VIRGINIA, USA — Billions of Americans are dealing with robocalls, which the Federal Communications Commission calls the agency’s top consumer complaint.
Dozens of top state law enforcement officials, including Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, are teaming up to address the problem.
In a newly signed letter, Miyares and 46 other attorneys general are urging the FCC to strengthen the vetting process to block illegal robocalls.
So far this year, Virginians have received more than one billion of them, according to YouMail, which helps track and stop unwanted calls.
Nearly 43.6 billion robocalls have been made to callers nationwide this year.
The issue even caused headaches along the 2024 presidential campaign trail. In January, people in New Hampshire received calls from a voice that sounded like President Joe Biden urging them not to vote in the state's primary.
The message was fake, created with the help of artificial intelligence, which led to more concerns.
Now, Miyares and other top state officials are doing something about the problem.
In the letter, they pushed the FCC to improve the agency’s Robocall Mitigation Database, which requires all service providers to register with the program and share what they are doing to mitigate the problem. State prosecutors say companies are not meeting deadlines or giving accurate information that helps to sort out the bad actors and stops them from gaining access to customer's phone numbers.
North Carolina's Attorney General Josh Stein also signed the letter.
Anyone in Virginia who believes they are a victim of fraud through robocalls can contact the Commonwealth's Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-552-9963.