Missouri, Arkansas AGs Target Robocalls

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway of Missouri and Attorney General Tim Griffin of Arkansas have joined 48 other state leaders in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take aggressive action against robocall scammers. The bipartisan coalition is calling for stricter rules to prevent scammers from accessing legitimate phone numbers, which they use to deceive and defraud millions of Americans.

The group highlights a dangerous trend known as "number cycling". Unlike legitimate businesses that keep the same number for years, scammers purchase millions of new numbers and rotate them quickly to bypass spam filters. This tactic has led to staggering losses; last year, Americans received approximately 29.6 billion fraudulent calls and texts, resulting in nearly $2 billion in financial losses.

The impact is heavily felt in Missouri. Since January 2026, Missourians have received over 513 million robocalls, averaging roughly 88 calls per person. These fraudulent calls became the top consumer complaint filed with the Missouri Attorney General's Office in 2025. In Arkansas, robocall and telemarketing complaints remain a top consumer issue.

To combat this crisis, the attorneys general are asking the FCC to implement several key safeguards:

• Require phone number resellers to undergo stricter certification and report how numbers are assigned.
• Mandate regular reporting to help law enforcement trace illegal calls back to their source.
• Prohibit the sale of phone numbers to entities that do not provide actual calling or texting services.
• Ban "number cycling" and restrict the offering of trial numbers.

Attorney General Hanaway emphasized that strengthening these guidelines is a critical step in protecting consumers from harassment and fraud. Missouri residents who have been targeted by illegal robocalls are encouraged to report the incidents to the state's No Call Unit to help authorities track and stop these criminal operations. In Arkansas, you can submit details to the Arkansas Attorney General's office using the Arkansas Robocall Reporting Form.

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