COLORADO SPRINGS — On Tuesday, Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that Colorado is joining a nationwide anti-robocall litigation task force of 50 attorneys general to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States.
“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.”
According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, over 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. These scam calls include Social Security Administration fraud against seniors, Amazon scams against consumers, and many other scams targeting all consumers, including some of our most vulnerable citizens.
An estimated $29.8 billion dollars was stolen through scam calls in 2021. Most of this scam robocall traffic originates overseas. The Task Force is focused on shutting down the providers that profit from this illegal scam traffic and refuse to take steps to otherwise mitigate these scam calls.
The following are tips to avoid scams and unwanted calls:
- Be wary of callers who specifically ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. For example, the Internal Revenue Service does not accept iTunes gift cards.
- Look out for prerecorded calls from imposters posing as government agencies. Typically, the Social Security Administration does not make phone calls to individuals.
- If you suspect fraudulent activity, immediately hang-up and do not provide any personal information.
You can help stop some of these scams by reporting fraudulent or unwanted telephone calls here, or call Stop Fraud Colorado at 1-800-222-4444, if you believe you have been the victim of a fraudulent call or text.
