Phone scams target of federal, state sweep

WASHINGTON – Federal and state officials announced a widespread crackdown Tuesday against telemarketing scams that have bilked thousands of consumers, many of them elderly, out of tens of millions of dollars.

The sweep, dubbed “Operation Tele-PHONEY,” was coordinated by the Federal Trade Commission and has yielded more than 180 enforcement actions in the United States and Canada. That makes it the largest such operation the FTC has ever coordinated, the agency said.

William Kovacic, chairman of the FTC, said the 180 cases include new civil charges filed by the FTC against 13 telemarketers that defrauded more than 500,000 consumers out of $100 million.

“There’s an easy and surefire way to avoid getting stung,” said Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wadsen. “Just say, ‘No,’ and hang up. It isn’t rude, it’s smart.”