HARRISBURG – Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the first action under “Operation Robocall Roundup,” a multistate effort by the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force to crack down on robocalls across Pennsylvania and nationwide.

Attorney General Sunday joined 50 bipartisan Attorneys General in sending warning letters to 37 voice providers demanding that they immediately stop illegal robocalls being routed through their networks.

“Robocalls are not just an annoyance, many of them are illegal. Robocalls are often a tool used by scammers to take advantage of the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians,” Sunday said. “Illegal robocalls will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth, and I am proud to stand with my colleagues to announce action that we expect will result in federal investigations, and, ultimately, fewer of these calls.”

Consumers can sign up to be on the Pennsylvania Do Not Call list online at attorneygeneral.gov/dnc, or by calling (888) 777-3406.

The providers receiving the warning letters have not complied with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules about responding to government traceback requests, haven’t registered in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Databases, or haven’t filed a plan that describes how they will reduce illegal robocalls on their telecom network.

By disregarding these simple rules, these companies are allowing robocallers onto their phone networks and then passing those robocalls downstream to other providers until robocalls reach the phones of Pennsylvanians. The task force is also sending warning letters to 99 downstream telecom providers.

The FCC is also taking a close look at many of these companies. It recently announced that it will be removing seven of these following telecom providers from Robocall Mitigation Database, which means that other providers will no longer be allowed to accept and route any calls from the removed networks.

Consumers can use the following tips to avoid unwanted calls:

• Be mindful of providing your phone number to businesses asking for your telephone number. Signing up for a rewards program or similar with your phone number allows the business to place you on telemarketing lists without requiring further consent.
• Be aware of providing contact information when participating in online surveys of contests. Read the fine print– you may be adding yourself to a telemarketing list.
• Entering contests at fairs and other public events may lead to future telephone solicitations.

In 2022, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General joined forces with 51 Attorneys General to create the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force, which investigates and takes legal action against companies responsible for significant volumes of illegal and fraudulent robocall traffic routed into and across the United States.