SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's Attorney General has joined a nationwide coalition cracking down on robocalls.
The coalition of 51 attorneys general, led by the North Carolina Attorney General, fired off letters this week to 37 different companies it believes are originating or helping to route robocalls to people.
"I get them wanting me to buy a timeshare. I get them from banks, you know, who say we’ve got this special," said Utah Attorney General Derek Brown. "I get them for every conceivable kind of thing, I think everybody does."
Brown said the letters point out the companies are not in compliance with federal anti-robocall rules and warns them to get in compliance quickly or face litigation.
"As attorneys general, we have the ability to file suits on behalf of the state going after these actors. There are deceptive trade practices," Brown told FOX 13 News on Friday,
But the attorney general said there are some things you can do to help yourself when dealing with robocalls. First of all, don't answer the phone if it's a number you don't recognize. If it's a legitimate person who needs to talk to you? They can leave a voicemail, he said.
Recently, the Utah Attorney General's Office said it has been investigating consumer complaints of AI-generated robocalls with fake voices trying to scam people out of money.
"They could literally impersonate your voice using AI and make it sound like it’s you... the level of sophistication is higher than even two or three years ago," Brown said. "So that’s what I would say is always make sure you know who you’re talking to, don’t give out personal information and if you don’t recognize the number, you don’t have to answer it."
You can also report attempted scams to Utah's Division of Consumer Protection and check to ensure your number is up to date on the federal Do Not Call registry.
