New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined a bipartisan coalition of 50 attorneys general in sending warning letters to 37 voice service providers, instructing them to halt the routing of illegal robocalls through their networks. A multistate investigation found that these companies routed thousands of robocalls to residents in New York and across the United States. Many of these calls were scams impersonating entities such as utility or financial companies, Medicare, Amazon, and tax relief services.
“New Yorkers are sick and tired of robocalls from scammers who are trying to steal their money or private personal information,” said Attorney General James. “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. My office will continue to work together with our partners to address the nuisance of robocalls and protect people from scammers.”
Robocalls have led to substantial financial losses for consumers. In 2023 alone, more than $1.2 billion was lost due to scams carried out through robocalls and text messages, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The providers identified by the coalition either failed to follow rules set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), such as responding to government traceback requests, registering in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Databases, or submitting plans on how they will reduce illegal robocalls on their networks. This lack of compliance allows illegal robocallers access to phone networks and enables calls to reach consumers’ phones via downstream providers.
In addition to warning letters sent directly to the 37 providers identified for non-compliance, the task force is also notifying 99 downstream providers that they may be conducting business with companies unwilling to adhere to federal rules regarding robocall mitigation.
The list of voice service providers receiving warning letters includes: 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.
The Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force was formed in 2022 by 51 attorneys general and is led by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. The task force focuses on investigating and taking legal action against entities responsible for large volumes of fraudulent robocall traffic within the United States.
Attorney General James has previously taken measures against unwanted robocalls. In April she joined other attorneys general in sending notices warning nine phone providers about potential violations related to state and federal laws on robocalls. In March she participated in filing an amicus brief supporting an FCC rule aimed at preventing telemarketers from obtaining or selling consumer phone numbers without consent.
