California

Attorneys General Announce Support for Crackdown on Text Message Scams, Fraud

According to the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. consumers lost some $131 million in 2021 via fraudulent and illegal text messages that included, among other things, phishing links and downloads for unwanted software.

If it feels like you’re inundated with scam calls, texts and emails lately, you’re not alone. The Federal Trade Commission says fraud reports surged during the pandemic.
NBC 5 News

California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined the attorneys general from the other 49 states and the District of Columbia expressing support Monday for a federal proposal to crack down on illegal text messages.

The 51 attorneys general sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission in support of the agency's proposal to require mobile wireless carriers to block illegal text messages from invalid, unallocated or unused phone numbers.

The FCC has also proposed blocking messages from phone numbers that are on a do-not-originate list, which includes phone numbers that are confirmed to be used for illegal or fraudulent activity.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. consumers lost some $131 million in 2021 via fraudulent and illegal text messages that included, among other things, phishing links and downloads for unwanted software.

"Illegal and unwanted robotexts present the same problems as their counterpart robocalls -- they invade consumer privacy and are vehicles for scams and identity theft," Bonta said in a statement.

The attorneys general also called on the FCC to develop and require authentication technology for text messages that is similar to that of phone calls, allowing people to easily determine if a text message is from a known fraudulent number.

"With scammers increasing their focus on text messaging schemes, consumer losses will also increase, unless industry and law enforcement work together to protect consumers," the attorneys general said in their letter.

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