MADISON, Wis. - Attorney General Josh Kaul, with Wisconsin Department of Trade, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (DATCP), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and other law enforcement partners nationwide, including attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, announced on Tuesday, July 18 a new crackdown on illegal telemarketing targeting operations responsible for billions of calls to U.S. consumers.
A news release says the joint state and federal "Operation Stop Scam Calls" initiative builds on the efforts of Wisconsin and other state and federal partners to combat illegal telemarketing, including robocalls. This initiative targets telemarketers and the companies that hire them as well as lead generators who deceptively collect and provide consumers’ telephone numbers to robocallers and others, falsely representing that these consumers have consented to receive calls. It also targets Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers who facilitate tens of billions of illegal robocalls every year, which often originate overseas.
In addition to the law enforcement actions announced Tuesday, the FTC has a variety of materials aimed at helping consumers block unwanted telemarketing calls. This includes advice related to robocalls and other unwanted calls and information on how to spot and avoid phone scams at ftc.gov/calls, which is also available in Spanish at ftc.gov/llamadas. The FTC also has a new educational webpage at ftc.gov/RobocallScams that includes examples of real illegal robocalls and steps people can take to avoid robocall scams.
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To learn more about scams and how to file a complaint against an illegal telemarketing call, contact the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s Consumer Protection Hotline toll-free at 800-422-7128 or by email at DATCPHotline@wisconsin.gov.