Paradise Valley telecom companies accused of placing hundreds of millions of fraudulent robocalls

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Data

Paradise Valley telecom companies accused of placing hundreds of millions of fraudulent robocalls

Michaela Chesin Arizona Republic
Published 8:00 a.m. MT Aug. 4, 2020 | Updated 9:17 a.m. MT Aug. 4, 2020

A Paradise Valley couple accused of facilitating hundreds of millions of fraudulent robocalls would be prohibited from ever operating a telecom business under a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

It is a first-of-its-kind effort by the Justice Department to hold a telecom carrier responsible as a facilitator of fraud schemes.

The DOJ alleged that Nicholas and Natasha Palumbo, operating as VoIP carriers, transmitted calls from entities to other carriers within the United States, and ultimately individual phones. The DOJ alleged foreign-based call centers, which fraudulently claimed to be affiliated with government and business entities, used the service to place robocalls to U.S. victims.

“The defendants also sold U.S. phone numbers to foreign entities, which were used as victim call-back numbers as part of massive robocalling fraud schemes,” the Department of Justice wrote in a March news release.

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[Mike 03]

1. One of the lessons of this article is that if you are told over the phone that

there is a warrant for your arrest, but that you can cancel the warrant by giving them money, hang up.

One was an 84-year-old retired Marine who lost more than $9,000 after fraudsters told him they were with the Social Security Administration and that a car in Houston had been rented using his Social Security number. The fraudsters told him the vehicle had been found by local police with evidence of drugs and money laundering. He was told there was a warrant for his arrest.

Another victim, according to the filings, was a 36-year-old man who had recently received U.S. citizenship. The scammers told the man, who was living in Brooklyn, that there was a warrant for his arrest. He emptied his bank account in an attempt to rectify the situation.

I expect most people here at DU know that, but many people do get confused and scared and fall prey to such scams.

[Vivienne235729]

2. They called me too. Multiple times. Something about Social Security office.

I hung up, blocked, and reported them. They called my elderly mother as well. I warned her ahead of time and she hung up as well. I feel terrible for the elderly. You're right, itis easy for them to fall prey to this.