Nearly 12,000 residents with phone numbers from the 313 area code, located in Detroit, were targeted, Nessel’s office said. Attorneys general in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois also reported similar robocalls made to urban residents, amounting to an estimated 85,000 calls nationally, according to the Michigan office.
The caller, who claims to work for a civil rights organization founded by Wohl and Burkman, falsely says personal information for those who vote by mail will be shared with police tracking down warrants, credit card companies collecting outstanding debt and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requiring mandatory vaccinations. The caller tells voters to not be “finessed into giving your private information to the man." Officials said the call exploited “racially-charged stereotypes.”