Avid Telecom is accused of making 7.5 billion illegal robocalls to millions of people on the Do Not Call Registry
Nearly every state in the U.S. — and D.C. — has joined a lawsuit this week against Avid Telecom, accusing the company of making 7.5 billion illegal robocalls to millions of people on the Do Not Call Registry. Originally filed in Phoenix, Arizona, the fight is now 48 states strong, with lawsuits filed from Virginia to Wisconsin to California, and practically everywhere in between.
The lawsuit alleges that Avid violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule and other federal and state telemarketing and consumer laws. Specifically, Kris Mayes, Arizona attorney general, claimed that the company used spoofed or invalid caller ID numbers, millions of which appears to come from official sources like the Social Security Administration and law enforcement agencies, those from private companies like Amazon and DirecTV.
“Every day, countless Arizona consumers are harassed and annoyed by a relentless barrage of unwanted robocalls – and in some instances these illegal calls threaten consumers with lawsuits and arrest,” Mayes said in a statement. “More disturbingly, many of these calls are scams designed to pressure frightened consumers, often senior citizens, into handing over their hard-earned money. Such a blatant disregard for consumer protection laws will not be tolerated and violators of these laws will be held accountable.”
Over in New York, Attorney General Letitia James called the calls allowed by Avid “annoying and illegal.” She also stated: “Americans are sick and tired of their phones ringing off the hook with fraudulent robocalls.” She also highlighted that these calls are particularly damaging for seniors and other vulnerable consumers who have “been scammed out of millions because of these illegal robocalls.”
According to the Arizona filing, the suit seeks a jury trial to determine damages.
In recent years, the U.S. government has cracked down on robocalls with policies like STIR/SHAKEN, which digitally validates the handoff of phone calls and the establishment of a bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force made of up of 51 attorneys general and the District of Columbia.
