys general state that the TRACED Act enables states, federal regulators, and telecom providers to take steps to combat these illegal calls. The legislation will require voice service providers to participate in a call authentication framework to help block unwanted calls and creates an interagency working group to take additional actions to reduce robocalls and hold telemarketers and robocallers accountable.

More than 48 billion robocalls were made in 2018, making them the number one source of consumer complaints to the FTC and the FCC and resulting in millions in consumer losses. The state attorneys general work to enforce do-not-call laws and protect consumers in their states from being harassed and scammed by robocalls.

A copy of the letter can be found HERE.

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