Wisconsin Department of Justice Announces Enforcement Actions Against Two Alleged Illegal Robocallers

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Justice today announced the national Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force is bringing enforcement actions to further investigations into two voice service providers over alleged involvement in illegal robocalls.

“Companies that facilitate illegal robocalls are part of the problem,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “The national Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force is working to prevent illegal robocalls.”

The targets of the investigation are Michael Lansky LLC — doing business as Avid Telecom — and One Eye LLC. The national task force is enforcing civil investigative demands (CIDs) against each entity.

Through evidence detailed in the enforcement actions, the task force believes it has a reasonable basis for investigating both Avid Telecom and One Eye.

The enforcement action against Avid Telecom seeks to further an investigation involving allegations that Avid Telecom knowingly accepted and routed illegal robocalls. The enforcement action against One Eye seeks to further an investigation of allegations that it operated contrary to a cease-and-desist letter it received from the Federal Communications Commission.

Fifty-one attorneys general participate in the national task force, which Indiana co-leads with North Carolina and Ohio. In its role as a co-leader of the task force, the State of Indiana has filed the enforcement actions to enforce the CIDs in Indiana state court.

According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, more than 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. These scam calls include fraudsters posing as the Social Security Administration, Amazon and employers offering work opportunities.

Fraudsters stole an estimated $29.8 billion through scam calls in 2021. The task force is focused on shutting down the gateways that profit off this illegal scam traffic.

DOJ offers the following tips to avoid scams and unwanted calls:

• 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.

View the press release here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.