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States Try To Block Robocalls That Go Straight To Voicemail

BOSTON (CBS) -- Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is joining several other states to prevent so-called "ringless robocalls".

Telemarketers petitioned the FCC for permission to use new technology that would leave messages via voicemail without ever making the phone ring, according to Consumerist. The companies want an exemption to the robocall rules, saying they shouldn't be considered "calls."

Healey signed a letter along with attorneys general in New York and Kentucky stating that an exemption would give companies a free pass to spam Americans' phones.

"This would not only add to this existing plague of unwanted contacts but would also undermine the best defense consumers currently have against robocalls – using call blocking apps on their cell phone," the letter states.

The letter goes on to say that ringless robocalls are more than just annoyances, they can come at a cost to people with prepaid phone contracts that charge people for checking their voicemail.

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