Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday launched the first actions under “Operation Robocall Roundup” to crack down on robocalls across the state.
Sunday joined 50 bipartisan Attorneys General in sending warning letters to 37 voice providers demanding they stop illegal robocalls being routed through their networks, as part of a multi-state effort by the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force.
“Robocalls are not just an annoyance, many of them are illegal. Robocalls are often a tool used by scammers to take advantage of the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians,” Sunday said. “Illegal robocalls will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth, and I am proud to stand with my colleagues to announce action that we expect will result in federal investigations, and, ultimately, fewer of these calls.”
The attorneys general said the warning letters will go to providers who have not complied with FCC rules about responding to government traceback requests, haven’t registered in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Databases, or haven’t filed a plan describing how they will reduce illegal robocalls on their telecom network.
The task force is also sending letters to 99 downstream telecom providers.
Officials said the FCC is also taking a closer look at many of the companies and said it will be removing seven of them from the Robocall Mitigation Database, which will mean that other providers will no longer be allowed to accept and route any calls from their networks.