Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says the state will join an investigation into providers responsible for much of the robocall traffic in the U.S. The investigation is the first action of the newly-formed Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 attorneys general.
Ellison says Minnesotans file more complaints about robocalls with his office than about any other single problem.
The Task Force has issued 20 civil investigative demands to 20 gateway providers allegedly responsible for enabling significant volumes of robocall traffic. Gateway providers are companies that sell access to the U.S. telephone network.
According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, over 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. Scammers stole an estimated $29.8 billion dollars through scam calls in 2021 alone.
Tips to avoid scams and unwanted calls:
- If you suspect fraudulent activity, immediately hang up and do not provide any personal information.
- Be wary of callers who specifically ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. For example, the Internal Revenue Service does not accept payment in iTunes gift cards.
- Look out for prerecorded calls from imposters posing as government agencies. Typically, the Social Security Administration does not make phone calls to individuals.
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