On Monday, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich joined 41 other state attorneys general to apply pressure on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to cut short the growing illegal robocalls and spoofing industry.
Last year, Americans received nearly 18 billion scam calls, most of those from overseas.
Brnovich wants the FCC to enforce U.S. laws already established last year under the Ray Baum’s Act or 2018.
“It essentially enhances the fed’s and our ability to go after overseas phone scammers,” said AG spokesperson Katie Conner.
As for what recourse the U.S. has against overseas violators of the act, she said, “If they have any assets here in the U.S. that we could potentially seize them.”
Common robocalls include health insurance, student loans, banking, tax, travel, business and warranty scams.
Connor said consumers should join the “Do Not Call” registry, and report unwanted robocalls immediately to the attorney general’s website as it happens.