Officials crack down on illegal robocallers

State and federal officials on Tuesday announced a major crackdown on illegal robocallers across the country, claiming the joint effort has targeted the operations responsible for over 1 billion robocalls.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state attorneys general and local officials have taken 94 enforcement actions against a slew of illegal robocalling operations as part of their ongoing efforts to stave off the scourge of billions of robocalls dialing up U.S. consumers every year, according to the announcement.

The FTC is filing charges against multiple companies and individuals, including an array of defendants who the agency says ran a “maze of interrelated operations that used illegal robocalls to contact financially distressed consumers” — largely senior citizens.

And agencies across 25 states announced they have brought 87 enforcement actions against robocalling companies in states including Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and more.

“We’re all fed up with the tens of billions of illegal robocalls we get every year,” Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection, said in a statement. “Today’s joint effort shows that combating this scourge remains a top priority for law enforcement agencies around the nation.”