Florida Attorney General Moody announces formation of nationwide anti-robocall task force

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody as announced a new Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force that will investigate scammers operating outside of the United States.

The new task force has one goal: to cut down on illegal robocalls.

Florida serves on the executive committee of the task force that consists of 50 attorneys general.

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“My office is working with states across the nation to stop the influx of illegal robocalls originating overseas,” Moody said. “These calls are often used to execute devious scams and steal from Americans, so it’s important that we work together to investigate these foreign phone calls and find ways to stop them from harming our citizens.”

According to a news release, the task force will “focus on the bad actors in the telecom industry to reduce the number of robocalls that consumers receive and to incentivize companies to follow the rules.”

Read: Florida Attorney General Moody highlights seven summer scams to avoid

According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, more than 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day.

In 2021, scam calls resulted in an estimated loss of $29.8 billion to consumers, with most of the calls originating overseas.

Read: Summer Scam Series: Florida Attorney General warns of summer moving scams

Moody offered tips for Floridians to avoid scams and unwanted calls:

· Be wary of callers claiming to represent government agencies or other organizations who specifically request payment by gift card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency. For example, the IRS does not accept iTunes gift cards.

· Look out for prerecorded calls from imposters posing as government agencies. Typically, the SSA does not make phone calls to individuals.

· If the call seems fraudulent, immediately hang up and do not provide any personal information. If unsure whether a call is from a business or an imposter, hang up and call the company’s public customer service phone number.

Read: Wire-fraud victims could be eligible to receive reimbursement, Moody says

Floridians can register home and mobile phone numbers on the national Do Not Call Registry by clicking here. Register on the Florida Do Not Call List by clicking here.

Report scams associated with illegal robocalls by calling 1(866) 9-NO-SCAM or by visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.

In March, Moody released “Scams at a Glance: Robotexts and Robocalls,” a quick-reference resource for consumers to learn more about avoiding unwanted calls and messages.

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