NC AG Sues Gateway Provider on Suspected Fraudulent Robocalls
Articul8 made "millions of fraudulent and illegal telemarketing calls and robocalls" to consumers as a gateway provider, said a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina against the VoIP provider and its owner…
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for allegedly violating the FTC's telemarketing sales rule and the state's Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Owner Paul Talbot's company "knowingly provided assistance and support to U.S.- and foreign-based fraudsters" since "at least 2018," said the complaint filed by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D). The call traffic "shows patterns with the hallmarks of illegal and fraudulent telemarketing and robocall traffic." The complaint said Articul8 was "repeatedly informed" by the USTelecom-led industry traceback group that it was either a gateway or intermediate provider for fraudulent or illegal calls, but it continued to route such calls. “The only way telemarketers can inundate our phones with robocalls is with the complicity of gateway phone companies,” Stein said in a statement: “These phone companies turn a blind eye to illegal robocalls in order to make money on each call. It's wrong. It violates state and federal law, and I won't tolerate it." Talbot didn't comment.