By: Richard L. Smith
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport is helping lead a nationwide effort urging federal regulators to strengthen rules designed to stop illegal robocalls before they reach consumers.
According to a statement released by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Davenport co-led a coalition of 49 attorneys general calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen its “Know Your Upstream Provider” requirements.
The proposed changes would require telephone service providers to more carefully verify companies sending calls through their networks and take action against providers associated with large volumes of illegal or suspicious calls.
Officials said Americans received more than 29.6 billion scam robocalls and texts last year, resulting in nearly $2 billion in losses.
The coalition is also seeking tougher requirements for high-risk customers and stronger enforcement against companies that fail to prevent illegal calls from traveling across their networks.
Davenport was joined by attorneys general from multiple states and jurisdictions, including New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, California and others.
The effort is part of a broader multistate crackdown aimed at preventing scammers from gaining access to the nation’s telephone network.