Senate Passes Gavarone Bill Protecting Ohioans from Fraudulent Phone Calls

COLUMBUS—The Ohio Senate today passed Senate Bill 54, sponsored by State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green), to include both robocalling and spoofing as violations of Ohio’s telecommunications fraud laws. The legislation prohibits any person, entity or merchant from engaging in a violation of the federal Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act. “Rarely does a day go by when I don’t hear from a constituent who has experienced a robocall designed to manipulate and trick them out of their precious time and hard-earned money,” Gavarone said. “This legislation is a big step forward in our fight to better safeguard Ohioans from phone scams and ensure Ohio is the toughest state in the country to conduct a robocall scheme.”

The bill would stop criminals from using or repeating a telephone number, exchange, or misleading caller identification information that is not assigned to the person, with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.

Senate Bill 54 will now be sent to the Ohio House for consideration.