AG calls for tougher anti-scam call rules

Attorney General Mike Hunter joined 34 other state attorneys general to pressure federal regulators for more stringent rules against telephone scams and illegal robocalls, Hunter said Monday.

The proposed rules would let telephone service providers detect and block illegal automated calls before a customer's phone rings. The service can be implemented next year if the Federal Communications Commission allows it.

Oklahoma's Consumer Protection Unit received more than 4,000 complaints last year about phone scams, which was more than half of all complaints the unit received, Hunter said.

"Illegal robocalls are irritating and disconcerting, and phone scammers are successfully able to steal personal information, leaving Oklahomans susceptible to identity theft," Hunter said. "It is time to take more action and give service providers more tools in order for them to protect consumers from these scams."

Last year, reports showed that landline and wireless subscribers in the United States received more than 30 billion illegal robocalls as scammers found ways to circumvent the latest FCC rules, Hunter said. By the end of this year, industry experts estimate customers will receive more than 40 billion robocalls.

Half of all calls made to cellphones next year will be from scammers, according to an analysis from First Orion, a technology service provider for telephone companies.