A multistate investigation has prompted a nationwide crackdown on scam robocallers that involves state Attorneys General from across the country.
In a rare bi-partisan move, Attorneys General from all 50 states have joined together to target 37 “voice service providers” that funnel thousands of robocalls daily into the homes of Americans.
“Most robocall campaigns were scams, with some impersonating utility or financial companies, Medicare, Amazon, and tax relief services, among others,” according to a statement.
The coalition, which includes New York Attorney General Letitia James, is demanding that these companies immediately stop routing these fraudulent calls.
“New Yorkers are sick and tired of robocalls from scammers who are trying to steal their money or private personal information,” said James, in a statement.
“Together with a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, my office sent warnings to 37 telecommunications companies demanding that they immediately stop enabling these fraudulent calls.”
In 2023 alone, consumers reported losing more than $1.2 billion to scams perpetrated through robocalls and text messages, according to data collected by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The Federal Communicationss Commission (FCC) has issued a series of rules to curb fraud and abuse, but voice service providers have widely ignored them.
“By disregarding these simple rules, these companies are allowing robocallers onto their phone networks and then passing their calls on to other downstream providers until they reach New Yorkers’ phones,” said James.
The task force is also sending letters to 99 downstream providers that accept call traffic from the 37 companies to alert them that they are currently doing business with bad actors that are unwilling to follow the rules that apply to everyone equally.”
This is at least the fourth time state AGs have joined forces to combat robocall fraud.
In 2022, 51 attorneys general joined forces to create the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force, led by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
The task force investigates and takes legal action against companies responsible for significant volumes of illegal and fraudulent robocall traffic routed into and across the United States.
In April, James and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general sent notice letters to 9 phone providers warning them that they may be violating state and federal laws on robocalls.
In March, Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of 27 attorneys general filed an amicus brief to support and defend a rule by the FCC that stops telemarketers from obtaining and selling consumers’ phone numbers to robocallers without their consent.
Here is a list of companies that have received warnings from the coalition.
- Advantage Investors LLC
- Alpha Stream
- Ananya Traders LLC
- Ariyan Khan
- BBT Voice Private Limited
- Belthrough
- BPO VoIP
- Collection 3 LLC
- Communications and Telephone Systems Co.
- Dial Vista Corp.
- DigitalOcean LLC
- Dtel Network LLC
- End Zone Financial Services
- EON Telecom, Inc.
- Family Communication, Inc.
- Fiber Flux VOIP
- First Tele Communications, Inc.
- Flow VOIP LLC
- Globe Tech Solutions
- Higher Response Marketing, Inc.
- HK KwaiFong Group Limited
- Infinity SIP LLC
- Lexico Telecom LTD/Lextel LTD
- Mexico IP Phones LLC
- Nexusphere VOIP LLC
- Pleedex LLC
- Quantum Link VOIP LLC
- Ringnition
- SK Teleco LLC
- SkyPulse VOIP
- Stacy Newsome LNCC LCC
- Telnextrix LLC
- Terra Voip
- TheVisionConnect
- Tiera Enterprises LLC
- Voip Torque
- Whisl Telecom LLC/Telconus/Telcon US/Telcon Voice
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Keith Girard has four decades of experience as an award-winning reporter, editor-in-chief, and senior media executive. Keith’s career began in Washington, D.C., where he was a reporter for The Washington Post and a contributing editor for Regardie’s and Washingtonian magazines. He also worked as a writer/producer in CNN’s Washington Bureau and has written non-fiction books on the U.S. Marines in the Gulf War and Donald Trump and two novels, “The Heidelberg Conundrum” and “The Curse of Northam Bay.”