ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL WARNS TELECOM COMPANY TO STOP TRANSMITTING SUSPECTED ILLEGAL ROBOCALLS

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL WARNS TELECOM COMPANY TO STOP TRANSMITTING SUSPECTED ILLEGAL ROBOCALLS

October 18, 2024

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a bipartisan, nationwide task force of 51 attorneys general, today sent a letter to iDentidad Advertising Development LLC, also known as iDentidad Telecom (iDentidad), warning the company that it is transmitting suspected illegal robocall traffic, including calls impersonating government entities, and should stop immediately.

The bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force investigates and takes legal action against entities responsible for routing illegal robocall traffic into and across the United States. The task force's review of call traffic information compiled by industry groups found that hundreds of calls iDentidad originated, accepted and/or transmitted onto and across the U.S. telephone network had been flagged as being suspicious or potentially illegal. This traffic included recurrent high-volume and potentially-illegal robocalling campaigns involving the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration and other government imposters, private entity imposters and utility disconnection scams. Among the calls impersonating government entities, iDentidad allegedly routed spoofed calls to non-Illinois residents that appeared to originate from the Attorney General's office.

"This letter should also serve as a warning to others who attempt to profit off this illegal and invasive practice," Raoul said. "No person or entity is immune from having phone numbers spoofed by bad actors. That is why my office continues to prioritize our work to educate consumers, and why I stand with my fellow attorneys general to hold these businesses accountable."

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also sent a cease-and-desist letter to iDentidad today. If iDentidad doesn't stop routing suspicious or illegal robocall traffic, the attorneys general may take legal action including seeking damages, civil penalties and injunctions.

In addition to issuing the letter, Attorney General Raoul is encouraging consumers to consider 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 IRS does not accept iTunes gift cards.
• Look out for calls from imposters posing as government agencies. Typically, the Social Security Administration does not make phone calls to individuals. The Illinois Attorney General's office does not place outbound calls from its toll-free hotlines and does not typically call individuals who have not previously contacted the office about an issue.
• If you suspect fraudulent activity, immediately hang up and do not provide any personal information. You can call the entity back on a trusted number to confirm whether or not the call is legitimate.
• You can file a consumer complaint about scams or unwanted calls with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division by visiting the Attorney General's website.

Attorney General Raoul has been a consistent advocate for protections against illegal robocalls. In 2022, Raoul joined a coalition of 33 attorneys general in filing a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court defending the anti-robocall provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. In August 2019, Raoul joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from all 50 states and Washington D.C. in partnering with 12 phone companies to create a set of principles for telecom companies to fight robocalls. In June 2019, Raoul, in cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission, announced a major crackdown on robocalls that included 94 actions targeting operations around the country that were responsible for more than 1 billion calls. Raoul has also submitted comments to the FCC urging the adoption of various proposed rules aimed at cracking down on unwanted telemarketing calls.