WASHINGTON—Congresswoman Yvette Herrell has urged New Mexico's Attorney General Hector Balderas to partner with the Federal Communications Commission to fight the scourge of scam robocalls, which bother countless Americans and steal money from millions of people:

"I write to respectfully request that you partner with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help prevent robocall scams and spoofing schemes in New Mexico and the United States," writes Rep. Herrell. "As of May 19, 2022, thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have joined a Memoranda of Understanding with the FCC to help investigate these harmful practices against consumers."

"These partnerships have already yielded effective results. In March of 2021, in cooperation with the Texas Attorney General, the FCC investigated and fined telemarketers for their illegal robocall spoofing campaign. The fine was the largest in FCC history at $225 million for nearly 1 billion robocalls placed."

"Adding New Mexico to this list would be a big step further in ensuring nationwide cooperation in the fight to end the scourge of phone-based scams and would signal to the people of New Mexico that these operations are unacceptable and cannot continue."

"Last year, Americans received 50.5 billion robocalls, a truly staggering number even with the implementation of robocall spoofing prevention technology last June. Even worse, nearly 60 million Americans fell victim to phone scams in 2021, totaling an estimated $29.8 billion in personal losses. It is imperative that these illegal robocalls come to an end, as they present a significant harm to consumers and take advantage of hard-working people across New Mexico and the United States."