Pennsylvania leaders take new approach to cracking down on robocalls

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

Updated on: July 9, 2026 / 7:31 PM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh


Last year, Americans received nearly 30 billion scam robocalls and text messages. Now, leaders in Pennsylvania are taking a new approach to try to crack down on them.

"It's not just certain audiences that are targeted in this space. It's really everybody," said Kate Sullivan, CEO of Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania. "Robocalling is just faster and more aggressive than it's ever been," Sullivan said.

The prevalence, exacerbated by artificial intelligence, is why 49 attorneys general across the country sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen its rules to prevent scammers from accessing legitimate phone numbers.

"You have individuals that will purchase maybe 100,000 different phone numbers," Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. "Those numbers will land somewhere where you have a nefarious actor who will use those numbers to do the robocalls."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pennsylvania-robocalls-crackdown/

---

National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) PRESS RELEASE - Bipartisan Coalition of 49 Attorneys General Urges Federal Action on Illegal Robocalls

Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://www.naag.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Reply-Comments-of-49-State-AGs-re-2026-Numbering-Resources-NPRM-July-2026.pdf

This effort has been mostly a locally-reported one nationwide as the M$M have mostly ignored it so far.

[FakeNoose]

1. Senior citizens are especially vulnerable to scam & spam callers

These illegal operators could have been shut down years ago by Verizon and the other mobiles, but they let it go on. Because ... profits. Does that surprise anyone?

[C_U_L8R]

2. This is a job for AI, if it's as smart as they say

We don’t need software assistance to put artists and writers and programmers out of work… how about blocking and busting all the scammers, schemers, spammers, and phishers??? THIS, the world could actually use!!!

[70sEraVet]

3. Years ago, I signed up for that 'National Do Not Call Registry'

Remember that? Is that still in effect?
I have to admit, I've never tried reporting anyone.

[FakeNoose]

4. Sure, that's how they bought your info

I think it still exists, but it's almost all landline numbers.

[reACTIONary]

6. After reading the NAAG letter, a clarification....

..... is in order. It seems that the proposed regulation is to restrict selling phone numbers to be used in calling by the robocallers, not selling phone numbers to be called by the robocallers. This would be how a robocaller can call from a number within your own area code and exchange, so you pick it up thinking it might be your neighbor.

That wasn't clear to me until I read the letter.

[FakeNoose]

7. Verizon has the ability to identify these spammers, they could stop this

.... But they won't do it.

[reACTIONary]

8. From the letter, I wasn't able to see where Verizon fits in...

.....there is a North American telephone number authority that issues blocks of numbers. These numbers can be divided up and issued to others. There are several tiers of allocation and reallocation. Its not clear to me where Verizon would be in this scheme. Of course, there are other Telcom providers also, that have to be taken into account.

It sounds like they are trying to get a 'know your customer' rule in place like is used in banking.

[FakeNoose]

9. I no longer have a Verizon landline, but I did have one for almost 30 years

One of the services they gave me as a longtime subscriber was an ap called "No-Mo-Robo." I say ap, but it doesn't work on cellphones, only on landlines. This NoMoRobo was great, they identified every spam caller I ever got, and it gave me the ability to block (or not answer) the robo-dialed calls. They knew when a call was coming in from somewhere else, even another country - and it spoofed the source so that it looked like a local call. Verizon told me through the NoMoRobo ap that that's exactly what it was, a spoofed source.

Then about 5 or 6 years ago, I'm not sure of the date, but it was around the time of the Covid lockdown, they stopped giving away the ap. I had it from an early download, but new subscribers weren't allowed to use it. Or maybe they had to pay for it as an extra service, I don't know. But the idea of blocking robo-dialed calls to the landlines has been discontinued. Verizon figured out that it was hurting their revenue, is the only thing I can guess.

Last year I had a housefire and lost all my appliances, electrical wiring, everything. It's all being replaced now but Verizon will no longer be my phone service or my internet service. Needless to say, I'm also done with their cable service as well.

But the NoMoRobo is a fond memory of mine, and I considered it as proof that they could have done away with all these spam calls - and hiding the source of the calls - a long time ago. But they didn't, and now it's gone.

[reACTIONary]

10. Wish I had that "app"...

...it sounds great! I have Verizon internet, but never their phone service. If they still had that app, I'd switch to them even if it cost more

[FakeNoose]

11. Maybe buy an old landline phone that had the ap? I don't know

I lost my old phone when it melted in the fire. All that old tech is gone.... and I don't know how to get it back.