FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024
Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force has sent warning letters to four voice service providers who are suspected of transmitting illegal robocalls on their networks on behalf of one or more of their customers.
“Robocalls are not just nuisance, but they also can be illegal,” said Attorney General Jackley. “These calls can be scams that prey on South Dakotans and other citizens.”
The Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, which consists of 51 Attorneys General, takes legal action against those responsible for routing significant volumes of illegal robocall traffic into and across the United States. The four service providers receiving warning letters are:
*** 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 Communications, Inc.: Inbound Communications, Inc., formerly known as Inbound Inc., 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.
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 the appropriate next steps. 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.
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