U.S government launches robocall-quashing contest WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. government has offered a $50,000 reward to whoever comes up with an effective means of blocking telephone "robocall" sales pitches. The Federal Trade Commission has been losing ground in the battle against automated phone calls and is looking for fresh ideas with its FTC Robocall Challenge. The winner will receive $50,000 plus a trip to Washington. The Los Angeles Times said while many robocalls are legitimate, there are scores of others that lure unsuspecting recipients into fraudulent boiler-room scams. The FTC said the number of complaints it has received has more than tripled in the past two years to 212,000 so far this year. The agency said it was unable to block or trace about 59 percent of the scam calls, since they are often routed through a complex web of automatic dialers, ID spoofing and Voice-over-Internet Protocol systems. The Robocall Challenge is open to U.S. citizens. Groups of as many as 10 will be eligible for the reward and the trip to the capital. Larger teams will be eligible for a non-cash award.