CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is targeting two companies alleged to be orchestrating illegal robocalls.
Raoul announced on Tuesday that the national Anti-Robocall Litigation is imploring a court to enforce their issued subpoenas to Michael Lansky LLC (conducting business as Avid Telecom) and One Eye LLC and cooperate with their investigation and provide details into their alleged involvement.
The Anti-Robocall Litigation is a bipartisan national task force consisting of Raoul and 50 other attorneys, with the goal of investigating and legally prosecuting bad actors for making unsolicited telemarketing calls or assisting scammers making them.
“Robocalls aren’t just an Illinois problem. They are a nationwide problem. That’s why my office came together with other state attorneys general to form the National Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force,” Raoul said. “Today’s enforcement actions should serve as a warning to others who attempt to profit off this illegal and invasive practice. I will continue to hold these businesses accountable and protect the rights of Illinois consumers.”
The task force alleges that Avid Telecom knowingly took in and routed illegal robocalls. In addition, the attorneys general believe the company’s CEO Michael Lanksy aided another telecom provider to hide its suspect traffic.
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The other company, One Eye, originated from another troubled voice service provider, PZ Telecommunications LLC, after the Federal Communications Commission sent them a cease-and-desist letter. One Eye has ignored the task force and has refused to cooperate.
More than 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans each day, according to the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). Some of these calls are from scammers posing as the Social Security Administration, Amazon and employers offering employment opportunities. Raoul said the task force is committed to shutting down the companies that last year, according to NLC and EPIC, stole $29.8 billion from robocalls.
Attorney General Raoul offers residents these tip when it comes to scam callers:
-Be wary of callers who specifically ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. For example, the Internal Revenue Service does not accept iTunes gift cards.
-Look out for prerecorded calls from imposters posing as government agencies. Typically, the Social Security Administration does not make phone calls to individuals.
-If you suspect fraudulent activity, immediately hang up and do not provide any personal information.
-You can file a consumer complaint about scam or unwanted calls with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division by visiting the Attorney General’s website.
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