ALBANY, N.Y. – Robocall complaints in New York have doubled since 2014 to more than 450,000 annual calls, according to an audit by the state comptroller.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the spike is attributed to the lack of investigations of complaints by the Division of Consumer Protection.

The New York state ‘Do Not Call Law’ was adopted in 2001 to help consumers avoid such unwanted calls.

“Without enforcement of the law, telemarketers will continue to bother people who do not want calls, attempt to steal personal information or take money from the unsuspecting. Officials at the state’s Division of Consumer Protection need to do a better job putting unwanted calls on mute,” said DiNapoli.

According to the audit, only two cases were prosecuted in 2016 and 2017.  Auditors say part of the problem has been with limited staffing at the Division of Consumer Protection.

There’s only five positions behind New York’s Do Not Call Program. The director of Investigations position had been vacant for 18 months until recently.

The decline in investigating such complaints has cost the state millions in fines, according to DiNapoli.

"They had been collecting fines of up to a few years ago. The number of fines has dropped significantly over that last several years to about $40,000 when it had been over a million dollars previously,” said Deputy Secretary Mark Johnson.

In response to the audit, Secretary of State Rossana Rosado released the following statement which says in part:

“The division is committed to assisting, educating, protecting and empowering New York Consumers in the ever-changing marketplace. The telemarketing industry is no exception with many changing and evolving new technologies that continue to emerge. New technologies make it difficult to identify the companies making the unwanted calls and thereby challenging to enforce do not call laws.”