Attorney General James urges federal government to strengthen rules to stop illegal robocalls

James & bipartisan coalition provide FCC with recommendations for stronger protections to fight fraud

Submitted by the Office of New York Attorney General Letitia James

On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a bipartisan coalition of 48 other attorneys general in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt new measures to combat illegal robocalls, calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt new measures to combat illegal robocalls.

In March, FCC released new proposals to strengthen existing regulations to crack down on the growing scourge of illegal robocalls. These calls deliver prerecorded or artificial voice messages attempting to scam consumers, often by impersonating government agencies or financial companies. These scams cost Americans hundreds of millions of dollars every year, including $789 million in 2024.

In a letter to the FCC, James and the coalition express their support for the agency’s new measures, and offer additional recommendations to close loopholes and more effectively stop illegal robocalls.

“New Yorkers are getting flooded with predatory robocalls day after day, putting their finances and personal information at risk,” James said. “My office is committed to tackling the epidemic of robocalls to prevent scammers from taking advantage of working families. I am proud to join this bipartisan coalition providing the federal government with recommendations to help crack down on illegal robocalls.”

Rampant robocalls are a source of costly scams and fraud that affect tens of thousands of people every year. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released data showing that consumers reported losing over $12.5 billion to scams in 2024, including through fraudulent calls and texts. YouMail, a mobile service designed to protect users from unwanted calls, reported that, in April alone, consumers in the U.S. received 4.2 billion robocalls, or roughly 1,600 calls per second.

In March, FCC proposed a series of new regulations to increase transparency and reporting requirements for companies that sell phone numbers to reduce the likelihood that scammers obtain numbers they can use for illegal robocalls. The proposed rules focus on expanding numbering certification processes and mandating disclosure from all companies that sell access to phone number logs.

James and the coalition recommend FCC take additional measures to help prevent fraud, including:

•Increasing the legal tools available for attorneys general to fight illegal robocalls, including by expanding the definition of telephone number resellers to make it easier to hold illegal robocallers accountable under the law.

•Prohibiting the resale of certain phone numbers to make it harder for scammers to obtain numbers they can use for robocalls.

•Expanding proposed foreign ownership certification requirements to all service providers that assign or sell telephone numbers, making it harder for scammers to hide behind shell corporations.

•Requiring all companies that sell phone numbers and their employees to participate in mandatory education sessions on how to properly use and report their sales of phone numbers to increase transparency and tracking of number sales.

Joining James in sending the letter to FCC are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia,.

James is a leader in multistate efforts to crack down on robocalls. In 2022, she joined 50 other attorneys general in creating the anti-robocall litigation task force, which investigates and takes legal action against companies that are responsible for large amounts of robocall traffic.