D.C. joins FCC investigation of robocall scams

The District of Columbia has joined 21 states in signing an agreement to help the Federal Communications Commission investigate robocall scams.

The FCC announced Monday that the attorneys general of Connecticut, D.C., Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey and Wyoming had signed memoranda of understanding with the agency’s enforcement bureau to share information from state investigations.

Among 15 state agreements signed before this week, the FCC also announced that it had expanded its memoranda with West Virginia and Michigan.

“The FCC and these state leaders share a common enemy: robocall scammers targeting consumers and businesses around the country,” Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC chairwoman, said in a statement.

Karl Racine, the District’s attorney general, wrote in a tweet on Monday afternoon that the partnership seeks to “crack down” on “bad actors to help end these frustrating scams.”

Robocalls, which use computerized auto-dialing to send pre-recorded messages to large groups, are often legal when they come from marketers and political campaigns.

In illegal robocalls, scammers spoof government agencies like the Social Security Administration or offer phony promotional offers for illegitimate purposes.

Last month, the FCC recommended a $45 million fine against the Florida-based telemarketing company Interstate Brokers of America after it bought third-party phone lists to make 514,467 robocalls about telemedicine health insurance services.

Also doing business as National Health Agents, the company automatically transferred consumers who pushed a button or stayed on hold to a call center that offered them insurance products.