Operation Robocall Roundup sends warning letters to robocall companies about illegal activity
State attorneys general from across the country, including Michigan, have issued warning notices to over three dozen companies, demanding they take action to stop illegal robocalls being routed through their networks.
Operation Robocall Roundup, a campaign by the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force led by the attorneys general for Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio, was announced Thursday.
"Operation Robocall Roundup will help ensure voice service providers do their part to stop illegal robocalls," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in her press release. "I look forward to continuing to work with the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force to protect people from these persistent and intrusive calls."
The first step involved sending warning letters to 37 voice providers that failed to follow Federal Communications Commission rules about responding to government traceback requests. Alternatively, they have not registered in the FCC Robocall Mitigation Database or filed a plan that explains their efforts to limit illegal robocallers from using their services.
A related step is sending letters to more than 100 providers that accepted call traffic from those 37 companies "so that they know they're doing business with bad actors that are not willing to follow the rules that apply to everyone equally," Nessel's press release said.
Some of the activity described in the warning letters include using hundreds of unique phone numbers to route calls, circumventing caller ID technology and ignoring instructions in the National Do Not Call Registry lists.
In the meantime, Nessel said, the FCC is taking a close look at several of the companies that are under investigation by the states.
The Michigan attorney general's office also has a collection of resources for the public in how to recognize and report illegal robocalls.