BALTIMORE, MD — The Maryland attorney general says phone companies have agreed to curb the more than 100 million illegal robocalls made each month in the state. Twelve phone companies have agreed to adopt eight principles to fight illegal robocalls and make it easier for attorneys general to investigate and prosecute bad actors nationwide, officials said.

A record 5.2 billion robocalls were placed nationwide in January 2019, while 4.7 billion such calls were made last month, according to YouMail's robocall index, and 58 percent of them were scam or telemarketing calls. That includes 105.7 million robocalls in Maryland in July 2019, an average of 12.7 for every person in the state.

"We are harassed by robocalls every day. It is the number one complaint to attorneys general offices across the country," said Attorney General Brian E. Frosh. "The goal of many of the individuals making these calls is to steal your identity or steal your money. These annoying and relentless calls are difficult to track and difficult to prosecute. Most often they originate outside our states and even outside our country."