US DOJ taking action on 5 VoIP companies involved in robocalls

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking action against a number of American companies that have been found to be involved in a robocall scheme. 

Earlier today, the government agency announced that it is seeking temporary restraining orders that it can use against five voice over internet protocol (VoIP) carriers from New York and Arizona. These carriers served as “gateway carriers” for fraudulent calls to be made from abroad. 

The DOJ found that the services of these VoIP carriers are the entry point for suspicious calls that largely came from India. In order to facilitate such calls, these companies took payment and passed them along to American customers. This way, the fraudsters were able to hide their real numbers and made use of government agencies or emergency lines. The fraudsters then try to scare their victims into sending them money, otherwise their social security benefits would be terminated. They also threaten to arrest victims for tax fraud and even deport them for not completing their immigration forms. 

These calls are usually made by horrible actors that target the elderly and other individuals in a vulnerable position. Because of the sheer number of robocalls made on a daily basis, several government agencies have started to act and track them down. 

The involved VoIP companies include the following:

• TollFreeDeals.com and sipretail.com (owned by Nicholas and Natasha Palumbo from Arizona)

• Global Voicecom Inc., Global Telecommunication Services Inc., KAT Telecom Inc./ IP Dish (owned by Jon Kahen of New York)

The Justice Department shared that they already sent several warnings about the fraudulent calls they were carrying. But after ignoring these warnings, the DOJ has finally decided to pursue them this time.