Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that the national Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force has taken enforcement action against two voice service providers for their alleged involvement in illegal robocalls. These two providers are Michael Lansky LLC — doing business as Avid Telecom — and One Eye LLC. The creation of the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force was announced in August 2022.
“We are working to crack down on the rogue providers that are helping to push illegal robocalls and putting Georgians at risk of falling victim to a scam,” said Carr. “By partnering with a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, we are able to leverage our resources and better identify those who are enabling these con artists in their attempts to steal from unsuspecting consumers. This is just the beginning of our efforts as part of the newly-formed Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force, and we are committed to putting a stop to these deceitful tactics.”
The Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force is comprised of 51 attorneys general who are working together to cut down on illegal robocalls. On behalf of the entire task force, the State of Indiana is enforcing civil investigative demands (CIDs) against Avid Telecom and One Eye LLC.
The enforcement action against Avid Telecom details several instances in which the task force believes Avid Telecom knowingly accepted and routed illegal robocalls. Further, the task force believes Avid Telecom’s CEO, Michael Lansky, helped another telecom provider hide its suspect traffic.
The enforcement action against One Eye details how an individual named Prince Anand closed another voice service provider, PZ Telecommunication LLC, and became the apparent CEO of One Eye. This transition occurred after the Federal Communications Commission sent PZ Telecom a cease-and-desist letter.
One Eye has stopped responding to the task force, and Avid has refused to answer the CID. The State of Indiana has moved to enforce these CIDs in Marion County, Indiana.
The task force, through evidence detailed in the enforcement actions, believes it has a reasonable basis for investigating Avid Telecom and One Eye.
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 providers that profit from this illegal scam traffic and refuse to take steps to otherwise mitigate these scam calls.
Tips for Avoiding Scam Calls
The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division offers the following tips to help Georgians 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.
For additional tips on how to protect yourself from scams, visit the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division website.
If you believe you may have fallen victim to a scam, contact the Consumer Protection Division by calling 404-651-8600 or file a complaint online.
About the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division
During the previous fiscal year alone, the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division helped more than 206,000 consumers and obtained civil recoveries totaling over $178 million for Georgians and the state.
The office also reached hundreds of thousands of individuals through consumer education and outreach efforts. Specifically, the Consumer Protection Division distributed educational materials to over 37,400 Georgians and connected with nearly 800 consumers through more than a dozen live speaking engagements and webinars conducted across the state.
