Robocalls draw 13,000 complaints from South Dakota

John Hult
Argus Leader
Robocalls and telemarketing calls are the number one consumer complaint to the Federal Communications Commission.

South Dakotans complained of more than 13,000 unwanted robocalls in 2017, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC’s Biennial Report to Congress shows a nationwide uptick in robocalls 2017. The tally of complaints reached 4.5 million last year, compared to 3.4 million the year before.

The number of robocalls overall is much higher than FTC compliants, however.

There were 43 million robocalls placed to South Dakotans in 2017, according to the website RobocallIndex.com. The site is run by YouMail, a company that sells a robocall-blocking software.

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The figure amounts to 3.7 calls per person in the state. That’s lower than the national average of 8.6 per person.

Margot Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center said in a news release on the biennial report that the jump in complaints illustrates the long-standing trouble with robocalls.

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Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, robocalls are illegal unless the recipient has consented to a call.

“The FTC’s complaint data illustrates a rapid expansion of the use of robocall technology and the toll these abusive calls take on consumers,” Saunders said.

Here are the top 10 robocall numbers used in South Dakota, in 2017 according to RobocallIndex.com:

1.      877-647-8552: Wells Fargo

2.      716-541-1347: First Premier Bank

3.      877-844-0550: Unknown robocaller

4.      800-318-2596: Affordable Healthcare

5.      385-707-8049: Unknown scam call

6.      888-393-7162: Bill Me Later

7.      800-955-6600: Capitol One debt collection

8.      844-213-7851: Payment reminder

9.      800-537-3302: Bank of American

10.   469-914-7211: Citibank Debt Collector on behalf of Best Buy