JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) - Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and 48 other attorneys urged the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen rules that would cut off scammers’ access to legitimate phone numbers.
The Attorney’s Office said that with the rules strengthened, it would prevent scammers from using real phone numbers to deceive and scam Americans.
“I am proud to stand alongside 48 other states in an effort to protect Americans from scammers,” said Hanaway. “Strengthening the FCC’s guidelines to make it harder for scammers to harass and deceive Americans through phone calls is a step in the right direction in protecting consumers.”
According to the Attorney General’s Office, last year, Americans received around 29.6 billion robocalls and texts and lost nearly $2B to these scams.
The office said scammers often purchase legitimate phone numbers to use in robocall schemes. Additionally, they often rotate numbers to avoid being caught by spam filters.
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The Attorney General’s Office said that since January 2026, around 513.8 million calls have been made to Missourians. The office received more than 33,600 no-call complaints in 2025, making it the top consumer complaint.
In addition to the FCC, attorneys are asking the federal government to do more, including:
- Create stronger requirements for companies that buy and sell phone numbers
- Require those companies to submit sales reports so law enforcement can trace illegal robocalls back to the source
- Require those who buy phone numbers to confirm they will not use them to make illegal robocalls
- Block the sale of phone numbers to entities that are not tied to calling or texting services.
- Prohibit number cycling
- Restrict the offering of trial numbers
Missourians who receive unwanted robocalls are encouraged to report them to the Consumer Protection Unit at 800-392-8222 or online here.
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