M.C. Millman 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a crackdown on illegal telemarketing calls to U.S. consumers yesterday. 

The FTC has partnered with more than 100 federal and state law enforcement partners nationwide, including the attorneys generals from all fifty states and the District of Columbia. The crackdown involves over 180 actions targeting operations responsible for billions of calls. 

"Today, government agencies at all levels are united in fighting the scourge of illegal telemarketing. We are taking action against those who trick people into phony consent to receive these calls and those who make it easy and cheap to place these calls," says Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The FTC and its law enforcement partners will not rest in the fight against illegal telemarketing."

Among these efforts is Operation Stop Scam Calls, a joint federal and state initiative that targets telemarketers, companies that hire them, and lead generators who collect and provide telephone numbers to robocallers. Other efforts include targetting Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers who facilitate illegal robocalls, which often originate overseas.

Forty-eight federal and 54 state agencies have brought over 180 enforcement actions and other initiatives as part of Operation Stop Scam Calls. Agencies include the Department of Justice, Federal Communications Commission, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The FTC said they brought 167 cases against illegal robocallers and Do Not Call (DNC) violators. As a result, courts have ordered the defendants to pay over $2 billion, of which the FTC has collected over $394 million. The FTC uses most of the collected funds to refund consumers who have been defrauded. 

The FTC's press release made it clear that "third-party lead generation for robocalls is illegal under the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and that the FTC and its partners are committed to stopping illegal calls by targeting anyone in the telemarketing ecosystem that assists and facilitates these calls, including VoIP service providers."

"Our collective efforts – from this sweep to the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force and beyond – help us to expand our playbook, allowing us to outwit and defeat these perpetrators in their own arena," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. "Our secret weapon is consumers – whom we urge to continue reporting illicit robocalls, so we can sever these unwanted illegal robocallers' connection once and for all."

Unwanted robocalls should be reported to the FTC here. 

Report the number that received the call, the number on your caller ID, and any number you're told to call back. Also, report the exact date and time of the call if you know it. Knowing all of this information helps the FTC track down the scammers behind the call. Even if you think the number on your caller ID is fake, report it. The FTC analyzes report data and trends to identify illegal callers based on calling patterns.