Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is taking decisive action to combat illegal robocall traffic.
As part of the 51-attorney general Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, Miyares has been investigating voice service providers suspected of allowing illegal robocall traffic on their networks. The task force has shared its findings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is set to determine the next steps.
Miyares has issued warnings to four voice service providers, accusing them of transmitting illegal robocalls for their customers.
“Voice service providers must protect consumers from illegal robocalls that invade their privacy and disrupt their lives,” Miyares stated. “If these companies fail to meet their legal responsibilities and allow robocallers to exploit their networks, they will face serious consequences. Virginians deserve better, and we remain committed to safeguarding our consumers from these unlawful calls.”
The task force sent letters to the four companies, warning them that continuing to enable illegal robocalls would result in legal action against both the companies and their owners.
Voice Service Providers Receiving Warning Letters
- KWK Communications Inc.: Between 2020 and 2022, KWK received 129 traceback notices from the industry traceback group for high volumes of IRS and Social Security scams, auto warranty scams, and utility scams. In one month in 2022, KWK reportedly routed over 20,000 calls with spoofed numbers and more than 8.7 million calls using invalid Caller ID numbers.
- Inbound Inc.: Inbound received 63 traceback notices between 2021 and 2022, linked to imposter scams. It allegedly routed more than 28.4 million robocalls involving DirecTV and cable discount scams in one month in 2022. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) previously issued a cease-and-desist order against Inbound for these scam calls.
- AKA Management Inc.: AKA received 129 traceback notices between 2020 and 2022 for routing government imposter and tech support scam calls. In one month in 2022, the company reportedly routed approximately 12.1 million robocalls tied to Amazon and Apple imposter scams.
- CallVox LLC: CallVox received over 47 traceback notices from 2020 to 2022 for helping transmit unlawful robocalls, including thousands targeting individuals on the Do Not Call list. The company also facilitated calls using spoofed phone numbers.
Copies of the task force’s warning letters are available online.