Robocall Reckoner returns: Attorney General Todd Rokita sends blunt warning to phone companies
Office co-leads bipartisan task force of 51 Attorneys General
Attorney General Todd Rokita took new action this week against illegal robocallers who are trying to scam Hoosiers. He warned four voice service providers that they have been transmitting suspected illegal robocall traffic on their networks on behalf of one or more of their customers.
As a lead member of the 51-member bipartisan attorney general Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, Attorney General Rokita and Section Chief of Data Privacy and ID Theft, Doug Swetnam, and his team have been investigating these providers.
“These annoying and illegal calls not only terrorize Hoosiers but Americans across the nation,” Attorney General Rokita said. “I said it before and I’ll say it again, if the telecom industry won’t police itself, this unprecedented task force will.”
In the warning letters, the task force informs the providers that it has shared the findings of its investigations with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which will consider appropriate next steps.
The task force sent warning letters to the following companies:
KWK Communications, Inc.: KWK Communications received at least 129 traceback notices from the industry traceback group between 2020 and 2022, which included high volumes of calls associated with IRS and Social Security Administration scams, auto warranty scams, and utilities scams. In just one month in 2022, KWK allegedly routed more than 20,000 calls with illegally spoofed telephone numbers and more than 8.7 million calls made using invalid Caller ID numbers.
Inbound Inc. Inbound received at least 63 traceback notices between 2021 and 2022, including many about calls that involved imposter scams. Inbound is also estimated to have allegedly routed more than 28.4 million DirecTV and cable discount scam robocalls in a single month in 2022. The FTC previously issued a cease-and-desist demand to Inbound over these scam calls.
AKA Management, Inc. AKA received at least 129 traceback notices between 2020 and 2022, including about calls that were government imposter scams and tech support scams. AKA is also estimated to have allegedly routed about 12.1 million Amazon and Apple imposter robocalls to consumers in a single month in 2022.
CallVox LLC: CallVox received more than 47 traceback notices between 2020 and 2022 warning of unlawful or suspicious robocalls that it helped move into and through the U.S. telephone network, including thousands of calls to people who were registered on the Do Not Call list and calls placed using illegally spoofed telephone numbers.
The letters warned that if these providers continue to transmit robocalls and violate state and federal laws, the task force may pursue further legal actions against these companies and their owners.
The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force of 51 bipartisan attorneys general investigates and takes legal action against those responsible for routing significant volumes of illegal robocall traffic into and across the United States.
I wish Todd Rokita will go after all the insurance agents for scamming the elderly! My parents receive multiple calls each day from insurance companies wanting to sign them up for Medicare.. we have blocked numbers, reported to the Attorney General’s office and they STILL come thru!! Shame on the insurance agents for scamming the elderly!