Americans got hit hard last year with those annoying phone calls.

YouMail, a company that provides a service to block robocalls, reports nearly 59-billion robocalls last year - up 22% from 2018.

Texas and California got the most robocalls, more than 6 billion. Seven other states, Florida, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Illinois got more than 2 billion robocalls.

But, there is some hope for us all!  President Trump recently signed a new anti-robocall bill into law.

The "TRACED Act" gives officials the authority to fine companies $10,000 for each illegally placed call.

TRACED stands for Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence.

Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement, "This historic legislation will provide American consumers with even greater protection against annoying unsolicited robocalls. American families deserve control over their communications, and this legislation will update our laws and regulations to stiffen penalties, increase transparency, and enhance government collaboration to stop unwanted solicitation. President Donald J. Trump is proud to have worked with Congress to get this bipartisan legislation to his desk, and even prouder to sign it into law today."

The new law comes after the Federal Communications Commission announced a nationwide crackdown of robocalls in June.

That's also when it gave wireless carriers permission to block some unwanted calls automatically.

Not every robocall is considered illegal. Some robocalls are helpful reminders from pharmacies that a prescription is ready, or schools advising a snow day.

If you've given written permission, a cable company or cruise line can pitch you with marketing calls that consist of prerecorded messages. 

The law also does nothing about telemarketing calls that aren't automated. A human can still pester you unless you sign up for the Do Not Call registry, which scammers often ignore anyway.

(The Associated Press, CBS News contributed to this report.)

 

 

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