DENVER — Colorado is joining a nationwide effort to take legal action against the telecommunication companies involved with robocalls.
Attorney General Phil Weiser announced the formation of the bipartisan anti-robocall litigation task force of 50 attorneys general who will investigate and take legal action against those companies.
The goal is to cut down on the number of illegal robocalls. So far, the task force has issued 20 civil investigative demands to 20 gateway providers and other entities allegedly responsible for bringing a majority of foreign robocalls into the U.S., Weiser said. Gateway providers are required to ensure foreign traffic coming into the U.S. telephone network are legal, but Weiser said there are many cases where gateway providers "appear to be intentionally turning a blind eye in return for steady revenue."
Americans receive over 33 million scam robocalls every day, which has led to $29.8 billion being stolen through scam calls in 2021, according to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center. Most of these scam robocalls originate overseas. Coloradans received about 65.2 million robocalls in June alone, according to Robocall Index. On average, each Coloradan receives 11.4 robocalls a day.
“Robocalls are an ongoing issue for Coloradans,” Weiser said. “We are committed to stopping illegal and unwanted calls and will continue to collaborate nationwide on solutions to end this scourge and protect consumers.”
Experts remind consumers to be wary of callers asking for payments using gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency, or prerecorded calls from people posing as government agents. When in doubt, hang up without providing personal information.
Fraudulent or unwanted telephone calls can be reported online or by calling Stop Fraud Colorado at 1-800-222-4444 for anyone who thinks they've been the victim of a fraudulent call or text.
