Florida AG pushes felony charges for sophisticated phone and text scams
Key Points(5)
- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is pushing for tougher penalties for phone and text-message scams as criminals increasingly use artificial intelligence to impersonate police officers, businesses and even victims’ family members.
- Uthmeier announced Wednesday that he plans to seek felony charges and mandatory prison sentences for some sophisticated scams, arguing that existing penalties are inadequate to deter large-scale fraud operations.
- Fraudulent text messages can currently be prosecuted as misdemeanors under Florida law, according to Uthmeier.
- He wants certain offenses elevated to felonies, while people operating automated “bot farms” responsible for thousands of fraudulent calls could face mandatory prison sentences.
- “You need to go to jail for four or five years if you’re engaging in this kind of sophisticated fraud,” Uthmeier said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is pushing for tougher penalties for phone and text-message scams as criminals increasingly use artificial intelligence to impersonate police officers, businesses and even victims’ family members.
Uthmeier announced Wednesday that he plans to seek felony charges and mandatory prison sentences for some sophisticated scams, arguing that existing penalties are inadequate to deter large-scale fraud operations.
Fraudulent text messages can currently be prosecuted as misdemeanors under Florida law, according to Uthmeier. He wants certain offenses elevated to felonies, while people operating automated “bot farms” responsible for thousands of fraudulent calls could face mandatory prison sentences.
“You need to go to jail for four or five years if you’re engaging in this kind of sophisticated fraud,” Uthmeier said.
The proposal would also impose additional requirements on telecommunications companies, including authenticating caller ID information, responding to requests to trace suspicious calls and shutting down identified illegal calling campaigns after receiving written notice.
Uthmeier is also seeking additional resources for prosecutors and a statewide public awareness campaign focused particularly on seniors and other Floridians who may be vulnerable to scams.
The push comes as advances in artificial intelligence make fraudulent calls and messages increasingly difficult to identify.
Prosecutors warned that scammers are using AI to impersonate law enforcement officers, financial professionals, romantic partners, friends and relatives.
“Voices can be cloned. Phone numbers can be spoofed and videos can be manipulated,” officials warned.
Uthmeier said criminals can use genuine recordings of law enforcement officers to create AI-generated calls that sound like the actual officer.
He said Florida lawmakers are also likely to consider broader legislation addressing AI, potentially including enhanced penalties for fraud committed using the technology.
Uthmeier urged Floridians who receive suspicious calls demanding money to hang up and independently contact the agency, bank, utility company or business involved using a verified phone number.
“Don’t be shy, say goodbye,” he said.
