By Elishya Perera
WASHINGTON DC (CWBN)_ The Department of Homeland Security told reporters on Tuesday (Nov 3) that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating anonymous robocalls received by people across the United States, urging them to “stay safe and stay home” on Election Day in what experts say could be an attempt to suppress votes in Tuesday’s election.
It was reported that the robocalling campaign had been running for months. The calls are said to have been insisting that people remain at home, but did not explicitly mention voting. “This is just a test call,” the voice says in one version of the robocall. “Time to stay home. Stay safe and stay home”.
According to an analysis by YouMail, a tech company that makes anti-robocall software, the automated calls were placed to residents in nearly 90% of US area codes. The calls began over the summer but had increased significantly in recent weeks. YouMail’s Chief Executive Alex Quilici said that there were 10 million calls in October alone.
The calls were reported in several states including Iowa, Kansas, Florida, Nebraska and Missouri on Election Day.
As the FBI is conducting investigations, the US Federal Communications Commission said the agency has also taken an interest in the calls, while New York Attorney General Letitia James also announced an investigation on Tuesday.
The FBI announced two weeks ago that Iran and Russia have obtained voter registration information and that Iran was responsible for sending threatening emails and disinformation about voter fraud to Democratic voters.
USTelecom, a nonprofit organization representing telecommunications-related businesses, said in a statement that its in-house “Traceback Group”, which was tracking the robocalls, believed they were “possibly coming from Europe”. However, no further details on the identity of the suspected perpetrators were provided.
Edited by Kaveesha Fernando
