Delaware joins Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force

Delaware State News
Posted 8/2/22

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings on Tuesday announced that the state is joining a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 attorneys general to investigate and take legal action against telecommunications companies that bring a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States.

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Delaware joins Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force

Posted

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings on Tuesday announced that the state is joining a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 attorneys general to investigate and take legal action against telecommunications companies that bring a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States.

The task force has one goal: to cut down on illegal robocalls.

“Robocalls are a nationwide problem that Delawareans — including me — deal with every day,” said Ms. Jennings. “The nature of these scams makes it nigh impossible for any one state to singlehandedly stop robocalls, but this task force combines our resources and focuses them on the bad actors in the telecom industry who enable this scourge.

“We will take this fight to anyone who helps these scammers and robocallers.”

The task force has so far issued 20 civil investigative demands to 20 gateway providers and other entities allegedly responsible for a majority of foreign robocall traffic.

Providers that bring foreign traffic into the U.S. telephone network have a responsibility to ensure such traffic is legal, but these providers are not taking sufficient action to stop robocalls, the task force reports.

In many cases, they appear to be intentionally turning a blind eye in return for steady revenue.

The task force will focus on the bad actors throughout the telecommunications industry, to help reduce the number of robocalls that consumers receive and benefit the companies that are following the rules.

According to the National Consumer Law Center and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, more than 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day.

These calls include Social Security Administration fraud against seniors, Amazon scams against consumers and many other false contacts targeting all consumers, including some of the most vulnerable citizens.

An estimated $29.8 billion was stolen through scam calls in 2021, with most robocalls originating overseas.

Ms. Jennings offered the following tips to avoid scams and unwanted calls:

  • Be wary of callers who specifically ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency.
  • Look out for recorded calls from impostors posing as government agencies.
  • If you suspect fraudulent activity, immediately hang up and do not provide any personal information.
  • Contact the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Division at 800-220-5424 or consumer.protection@delaware.gov.
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