Florida takes top ranking for robocalls

It’s a dubious honor for the Sunshine State as the records show Florida residents get more spam and robocalls than any other state in the country.

But that problem is about to get even worse.

Fox 4 Investigates’s Ryan Kruger shows us how your phone could soon be ringing off the hook. In fact, one recent study shows Floridians get more than 4 times as many spam calls and text messages than the next closest state. And some experts say you’re about to get even more. A recent report by the consumer group — customer service number – found Florida residents received by far the most spam complaints in the country.

Zach Zermay is a consumer lawyer in Fort Myers who specializes in robocalls and spam. He says lawmakers have worked in the past to dramatically cut down on the number of robocalls, including passing legislation in 2021 that banned some companies from using automated systems to make robocalls without permission from the person on the other end of the phone.

The Federal Trade Commission says Floridians complained about robocalls 388,000 thousand times in 2021.

In 2022, there was a 45% drop in the number of complaints.

Zermay fears those protections are going away.

Governor DeSantis signed new legislation in May that critics argue would allow companies to make even more robocalls.

But supporters, like the Florida retail federation, say those consumer protections are still there and that the new law cuts down the number of people who can file lawsuits against businesses for calling them. 1