NEWS RELEASE
MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL DANA NESSEL
*************************
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, alongside 50 bipartisan state attorneys general on the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, has sent a letter (PDF) to iDentidad Advertising Development, LLC, also known as iDentidad Telecom, warning the company that it is transmitting suspected illegal robocall traffic and should stop immediately.
“More than just an annoyance, illegal robocalls can result in scams that hurt Michigan residents,” said Nessel. “Holding businesses like iDentidad responsible for their part in sending these suspected unlawful calls is a priority for my office. We will continue to collaborate with our partners across the country to protect consumers and stop illegal robocall traffic.”
Attorney General Nessel is a member of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force consisting of 51 bipartisan attorneys general. The task force investigates and takes legal action against those responsible for routing illegal robocall traffic into and across the United States.
The Federal Communications Commission has also sent a cease-and-desist to iDentidad. The task force notes that iDentidad received nearly 200 traceback notices for calls the company routed to the U.S. telephone network that mostly came from outside the country. These were large numbers of calls that were illegal or part of suspicious robocall campaigns. Some of these traceback notices concerned illegal and/or suspicious calls about IRS/Social Security Administration government imposters, utilities scams, and financial scams. Recently, iDentidad routed spoofed calls to non-Illinois residents that impersonated the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
If iDentidad continues to route suspicious or illegal robocall traffic, the attorneys general may take legal action, including seeking damages, civil penalties, and injunctions.
Attorney General Nessel announced the formation of the Task Force in August of 2022. The nationwide Task Force is comprised of 51 attorneys general and was formed to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for routing a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States. This bipartisan nationwide Task Force has one goal: to cut down on illegal robocalls.
For any Michigan residents who suspect they may have been the victim of identity theft perpetrated by robocalls or other means, or would like to learn more about how to protect themselves, the Department has guidance for Identity Theft Prevention and Recovery available on its website. The Department has also issued guidance on Michigan’s telemarketing laws and the Do Not Call Registry.
Attorney General Nessel has established her own in-state initiative to crackdown on Robocalls. According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, over 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. These scam calls include Social Security Administration fraud against seniors, Amazon scams against consumers, and many other scams targeting all consumers, including some of our most vulnerable citizens. An estimated $29.8 billion dollars was stolen through scam calls in 2021. Most of this scam robocall traffic originates overseas. Since 2019, a substantial reduction in Do Not Call Registry complaints from Michigan residents has been recorded and reported by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Alongside the FTC, Attorney General Nessel announced the nationwide Operation Stop Scam Calls in July of 2023, a 50-state law enforcement sweep to crackdown on illegal telemarketing targeting operations responsible for billions of calls to U.S. consumers.
Attorney General Nessel offers the following tips to avoid scams and unwanted calls:
- Be wary of callers who 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.
- Contact our Consumer Protection Team at 877-765-8388.
- File a Do Not Call or Text complaint here.
In March of 2023, Nessel won judgments shutting down a massive robocall operation based in Texas. The company’s owners had directed billions of illegal robocalls to people across the country and had bombarded Michigan consumers with more than 42 million robocalls in 2019 alone, including more than 19 million calls to people whose numbers were on the Do Not Call list. A judgment was secured against other parties involved in this scheme in August of 2023.
Nessel also has joined a multistate lawsuit against Avid Telecom for allegedly initiating and facilitating billions of illegal robocalls to millions of people and violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and other federal and state telemarketing and consumer laws. Avid Telecom is alleged to have sent or transmitted more than 7.5 billion calls to telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Attorney General Nessel is committed to further reducing the number of illegal robocalls and texts coming to Michigan residents so that they become part of our state’s distant past.
The Michigan Department of Attorney General accepts complaints about robocalls via its online complaint form.
*************************
