Wisconsin Joins Nationwide Effort to Crack Down on Illegal Robocalls

MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) — After months of increased buzzing and ringing, law enforcement is getting further involved in the robocall process. Attorney General Josh Kaul and a bipartisan coalition of 46 attorneys general are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen its Robocall Mitigation Database to combat illegal robocalls.

The coalition is calling for more vetting of phone providers and stricter penalties for those submitting false information. A statement from the group of AG’s says since its 2021 launch, the database has had minimal oversight, allowing bad actors to exploit loopholes and access the U.S. telephone network.

“People shouldn’t have to be annoyed by robocall after robocall,” Kaul said. “We must strengthen protections against illegal robocalls.”

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission received over 17,000 complaints from Wisconsin residents about unwanted robocalls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection logged 1,276 telemarketing complaints.

Political calls are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry. Campaigns can contact voters even if they are registered to avoid such calls. However, political robocalls to landlines are limited to three calls within a 30-day period without prior consent.

The attorneys general propose implementing submission deadlines, data validation processes, and blocking non-compliant providers to reduce illegal robocalls. If adopted, the association claims that proposed changes would make it harder for scammers to get into the U.S. telephone network and would help protect consumers from unwanted calls.

You can get on the Do Not Call Registry here. Those who get excessive and unwanted calls are told to first hang up. Officials say to not press any buttons and to not say anything if you do answer. If you’re on the registry, you can report numbers through the DATCP.