Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that the national Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force is taking enforcement action against two telecoms providers over their alleged involvement in illegal robocalls. The two companies, Avid Telecom and One Eye, LLC, have stopped cooperating with the task force’s investigation.
“The enforcement action against Avid Telecom details several instances in which the task force believes Avid Telecom knowingly accepted and routed illegal robocalls. Further, the task force believes Avid Telecom’s CEO, Michael Lansky, helped another telecom provider hide its suspect traffic,” Miyares’s release states. “The enforcement action against One Eye details how an individual closed another voice service provider, PZ Telecommunication, LLC, and became the apparent CEO of One Eye. This transition occurred after the Federal Communications Commission sent PZ Telecom a cease-and-desist letter.”
The civil investigative demands are being enforced on behalf of the task force by the State of Indiana.
In September, Miyares signed on to a letter asking the Federal Communications Commission to expand telecoms regulations to help crack down on illegal robocalls and associated fraud. In his Thursday press release, he warns Virginians to be cautious if callers ask for payment by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. He also warned about prerecorded messages from imposters pretending to be from a government agency such as the Social Security Administration, and warned recipients of potentially fraudulent calls to not provide any information to the caller and to hang up.
Virginians with concerns or complaints can contact the Consumer Protection Section by phone at (800) 522-9963, email, or through an online form.
“Robocalls profit off exploiting vulnerable consumers, stealing billions of dollars annually nationwide. This task force is focused on shutting down the providers and gateways that both profit from these scams and refuse to take steps that could mitigate the problem,” Miyares said. “Enough is enough.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
