RICHMOND, Va. – Attorney General Jason Miyares is taking action to limit unwanted scam robocalls.
On Tuesday, Miyares announced that Virginia is joining a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force.
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The force’s purpose is to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States, according to the release.
The release said that the bipartisan nationwide Task Force has one goal: to cut down on illegal robocalls.
Miyares gave a statement on the scam calls happening to Virginians.
“Everyone has experienced the nuisance of robocalls. These scams are constantly trying to steal Virginians’ personal information, targeting not only online consumers but senior citizens as well,” Miyares said. “Virginia is joining the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force because enough is enough – it’s time to crack down on these annoying and illegal calls and proactively protect Virginians.”
So far, the release said that the force has issued 20 civil investigative demands to 20 gateway providers, among others, that are responsible for the majority of foreign call traffic.
Gateway providers are responsible for making sure the foreign traffic they bring into America’s telephone network is legal, but the release said they aren’t taking enough action to stop scam calls.
According to the release, to combat the scam calls, the Task Force will focus on those in the industry that seem to turn a blind eye to scam calls in order to reduce the number of calls, thus benefiting companies that abide by the rules.
Data from the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center included in the release said that millions of scam calls are made to Americans each day – they reported over 33 million scam robocalls, including Social Security Administration fraud against seniors, Amazon scams against consumers, and others.
And according to the release, an estimated $29.8 billion dollars was stolen through scam calls in 2021, with most of the scam call traffic coming from overseas.
Miyares offered more tips to avoid falling victim to scam calls:
- Be careful of callers who specifically ask for payment by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency,
- Listen for prerecorded calls from callers posing as government agencies,
- If you’re unsure or hesitant, hang up and do not provide any information.
For more information on the Task Force, you can reach Attorney General Miyares’ Consumer Protection Section at (800) 552-9963, or by filling out an online form.